Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Christian persecution complex


 * The following discussion is an archived debate of the proposed deletion of the article below. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review).  No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was keep. AfD is not meant for cleanup, and while issues with the article have been demonstrated, there is certainly no consensus that said issues are serious enough to require deleting this and starting from scratch. Further discussion on addressing content issues is best kept to the talk page. Vanamonde (talk) 09:38, 11 April 2018 (UTC)

Christian persecution complex

 * – ( View AfD View log  Stats )

I don't think this is really a recognised phenomenon, and the whole article seems to be WP:Synthesis from beginning to end. Pepper Beast   (talk)  01:02, 3 April 2018 (UTC)
 * Note: This discussion has been included in the list of Christianity-related deletion discussions.  MT Train Talk 10:25, 3 April 2018 (UTC)


 * Comment - There's probably a notable topic here, but it's not clear that it should be "Christian persecution complex". That term, which includes the psychological term persecution complex seems fairly specific. There are also a lot of sources, however, on the "War on Christians" (parent topic of the War on Christmas?) and/or "Christian persecution" (in the sense meant by this article) is a myth. I see a lot of sources with inconsistent terminology, and not as many scholarly sources as I'd want to see -- especially to use a term like "persecution complex". It's also not clear that this couldn't be covered under persecution of Christians, although it would obviously be kind of out of place there. &mdash; Rhododendrites  talk \\ 14:32, 3 April 2018 (UTC)
 * Comment - I agree that some Christians unreasonably believe that they are somehow persecuted. The imagined War on Christmas is a prime example. But it's not the mental health condition that this article sets it up to be, and treating it as such is far, far from encyclopedic. The terminology is inappropriate, as is the anti-Christian tone. The subject should probably be covered in Christian privilege and maybe persecution of Christians.    Pepper Beast    (talk)  22:44, 4 April 2018 (UTC)


 * KeepThe term is not Synthesis. Even if it was Synthesis, it wouldn't qualify for deletion as per WP:Deletion policy. No reason is cited for being Synthesis. There is nowhere combined material so as to reach conclusions. The term is not original research as reliable, published sources exist. It’s being used in Academia by university professors and other scholars. Prof Castelli Elizabeth wrote extensively on the subject., . At the article's page, one can find more published reliable sources. Of course it is not a mental condition, as it has been argued in the talk page of the article, but that is a subject we should discuss at the talk page. The term war on Christmas has a different narrative. It describes a modern debate whereas the Christian Persecution Complex describes a notion among many conservative Christians. Conserning the argument of the article being moved somewhere else, that condradicts the "syntesis claim" because if it is synthesis in this article, it would still be sythesis in another article. Nevertheless, it is not synthesis. Τζερόνυμο (talk) 13:42, 6 April 2018 (UTC)

ps-I apologize for the delayed respond, but I was not informed of the proposal. Τζερόνυμο (talk) 13:47, 6 April 2018 (UTC)
 * Delete, its a neologism. Szzuk (talk) 21:58, 9 April 2018 (UTC)
 * The term Persecution complex describes a psychiatric condition so the article is called "Christians with a mental problem", refs or not I can't see widespread acceptance of this term. Szzuk (talk) 07:52, 10 April 2018 (UTC)
 * Comment The term has been around, at least since the 00' so is not a neologism. Even if it was, that wouldn't qualify for deletion. There is no connection to any Phychiatric condition. That is crystal clear on the refs, it is crystal clear at the text of the article. Maybe a clarification template would solve the issue. Τζερόνυμο (talk) 15:23, 10 April 2018 (UTC)


 * Keep There's some awfully strong support for this topic, starting with this 2014 article in The Atlantic: The Evangelical Persecution Complex; The theological and cultural roots of a damaging attitude in the Christian community and including this essay in which Timothy Larsen, McManis Professor of Christian Thought at Wheaton College, muses about the contemporary Christian persecution complex "A persecution complex is not a healthy thing"; moreover, it is a staple of conversation in liberal Christian places like Patheos: .E.M.Gregory (talk) 00:49, 10 April 2018 (UTC)
 * Delete as I have said in talk page this is clearly OR. The sources also seem to disagree in some places, proving that this term doesn't have a clearly decided meaning. Some parts of this article could be used somewhere else, for example in articles regarding Islamophobia or LGBT rights, but I don't think this can stand on its own as a seperate article. ΕρΚιλλ (talk) 18:38, 10 April 2018 (UTC)
 * Very few terms describing social phenomena have "decided meaning(s)", for that matter, "Christianity" is a term with fuzzy borders. More to the point, the article is well-sourced and while it stands in need of improvement, does not seem  to me to be an WP:ESSAY or OR. However, your are certainly correct to point out, as you do at talk, that this is an entirely separate thing from the actual persecution of Christians in the Muslim world, in China, and elsewhere. I am hoping that you  have a suggestion for a better name.  Perhaps there is another term being used for this phenomenon? E.M.Gregory (talk) 22:47, 10 April 2018 (UTC)


 * Examples of available sourcing: The Raw Story: Here’s why right-wing Christians believe they’re the most persecuted people in America; The Atlantic: [White Evangelicals Believe They Face More Discrimination Than Muslims Here’s why right-wing Christians believe they’re the most persecuted people in America]; Salon: The raging hypocrisy at the center of the Christian right’s persecution complex; Al Jazeera: The bitter tears of the American Christian supermajority; Why Christians — America’s most populous religious group — feel so victimized; CNSNews.com Do Christian Institutions Have a Right to Exist?.E.M.Gregory (talk) 22:47, 10 April 2018 (UTC)
 * Comment. I don't think anyone is arguing that Christian feelings of persecution don't exist.   Pepper Beast    (talk)  23:05, 10 April 2018 (UTC)
 * I brought these sources to show that the concept of a "persecution complex" among contemporary Christians is not SYNTH, they all came up on a quick gNews search of: "persecution complex" Christian.E.M.Gregory (talk) 23:38, 10 April 2018 (UTC)


 * Keep and Clarify There are a variety of sources pointing to "this" and even some of the resultant behavior, attitudes and beliefs of one who "has this." We just need to rewrite the intro or create a subsection acknowledging that "this" is a very real phenomena, people are talking about "this" and that "Christian Persecution Complex" is not so much a technical name as what some have called it. (I have begun to work on that btw) Beautiful article on a fascinating subject BTW. Sethie (talk) 23:43, 10 April 2018 (UTC)
 * Keep: topic has in depth coverage in multiple sources thus passes WP:GNG .– Lionel(talk) 05:35, 11 April 2018 (UTC)


 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.