If you log in to social media on a day-to-day basis, you see some pretty outlandish statements. Today Bill O'Reilly continued his crusade to keep Christianity alive in the United States and attempt to understand why its numbers are waning. He has found a new scapegoat — rap music, because as he claims, "The rap industry, for example, often glorifies depraved behavior, and that sinks into the minds of some young people — the group that is most likely to reject religion." He makes the claim, without any evidence, "that people of faith are being marginalized by a secular media and pernicious entertainment."
Reilly then turns to the Hollywood, who has seen this script before, blaming them for being immoral.
"Also, many movies and TV shows promote non-traditional values. If you are a person of faith, then the media generally thinks you are a loon."
His statements come as a new Pew Research Center Poll revealed that the number of Christians in the United States had dipped from 78 percent to 70 percent and non-affiliated individuals jumped to 22 percent from 16 percent.
The numbers are even higher for young people age 19–34 who are nearly 20 percent less likely to be affiliated then those above 70 years old.
The idea he is trying to connect is that young people listen to hip-hop. Then hip-hop then leads them astray with a bad moral compass as a result of its depraved lyrics. Those infected with hip-hop will then turn away from religion and change the United States for the worse.
Nice try O'Reilly — maybe next time.
Mr. O'Reilly and rap music have had a long and checkered history. He has blamed the genre on a whole for a whole litany of topics including leading youth astray, hateful speech and being disrespectful towards women. He has been feuding with hip-hop and rappers for well over a decade.
I think Cam'ron has a message for you Mr. Reilly.
