A group of prominent Christian organizations sent a letter to Politico demanding an apology over comments made by one of its reporters, Heidi Przybyla, that they say smeared and demonized Christianity.
On MSNBC, Przybyla discussed “Christian nationalists” influencing the GOP and said their rights come from God, not government, which some men then use to push policy agendas like banning abortion.
Przybyla asked, “The base of the Republican Party has shifted, right?”
She continued, “Remember when Trump ran in 2016, a lot of the mainline evangelicals wanted nothing to do with the divorced, you know, real estate mogul who had cheated on his wife with a porn star and all of that. So what happened was he was surrounded by this more extremist element. They’re gonna hear words like ‘Christian nationalism,’ like the ‘New Apostolic reformation.’ These are groups that you should get very, very schooled on because they have a lot of power in Trump’s circle.”
Przybyla explained, “The thing that unites them as Christian nationalists – not Christians, by the way, because Christian nationalist is very different – is that they believe that our rights as Americans, as all human beings, don’t come from any earthly authority. They don’t come from Congress, they don’t come from the Supreme Court. They come from God. The problem with that is that they are determining- man, men, it is men are determining what God is telling them,”
She added, “And in the past, that so-called natural law is, you know, it’s a pillar of Catholicism, for instance. It has been used for good in social justice campaigns, Martin Luther King evoked it in talking about civil rights, but now you have an extremist element of conservative Christians who say that this applies specifically to issues including abortion, gay marriage, and it’s going much further than that.”
Christian leaders took issue with Przybyla appearing unaware the Declaration of Independence says rights come from God, and that she smeared all Christians.
The Christian groups wrote in a letter, “As a National Investigative Correspondent for Politico, Ms. Przybyla is charged with reporting accurately on American government, politics, and law. It is deeply disturbing, therefore, that she appeared unaware of the opening of the Declaration of Independence or to its references of ‘the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God.’”
Their letter continued, “Equally concerning is Ms. Przybyla’s smearing of the Christian faith reflected in her comments. Her statements constituted an attempt to spread misinformation about Christians by creating the perception that they hold unique beliefs that pose a distinct and, in her words ‘extremist,’ threat to our country.”
The religious leaders wrote, “Setting aside the inaccuracy of her commentary, she was manifestly trying to demonize the Christian community and sow fear through propaganda. Przybla’s attacks on God as the source of our dignity and rights are also a direct attack on the unifying call of the civil rights movement, including Martin Luther King Jr., who reminded us of our common creed, which grounded human dignity and rights explicitly in a creator God, that no government has a right to take away. Her public platform and ability to reach millions makes this case even more disturbing.”
The letter concluded, “Rhetoric like Ms. Przybyla’s, which demonizes religious groups, is profoundly dangerous. It can motivate disturbed individuals who may be predisposed to commit violence against faith communities… Ms. Przybyla’s comments reflect a pervasive bias that not only prevents her from accurately and fairly covering issues related to religion and religious communities, but Politico’s silence suggests it condones these attacks on people of faith. Ms. Przybyla owes people of faith an apology, as does her employer. Politico must confirm that such offensive comments have no place within its organization.”
They said her comments could incite violence against religious groups.
The letter called on Politico to apologize and make clear such attacks have no place in their organization.
Przybyla defended her remarks as being taken out of context, saying she meant some men interpret natural law for political ends versus others who see rights as pursuing happiness.
Politico did not comment on the letter.
