The Rise of 'Toxic Empathy': How MAGA Christianity Vilifies Compassion
If asked to list examples of sins, most individuals would likely not include empathy. However, in recent years, assaults on empathy have transitioned from fringe arguments into mainstream right-wing Christian dialogue. Conservative commentator Allie Beth Stuckey published a book in 2024 titled Toxic Empathy. The subsequent year saw the release of The Sin of Empathy by right-wing theologian Joe Rigney. Shortly after, billionaire Elon Musk proclaimed on Joe Rogan's podcast that the fundamental weakness of Western civilization is empathy.
Defining Empathy in Christian Context
Empathy is typically defined as the capacity to understand and share the feelings and perspectives of other people. It is a skill that many Christians have historically viewed as aligning with the teachings and example of Jesus Christ. Yet, proponents of the toxic empathy critique now contend that empathy can obscure moral judgment or be exploited to advance policies they deem unbiblical.
This evolving perspective on empathy in the era of MAGA Christianity alarms numerous religious scholars and advocates. In the last several years, especially within MAGA-aligned Christian spaces, I've watched empathy get rebranded as weakness, stated Malynda Hale, executive director of the Christian nonprofit The New Evangelicals. In choosing to care about the lived experiences of others ― whether they are immigrants, LGBTQ people, Black communities, anyone outside the white evangelicals' space and ideological lane ― people are framed as being 'too emotional,' 'unbiblical,' or even 'compromising your faith.'
The Demonization of Empathy
The ascent of Christian nationalism has witnessed empathy demonized as sinful, dangerous, weak, and even a tool of liberal manipulation. Appeals for compassion toward marginalized groups are increasingly met with defensiveness or hostility. With the popularity of books like those mentioned above driving this blatant move away from Christ's message of radical love, justice and preferential treatment of the oppressed, MAGA Christians are able to sit comfortably in their bigotry as their neighbors are kidnapped and murdered in the streets, remarked Bible scholar Mattie Mae Motl.
Christ-like empathy comes at a cost, and this is not a cost that MAGA Christians are willing to pay, Motl added. She posits that the vilification partly stems from empathy fostering a compassion that cannot be controlled or commodified by profit-driven economic systems. I first noticed empathy specifically demonized during the 2024 election, but it's just a repackaging of a phrase that was popular when I was a conservative Christian: 'love the sinner, hate the sin,' said April Ajoy, author of Star-Spangled Jesus: Leaving Christian Nationalism and Finding A True Faith.
She recalled learning this framework concerning the LGBTQ+ community. It gives justification to Christian parents to abandon their queer kids without feeling guilty, Ajoy explained. It also gives other Christians permission to bully LGBTQ people and work to take their rights away in the name of 'tough love.' But hate wrapped in piety is still hate.
Empathy in Christian Theology
In today's political climate ― particularly amid distressing news surrounding immigration enforcement ― critics argue the anti-empathy rhetoric signifies a sharp departure from Christianity's New Testament foundation. Christianity is a faith built on compassion for the other, Motl emphasized. It is the heart of Christ's message. The greatest commandment, according to Jesus, is that we 'love our neighbor as ourselves.' Without empathy, we are only able to love the neighbor who looks, thinks and believes like us.
She referenced the parable of the Good Samaritan, where Jesus illustrates neighborly love using a Samaritan example. Samaritans were a people group historically despised and rejected among the Jewish communities that Jesus grew up in, Motl noted. The message is clear: you are to love and fight for your neighbor, even when they look, think or believe differently than you. Scripture also portrays Jesus as empathetic. Motl quoted Hebrews 4:15: For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses.
The Bible shows us that Christ's work of salvation would be nothing without his divine and ultimate work of empathy, she asserted. This empathy was not neutral or passive. Instead, Christ's empathy got him executed by the state ― not unlike Alex Pretti and Renee Nicole Good. Christ-like empathy comes at a cost, and this is not a cost that MAGA Christians are willing to pay. Ajoy perceives the doctrine of the Incarnation as another reflection of Christianity as a fundamentally empathetic theology.
In Jesus Christ, God enters into human vulnerability and suffering, she said. The Gospels repeatedly depict Jesus as emotionally responsive to the pain of others, most notably in John 11:35 ― 'Jesus wept.' Romans 12:15, which commands believers to 'rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep,' further underscores empathy as a normative Christian practice. She highlighted Jesus as a figure who stood with the outcast, not with the oppressors.
Why Empathy Is Targeted
It's so alarming to see so many MAGA Christians demonizing empathy today, Ajoy remarked. Empathy is frequently depicted as a moral liability that threatens political loyalty. If they can get their followers to believe it's toxic to care about immigrant families being ripped apart, then it's easier to continue cheering on the administration they claim came from God. She believes the far-right Christian movement is targeting empathy as a defense mechanism.
They have no excuse for supporting the inhumane treatment of our immigrant neighbors while claiming to follow a Christ who said, 'I was a stranger and you did not welcome me ... and what you do to the least of these, you do to me,' Ajoy elaborated. So, they deflect instead. Labeling empathy spiritually dangerous is a method to keep congregants tethered to MAGA Christian ideology.
It trains regular churchgoers to keep their distance from those outside their small community, Ajoy continued. If you never meet a trans person, it's easier to believe all trans people are evil. Because it's really hard to demonize someone when you're close enough to see their humanity. And once the 'other' is humanized, a decent person would condemn their inhumane treatment. 'Toxic empathy' keeps well-meaning Christians from loving the neighbors Jesus called us to love.
Consequences of Vilifying Empathy
Discouraging empathy leads to apathy, which leads to the approval of inhumane horrors, Ajoy warned. Moral blindness is the direct result of discouraging empathy. We see this today in the unwavering loyalty MAGA Christians have extended to Trump, whose policies frequently stand in direct contradiction to the teachings of Jesus. Instead of standing with the marginalized, adherents of MAGA Christianity appear to have chosen alignment with the powerful.
As empathy is suppressed, emotional callousness is reframed as moral strength, and bigotry is reinterpreted as faithfulness, Ajoy observed. Within Christian communities, condemning empathy distorts the character of God, severing divine justice from divine compassion. It also undermines the command to love our neighbor, where people become issues to solve instead of humans to love. Prioritizing self-interest and political movements over compassion risks eroding humanity.
Empathy is not optional in a faith that claims to be centered on love, Hale stressed. Love requires understanding and humility. Love requires stepping into someone else's perspective, even when it's uncomfortable. The more people choose to villainize empathy, the more risk losing the opportunity to live in a just compassionate world. This loss is evident in contemporary news headlines and the cognitive dissonance in public responses.
People are looking away and ignoring current events to avoid feeling moved, said Tia Levings, a former Christian fundamentalist and author of A Well-Trained Wife: My Escape from Christian Patriarchy. They're insisting they 'aren't political' to avoid being engaged citizens. They're 'hardening their hearts,' defiant and unfeeling. They're reframing what it means to be called 'Christian' because their platform has so little to do with Jesus and what it means to follow Christ's example.
Theological Shifts and Power Dynamics
The changing views on empathy both reflect and originate from what Levings identifies as a major theological shift in evangelical churches and seminaries from 2000 onward. Scripturally, it's Jesus who fulfills compassion and empathy, moving the hard lines of Old Testament law to soften into the fruits of the spirit ― love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, gentleness, kindness, faithfulness and self-control, she explained. But when churches and seminaries moved towards reformed theology and Calvinist doctrine, that came with a return to Old Testament law.
She cited fundamentalists like Doug Wilson and John MacArthur, who influenced congregations to view empathy as weakness. This aligns with theonomy ― the belief that Old Testament biblical law should apply to modern society. Jesus is too liberal, too socialist, too forgiving, Levings commented. Most importantly, Jesus's compassion is at odds with the political power sought by the religious right. They prefer the ten commandments, harsh sentences, vanquishing so-called enemies and a militaristic stance in their culture war against science, progress and growth.
Faith is holding a line, not feeling moved to comfort pain or see someone's humanity, Levings added. Branding empathy as toxic serves both ideological and institutional functions by safeguarding existing power structures. MAGA-aligned pastors and influencers have their livelihoods on the line, Ajoy noted. If they admitted they were wrong about Trump or started condemning his administration, they'd lose their pulpits, platforms and community.
Real-World Implications
The real-world consequences are severe and sometimes lethal. Sufferers can not count on the Christian community to relieve their suffering, because they're obeying a dictator rather than living like Christ and seeking to relieve suffering, Levings stated. Another consequence is that democracy is weakened, and our religious freedoms are stripped as we move into a Christian theocracy that has claimed to punish, suppress, legislate, imprison and vanquish those who don't agree with them.
Much anti-empathy rhetoric aims to control women. Levings observed that when federal immigration officers detained a preschooler and allegedly used him as bait to capture family members, some of the most vocal critics were mothers. The Christian patriarchy views empathy and compassion as feminine weaknesses, and less masculine, making this part of the overall gender distinction they claim makes men and women different from one another, she said.
Women as a voting bloc also endanger the patriarchy's grip on political power. This press against empathy runs parallel to other attempts to marginalize women's power, such as repealing the 19th Amendment, removing women from professional roles and programs and changing divorce laws so that we can't leave marriages. Many theologians emphasize that humans are made in God's image and Christians are called to imitate Christ, who treated the poor and oppressed with dignity.
Be wary of those flaunting their Christianity instead of living it out, Ajoy advised. She pointed to White House worship services and loud declarations that religion is back as showy demonstrations of faith without caring for the poor, the widow, the orphan, the immigrant, the single parent, etc. As the Bible notes, faith without works is not true faith. These are an example of the religious hypocrites Jesus condemned in Matthew 15 ― 'These people honor me with their lips but their hearts are far from me,' Ajoy concluded. It appears to me that if MAGA Christians lived in Bible times, they would say Jesus had toxic empathy when he healed people without health care, when he fed people who didn't earn it or when he forgave and loved the adulterous woman instead of judging her. To have empathy is holy, not toxic.
