Christianophobia

PARIS (Reuters) – A Vatican diplomatic campaign to have "Christianophobia" recognised as an evil equal to hatred of Jews and
Muslims is causing concern among some Christian activists and diplomats who draft new human rights rules.

The discrete drive, which the Roman Catholic Church first mentioned publicly last Friday, seeks official recognition by the United
Nations and other international organisations of discrimination against and persecution of Christians.

The Holy See is pressing this point despite two setbacks this year when the European Union refused to refer to the continent’s
Christian heritage in its new constitution and turned down a traditionalist Catholic as a new commissioner.

In discussing religious bias, the United Nations Human Rights Commission in Geneva now speaks of "anti-Semitism, Islamophobia and Christianophobia," terms the current General Assembly in New York is due to approve later this month. [Source]

I really dislike the term Christianophobia. This plays right into the semantic hands of those who brandy about the term homophobia and seems more like a revenge term then a accurate description for anti-Christian beliefs.

A phobia is defined as:

A persistent, abnormal, and irrational fear of a specific thing or situation that compels one to avoid it, despite the awareness and reassurance that it is not dangerous.

While it is possible that there are people who actually have a phobia when it comes to Christianity, most people who disagree with Christianity have many other reasons for doing so. Appending the term phobia to the end of something invokes a judgment upon that persons mental health for the position that they hold.

We should not reply tit for tat by using the same phrasing that homosexual advocates use to belittle those who don’t believe that active homosexuality is one of the greatest gifts to the world. It is no surprise that they use this word since words mean something. Just calling someone a homophobe means that you have already framed the debate by saying that they can have no valid arguments against your position because they are by the very definition wrong and irrational. It is so much easier to put people on the defensive with this style of verbal warfare instead of defending why they believe that active homosexuality is a rational position. It is rather ironic that the same people who call others homophobes also talk about not judging others when this very word implies a judgment that they are extremely unlikely to be able to prove.