Christophobia

Christophobia is the fear, hatred, or prejudice against and/or  itself.

Causes
Christophobia, like other forms of prejudice, may have been formed by indoctrination, experience, or both.

Experience
Some people are afraid of Christians because of a bad experience with Christian people. For example, they were abused by parents or guardians who happened to be Christians, or forced to practice a strict lifestyle to worship Jesus, the Christian God. They were also victims of bullies who happened to denounce them for being too sinful, or are LGBT people who are targeted by Christian bullies.

They are also angry at Christian leaders who do corrupt and harmful things, like politicians, church leaders, and extremists. They also associate Christianity with historical atrocities, like the Crusades, the Inquisition, the European conquests, and the Salem Witch Trials.

Indoctrination
Others were taught ideas that depicted Christians negatively. Stereotypes of Christian people include "they are backwards, they are hateful, they always condemn everyone to hell if they don't worship Jesus, they are homophobic", and so on.

In some non-Christian societies like North Korea, Christians are sometimes seen as spies who supported foreign enemies. Some groups also view Christians with much hate, due to missionaries attacking their religions, or the Christians being associated with foreign enemies: for example, Hindutva members (Hindu nationalists) hate Christians for attempting to force people to convert, while in some Muslim countries, Christians are associated with the United States, their enemy.

Symptoms
Christophobia can be seen by avoiding Christians, churches, Bibles, or even Christmas decorations.

In extreme cases, it can lead to outrigt hatred of Christians or their religion, or even bullying and violence.

Treatment
The best way to deal with Christophobia is through information. For those willing to get rid of Christophobia, one has to find out more about what are Christian people really like.

One can start with ordinary people by asking them questions about what is Christianity really like, whether is is really as "bad" as it seems.

If Christophobia gets too serious, one should go to a psychiatrist or a counsellor to help get rid of strong, hateful views.

Usage notes
In some parts of the United States and Western countries, some people consider criticism of religious extremism or ultra-traditional attitudes as attacks against Christianity.

It is important to distinguish between actual Christophobia against exaggerated complaints. Real Christophobia is something like "hates Christians, wants to beat up or kill Christians", while "complaining that this person abuses Christianity to attack people" is not Christophobia.

Extreme Christians and fundamentalists do not represent all Christian people.