Sen. Ted Cruz Links Christianity And Paris Attacks At Recent Anti-Gay Rally


Republican presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz has recently claimed that the terrorist attacks that took place in Paris on Friday were actually an attack on Christianity.

On Saturday, Cruz invited various anti-gay activists to South Carolina in order to attend a “Rally for Religious Liberty” that he was throwing at Bob Jones University.

Cruz deviated from his usual topic of the sinful LGBT community long enough to make the bizarre claim that the attacks on Paris are the most recent in a long line of attacks on Christianity. Despite no religious buildings being targeted in Friday’s attacks, Cruz stated that the devastating events provided evidence that Christians are a target of hate.

Before the rally, which was attended by various anti-gay activists, such as notorious Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council, Cruz told reporters that it is in fact Christians who are the most marginalized of all social groups and who should receive additional constitutional protection.

Although Friday’s attacks targeted Parisian nightlife and culture, Cruz pitched this notion to the hundreds of evangelicals who had gathered to see him and others speak at the event.

Despite discriminating against various marginalized groups of people, Cruz asked for “unity for the people of America” during a prayer he gave at the rally and stated that Islamic extremists are “persecuting Christians.”

Cruz tried to use the terrorist attacks on Paris to demonstrate that Christians are the most ostracized in society in a bid to further his argument about a lack of religious freedom in America. Cruz recently claimed that the media “belittles” any stories about religious persecution and even stated that this is supported by the current president,  saying that:

“[T]he Obama administration has demonstrated a particular antipathy for Christians.


In his recent speech at the rally, Cruz tied together what has been referred to as his take-no-prisoners foreign policy, with his faith-driven domestic agenda in a bid to reach out to more people in the evangelic community, as the success of his presidential campaign is heavily reliant on them.

Featured image by DonkeyHotey via Flickr, available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial license.

Natasha is a freelance writer, feminist, and coffee addict based in the UK. She has a Master's degree in Literary Studies and specialised in Gender Studies throughout her time at University. She spends her free time collecting tattoos and dying her hair bizarre colours, much to her girlfriend's dismay.