Science never set itself up as the enemy of religion. On the contrary, religion decided that science was the enemy over a thousand years ago, and has stuck with it ever since.
Giordano Bruno (1548-1600) was neither the first nor the last scientist to be burnt at the stake by the church simply for stating scientific facts that today are held to be obvious.
Galileo was a passionate Christian, but would have met the same end if he hadn't recanted in court and admitted that the Sun rotated around the Earth.
Now with COVID we see it happening all over again, with American evangelicals and their Christian government denying the very truth of the germ theory of disease, and not just refusing to help, but actively preventing scientists and medical professionals from doing their jobs.
This has resulted in a literal genocide of people of color, with a hundred thousand dead, and a lot more to come.
America has seen at least a quarter million dead from COVID and given that the current Administration is widely supported by American Christians and talks endlessly about it, you can hardly blame people for not wanting to be associated with the idea.
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Religious people constantly see themselves as under attack, and yet every single President in American history and 99%+ of the Senators and Representatives have been Christian. Can you name even one American political figure who is or was an atheist?
Christians claim to worship a God of Love, but it has escaped no one's attention that America's most prominent Christians talk endlessly about hate and cruelty, are obsessed with money and power, and deny the truth of science when it's convenient to them.
You can't expect people to respond positively when you call for more "faith". Faith is what got America into the wretched place it is in today. For most of America and the world, Donald Trump is the public face of American faith.
Respect is not automatic - it needs to be earned. The childish lies told and gloating atrocities committed by prominent Christians has made American Christianity anathema amongst rational and compassionate humans. You can't just tell us to respect you!
I grew up with Christianity. My mother was not doctrinary at all and yet lived by Christ's teachings of love, compassion, humility, and the dignity of all humans.
If my mother had written your article, she might have said something like this:
"You have every reason to be angry.
"I completely understand why young people are enraged at Christianity, because Christianity as a whole has failed America completely.
"Pretending we aren't implicated is a cop-out. We should be using this as a reason to live better lives as an example, and to speak out even more strongly against injustices everywhere, particularly when they are being committed by our fellow Christians."
