It's not that a person's belief in god is controversial, it's that their expression of it typically has to be restricted and they call that oppression. For instance, proselytizing in the workplace will get you dragged into HR, but so will sexual harassment. The fact that both are unwanted is the specific reason for the reprimand is lost on the Christian. The outrage is in being treated similarly to the one accused of universally unacceptable behavior, while they consider their own behavior a service.

I agree with the change thing.

White conservative people have been in the driver's seat for so long, that equality feels like oppression.

Evangelical true believers feel that the absolute certainty of their dogma entitles them to intrude on the lives of others and to impose their dogma on others to further their cause. They feel that any attempts to limit their intrusive and abusive behavior is oppression. In other words, they really don't give a damned about us and our rights, nor do they feel bound by the U.S. Constitution.

Those who want to oppress others feel oppressed when they can't!

Because they have been told by their "shepherds.", "You are under attack. Send me enough money to buy a jet plane."

They get affirmation from their group. A feeling of persecution is a thread that runs through all of christendom from its very beginning and modern day christians feel a need to attach themselves to that thread. I am struck, and often privately offended, that every mealtime they "bless" their food with the assumption that a god gave it to them. There seems to be no regard for the millions of people in the world that die from starvation and the very idea that they have food because god thinks they deserve it directly implies that those who die of starvation do not deserve it.

Because, like any five year old or person who is mentally five years old, they are unable to tell the difference between being oppressed and not always getting what one wants.

Most people do not handle change well. Those that resist change are more conservative. Why can't they handle change, even though their own beliefs have changed from when they were children or from their parents view points? Some tragedy in their lives, being afraid of some thing (maybe death), some negative event(s) -- it may be a long term environmental impact (parents). How to change this? There is no way to change conservatives into liberals -- it must come from within. The same applies in reverse.

Ignorance! Stupid people have a real problem accepting where they are in life becuase of their own decisions, so they blame someone else, like minorities and people who have more than they do.Trump figured out how to tap into that.

My mother is the same way, conservative x-ian, complains that her rights are being taken away, people like her are being persecuted for their beliefs, etc. As a teenager I went to church frequently and other religious events. At many of these events the attitudes were the same, the religious were being persecuted. I think it has a lot do with the passages in their bible about early christianity being persecuted by the Romans, especially what happened to their savior. I believe that it creates a martyr syndrome that they fully, completely embrace and utilize to their advantage while acting as if it does not actually exist.

It is stated in their bible and part of their dogma that they will be persecuted, so that is just part of their shtick.

I live in a small farming town in SE Pa, so I have contact with a lot of Mennonites. Despite their religiousNess, they are unbelievably cruel to their animals, as are the Amish. Also, within a 1 mile radius there are 10 churches. Talk about in the thick of it! ?

Started with Reagan, evangelicals started taking over the party and changing the narrative. The new rule is it's never your fault. Its high taxes, the government, the atheists, another religion or just simply liberals. All of them were supposed to be millionaires by now.

I've come to believe it's more of a ploy or tactic they've used since childhood to get their own way. I now pounce on the opportunity to laugh at them and their pretend tears.

Simple, short answer?

Because society is growing beyond them and lessening their ability to oppress others.

Much like the nonexistent war on xmas, these are tactics used by the religious right/cults. They indoctrinate with the "them against us" dogma. Very effective with Republicons. Seriously, I do not understand how ANY atheist can support Drumpf.

Christians are fearful people who are afraid they will go somewhere that doesn't exist as told to them by the very rich pastors, so they do what they are told. In that way they are taken advantage of and have some feelings of oppression because there is no way out. Does that make sense?

As one who is from PA as well, I could assure anyone that the religious folks in my state are not oppressed.

I think it's because they think everybody should believe the way they do and maybe that's the way they can control and act like the victim

Christianity is founded on self persecution how could they behave any other way?

As Louis Black would say, I can't be kind about this. If people believe in stupendously delusional things and they try to convert others to their delusion, they just might meet with some well deserved kick back and not have the capacity to fathom why and be left with feeling oppressed.

I've encountered this for years, and I don't get it. Just because the world questions you, you're persecuted. Really. Just because others want equal rights you're persecuted. Fragile aren't they.

It's not that Christians are oppressed, it's that terrible, face-palm inducing, holiday churchgoing, bible cherry picking, narrow minded, ass hats like the lady you described are; and rightly so.

They're also oppressed by other Christians who'd most likely shorten my list to either misguided, or embarrassing. People like the lady you described are the ones that whenever they're speaking; one can feel the reverberation of the collective sighs in the room.

As Dylan Moran put it. "It's not that Americans are stupid, it's just that American stupid people sound more stupid than any other kind of stupid person."

To be the victim like freaking always since their great book teaches them they are the victims and everyone else are the bad guys.

It reminds me of the Goebbels philosophy. Goebbels who was Adolph Hitler’s propagandist believed if you just kept repeating the same thing often enough, even lies, then people would believe it. It was how the nazis got the German people to believe that what Hitler was doing was for their good and for the Fatherland. That is what the christian right are doing, they have said so often that they are oppressed that they are actually beginning to believe it themselves. They have to be challenged to show evidence of discrimination because of course they cant, in fact quite the reverse is true as they wield a disproportionate amount of power and influence in the USA compared to their numbers.