WASHINGTON (AP) — Empathy is usually regarded as a virtue, a key to human decency and kindness. And yet, with increasing momentum, voices on the Christian right are preaching that it has become a vice.
For them, empathy is a cudgel for the left: It can manipulate caring people into accepting all manner of sins according to a conservative Christian perspective, including abortion access, LGBTQ+ rights, illegal immigration and certain views on social and racial justice.
“Empathy becomes toxic when it encourages you to affirm sin, validate lies or support destructive policies,” said Allie Beth Stuckey, author of “Toxic Empathy: How Progressives Exploit Christian Compassion.”
Stuckey, host of the popular podcast “Relatable,” is one of two evangelicals who published books within the past year making Christian arguments against some forms of empathy.
The other is Joe Rigney, a professor and pastor who wrote “The Sin of Empathy: Compassion and its Counterfeits.” It was published by Canon Press, an affiliate of Rigney’s conservative denomination, which counts Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth among its members.
These anti-empathy arguments gained traction in the early months of President Donald Trump’s second term, with his flurry of executive orders that critics denounced as lacking empathy.
As foreign aid stopped and more deportations began, Trump’s then-adviser Elon Musk told podcaster Joe Rogan: “The fundamental weakness of Western civilization is empathy.”
Even Vice President JD Vance, a Catholic convert, framed the idea in his own religious terms, invoking the concept of ordo amoris, or order of love. Within concentric circles of importance, he argued the immediate family comes first and the wider world last — an interpretation that then-Pope Francis rejected.
While their anti-empathy arguments have differences, Stuckey and Rigney have audiences that are firmly among Trump’s Christian base.
“Could someone use my arguments to justify callous indifference to human suffering? Of course,” Rigney said, countering that he still supports measured Christ-like compassion. “I think I’ve put enough qualifications.”
Historian Susan Lanzoni traced a century of empathy’s uses and definitions in her 2018 book “Empathy: A History.” Though it’s had its critics, she has never seen the aspirational term so derided as it is now.
It’s been particularly jarring to watch Christians take down empathy, said Lanzoni, a graduate of Harvard Divinity School.
“That’s the whole message of Jesus, right?”
For fucks sake, can ya all stop calling these heathens Christians? Sorry but to be called a Christian you need to follow teacheings of Christ, I know, not obvious at all! -.-’
And no, no jew-like bending rules around till they fit what you want either (wierd line hanged around…NYC IIRC…to allow them to “work” when their religion forbids?). You have the ten tenets, follow them dammit. These dumb fucks break them DAILY.
And that’s before we even go into teachings of, you know, being empathetic towards your brethern. You can even replace Jesus with Superman and…ah, sorry, forgot USA conservatists hate him too.
FFS USA.
You can “No True Scotsman” as hard as you want but they’re nailing this shit to your church door like that was the only part they learned.
Don’t give a flying fuck my friend - I will continue to call bullshit. Stop calling them christians - they’re heretics by definition, openly defying the teachings. Also, fallacy fallacy my friend, even if I used “No True Scotsman” - which doesn’t even apply here because being a Christian does have requirements they don’t follow so there’s no redefining here - that doesn’t mean I am wrong.
Call them heretics/heathens openly. I can bet my ass that would hurt ^^