this post was submitted on 11 Nov 2023
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Hmm, that's a great point. It reminds me of fandom groups where most people are just trying to have fun and enjoy the fan content, but then a vocal group of unpleasant people will also designate themselves part of the fandom and damage its public image.
In that situation, the only thing that really seems to fix the public image of the group is having an authoritative leader (such as a creator of the original work, or a fandom conference organizer) making a public statement like "We do not condone persecution, we support the right to abortion, LGBT+ people are welcome at our fandom conference, etc".
Tying back to the original topic, maybe the equivalent would be if well-known Christian leaders were to make statements like that?
Probably not? A fandom has a "canon" with usually a creator who has an authorial intent. Religious leaders are more like secondary interpreters of a work something more akin to like youtube critics. Even if you got the heads to all agree on something if the rest of the group continues as they always have or disowns or changes their leader then people on the outaide looking in will still expand their definition to fit the best and worst of a thing. What people's personal experiences are with a group are also a formative thing.
Like for me my most regular everyday experience with visible Christianity is a guy near my train station with a megaphone and a Jesus paste board sign who I try not to make eye contact with or draw attention from because he has attacked other visibly queer people in the past. My definition of Christian is gunna include him just as much as like the Pope or the Sisters of Perpetual indulgence. The difference being that I don't really have to worry about what the Pope or the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence are doing.