Dear Christians—We Need to Talk About Your Privilege

"Imagine being on that team and having a coach who was Muslim gather at mid-field and offer up a prayer to Allah.

Remember, Allah is merely an Arabic word for God — it is not, in other words, a name for a deity foreign to you — and yet, I suspect you would find such a thing uncomfortable.

So too, if he followed some animist tradition and encouraged others to join him mid-field for a ceremony to honor the Earth or the spirit of creation in us all.

Of course, I realize these images are absurd.

Do you know why?

Because no Muslim, no animist, no coach of any faith other than yours would dream of doing anything like this.

Even we who are Jewish, thereby putting the Judeo in that tradition you claim to regard so highly, would never think to do it.

First, because unless we find ourselves at the Wailing Wall, we tend to frown on the public performance of prayer, unlike you. Despite the Bible telling you (in Matthew 6:5–6) to pray in your closet — because God views public piety as hypocritical and counterfeit — you can’t seem to help yourself."
"And it’s only the privilege of your position in this culture that renders you unable to see that.

And it’s your sense of entitlement that causes you to view the need of a devout Christian to pray in the middle of a school football field as more important than the need to make sure all of one’s players and their families feel welcome at the game."