The Social Construction of Christian Persecution Through Quantification in International Religious Freedom Advocacy

Abstract A perception that Christianity is under attack has animated American political culture, shaping domestic politics that advance Christian political power as well as foreign policies aimed at protecting Christians worldwide. This paper examines how knowledge entrepreneurs within the international religious freedom advocacy field construct Christian persecution as a social problem through quantification efforts. Based on 18 months of ethnographic fieldwork in Washington, DC, I identify two discursive strategies through which knowledge entrepreneurs construct Christian persecution, specifically claiming that Christians are the most persecuted religious group worldwide. First, knowledge entrepreneurs misinterpret data by Open Doors on Christian persecution and the Pew Research Center on religious restriction through the process of omitting comparisons and conflating concepts. Second, knowledge entrepreneurs leverage the perceived objectivity of quantification to claim ideological neutrality. In a politically polarizing American context, these discursive strategies provide legitimacy to claims that Christians are the most persecuted religious group worldwide.