Does Christianity need to demonize those that aren't Christian? I'll let you ponder that question, though my feeling is that it does not. However, there is no doubt that Christianity quite frequently does. Please note that a lot of groups use this technique, not just churches and not just religious institutions. Some gays even use it against bisexuals and transgenders.
This demonization has a purpose. At the basic level, an in-group (and when your prize is Heaven, you're the ultimate in-group) needs an out-group to keep it together. If you don't work to stay in the good graces of the in-group then the out-group will git ya, and you're on your way to Hell (or at least on your way out of the in-group). Add another level. Much of the claim of the Christian church is moral superiority. A way to demonstrate that superiority is to compare your members to the out-group (and project some of the in-group's sins onto the out-group). Another level. The leaders of the in-group gain a great deal of power (and money) by keeping fear of the out-group in front of their followers. Along the way, seal the deal by using self-loathing of members of the in-group to claim without the power of the leaders as protection the members would be no better than the out-group.
The selection of the out-group is usually quite easy. For a good part of
It is possible, though difficult, to make an out-group part of the in-group. Blacks have taken a step in that direction; though racism is no longer mentioned in polite society, it still lingers. The jump is made when the cost of maintaining an out-group as the "enemy" is higher than the rewards of having them on the outside. So, the next question is how do we raise the cost and lower the rewards? And an even bigger question is how to structure the Christian message to break down the barrier between the in and the out?
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