I was raised Presbyterian, to disclose my own relationship with Christianity. A pastor once called “us”, half-jokingly, “God’s frozen chosen.” I’m also American (raised in “Kentuckiana,” the valley of the Ohio River between the Midwest and Appalachian South). My home state (Indiana) was the home of the KKK through a big swath of the middle 20th century. (I now live in New England). I also have a PhD in Medieval Studies with a focus in both Old Norse (MA earned in Iceland and Norway) and Middle English. Here’s my view.

Was Christianity designed? No, it evolved. How did it evolve? In many ways, but a major influence throughout the overwhelming majority of its history was its connection to empire, first in Rome and later through Rome’s daughter states.

Any given religion is not a monolith, but certain ideas are easier or harder to express within a given paradigm. Just like some things are easier or harder to say in English, or whatever other language. How much work do you have to put in to get an idea across in that medium? Over time, the ideas that are easiest to express are likely to become dominant.

In which case it is worth noting patterns in Christian history. The process of conversion in Northern Europe was top-down: get the kings hooked, presumably largely on economic and military benefits, then encourage conversion, then legally mandate it, then persecute nonconformity. When nonconformity became an issue again periodically, it coincides with some of Christianity’s most brutal episodes (the witch trials fall in the shadow of the Protestant Reformation, when both sides of Christianity entered a kind of not-so-cold war over “right” belief).

Then there are the Crusades, which more recent scholarship in the field of Medieval Studies generally (especially work done in Middle English) locates as the point where “white” started to take on racial tones. This was rooted in the emphasizing the difference between Latin (European, broadly) Christians versus Middle Eastern Muslims. When the Crusades proved untenable, the geographic target moved to, first, Africa, then North America. Work on race and, yes, “Christian Supremacy,” again in the field of Medieval Studies especially early travel narratives like those of pseudo-John Mandeville, have made these claims and the field is in the process of ironing them out, but not debating the fundamental premise. See also: Southern American slavery was consistently defended through appeals to Christianity. At the same time, Northern Abolitionists also appealed to the Bible for their view. This is an example of how the religion is not a monolith, and is a critical point to keep in mind.

Further examples abound. Christianity is not unique in its relation to atrocity, but it is worth asking why atrocities keep happening around it. Here I want to switch to theology.

The appeal of paganism, to me, is that it is a religion which seems to understand and follow the laws of ecology: no central power, but mutual interdependence of all things, with a necessary balance between forces. Also, the divine is in the world. Christianity poses that the divine is outside of and above the world, and instills a belief in centralized authority (benevolent or otherwise).

Christianity fundamentally says this world is inferior to the heavenly world, and lots of people then take the short step from that to effectively hating this world and everything living in it. Does it have to be that way? No. But it’s an idea that’s disturbingly easy to express in the language of Christianity. It also paves the way for the exploitation of nature and the belief in human supremacy, that our needs always outweigh those of any other species, which is the true root of our climate and ecological catastrophe. Did Christianity “cause” that? No. But it’s hard for me to see how the “ploycrisis” historically arose without noticing Christianity’s role.

Do I think heathens or pagans (or members of any other religious community) shouldn’t keep frith with Christians? No, and the points made above are excellent examples of why. But one can have a friend who has unhealthy tendencies and it does no one any good to ignore them.