Escaping the Echo Chamber

By Kent Fillinger

“We are starting to enjoy hatred.” That was the headline of a June 2024 Wall Street Journal article written by conservative commentator Peggy Noonan. She continued, “We talk in our country about political polarization and it’s real: We’re split into a thousand pieces within two big camps of left and right. . . . But what I’m seeing is that we don’t mind disliking each other now. We like it. That’s the new thing, that we’re enjoying the estrangement.” She identified some reasons why people are enjoying political hatred now, one of which was “because it lets them feel immersed in a warm bath of righteousness.” 

Political commentator Bill Maher, writing in a May 2024 Wall Street Journal article entitled, “Red and Blue Americans Can’t Just Go Their Separate Ways,” noted, “We’ve grown less religious (in America), but that’s because politics has become our religion. We used to pray for the nation. Now each side prays the other doesn’t destroy the nation.” He continued by saying that our country has reached the point where “your fellow citizens who support the other party aren’t just wrong, they’re heretics who have to be destroyed.” 

Maher added, “If we want to stop this descent into civil war, we have to stop hating each other. . . . When people despise each other, it doesn’t matter what the ‘issues’ are. When someone hates you, they don’t hear the specifics of what you’re saying, let alone want to work with you on an ‘issue.’” 

The Spillover Effect on Christians and Churches  

This spirit of hatred has infiltrated Christian ranks as well. A March 2024 research study by Infinity Concepts and Grey Matter Research titled, “Evangelicals in the Public Arena: Understanding Their Political, Moral and Social Views,” found that “evangelical conservatives are far more likely than liberals to see the other side in a highly negative light. They are more likely to call their ideological opposites misguided, immoral, uninformed, radical, socialist, anti-Christian, anti-American, evil, and the enemy. . . . The more people lean toward one side or the other, the more likely they are to hurl invectives at those who are on the opposite end of the spectrum.” 

The report concluded that “assuming someone with different political beliefs opposes everything you stand for can make it much easier to see that person as an enemy. And make no mistake, some evangelicals see the ‘other side’ as just that. The question that must be asked is whether this kind of rhetoric aimed at any group—including some fellow believers—is more helpful or harmful.” 

Carey Nieuwhof shared this powerful truth that we need to take to heart as Christians and church leaders: “You can’t judge someone and love them at the same time. If you judge people who are different than you, you’ll forever struggle to reach new people.” 

Martin Luther King Jr. said,  

You can’t see straight when you hate. You can’t walk straight when you hate. You can’t stand upright. Your vision is distorted. There is nothing more tragic than to see an individual whose heart is filled with hate. He comes to the point that he becomes a pathological case. . . . For the person who hates, the true becomes false and the false become true. That’s what hate does. You can’t see right. The symbol of objectivity is lost. Hate destroys the very structure of the personality of the hater. . . . So, Jesus says love, because hate destroys the hater as well as the hated.  

Insights into Evangelicals 

The “Evangelicals in the Public Arena” study discovered that when asked to describe their political beliefs, 63% of evangelicals call themselves politically conservative, including 24% who say they are very conservative. Twenty-four percent (24%) believe they are right in the middle between conservative and liberal. Just 12% consider themselves to be liberal, including only three percent who call themselves very liberal.  

Interestingly, the study determined there is no difference among liberals, moderates, and conservatives when it came to spiritual engagement practices such as daily Bible reading, weekly church and small group attendance, and daily prayer. 

Where the Path Diverges 

Social media use is similar for evangelicals regardless of their political affiliation, but who they trust most for national news differs dramatically. The “Evangelicals in the Public Arena” study identified the top news sources for each group: 

A report posted on conversation.com noted that almost two-thirds of white evangelicals said they watched Fox News at some point over the previous 24 hours. The least likely group to watch CNN was white evangelicals, at just 23%. 

This is one area where the reality of echo chambers emerges. Mike Woodruff wittily noted, “When CNN uses the term media they mean Fox, and when Fox uses the term media they mean CNN. But neither seems to use it of themselves.”  

An echo chamber is an environment where the same opinions are repeatedly voiced and promoted, so that people are not exposed to opposing views. Echo chambers also extend to online groups where people with similar opinions on any topic share their voices and validate each other. 

Mike Woodruff wisely noted, “It’s time to realize that we’re all in an echo chamber. And, alas, it’s one that makes us feel that we are not in one.” But we need to realize that the digital news we see is being curated by a complicated math equation designed to show us what all our previous news clicks have told it we want to see.” 

The Henry Ford Health website (www.henryford.com, Feb. 11, 2022) reported Dr. Lisa MacLean as saying, “Echo chambers can create misinformation and distort our perspectives, making it difficult to consider opposing viewpoints and discuss complicated topics. . . . Echo chambers can lead to narrow-minded thinking; they may also increase social and political polarization and extremism.” Moreover, the website explained, “Echo chambers perpetuate what psychologists call confirmation bias, which is the tendency to favor information that reinforces existing beliefs.  Unfortunately, we all have confirmation bias. . . . If we accept the fact that confirmation bias exists, we can make a conscious effort to be more curious about opposing views and really listen to what others have to say.” 

We need to remember that just because we want something to be true doesn’t make it fact. Morgan Housel said, “The more you want something to be true, the more likely you are to believe a story that overestimates the odds of it being true.” 

It’s a Matter of Trust 

An echo chamber is what happens when you don’t trust people from the other side. C. Thi Nguyen said, “An echo chamber doesn’t destroy their members’ interest in the truth; it merely manipulates whom they trust and changes whom they accept as trustworthy sources and institutions. . . . Members of an echo chamber are not irrational but misinformed about where to place their trust.” 

To escape an echo chamber, you first need to be exposed and open to hearing or receiving competing viewpoints. Nguyen added, “The way to break an echo chamber is not to wave ‘the facts’ in the faces of its members. It is to attack the echo chamber at its root and repair that broken trust and restore trust in some outside voices.” 

Our Next Steps 

Recognize how hard it is to keep yourself in check. The late Rich Mullins summed it up well when he sang, “Lord, it’s hard to turn the other cheek, Hard to bless when others curse you, Oh Lord, it’s hard to be a man of peace, Lord, it’s hard, oh it’s hard, You know it’s hard to be like Jesus.” But that’s what we’re called to be—like Jesus.  

Watch your words in public and in private. Proverbs 18:21 says, “The tongue can bring death or life” (NLT). Therefore, it’s important to realize that if you post or repost divisive news stories (especially if the source is questionable or the information is false) on social media, rehash political tropes or cliches you heard on cable news, share politically charged emails or memes with friends or fellow church leaders, make throwaway comments about either political party in general conversations, lessons or sermons, or advocate for a particular candidate or political party, then you’re running the risk of annoying some and alienating others—especially non-Christians—and you’re also diminishing your evangelistic witness and devaluing your credibility as a Christian or spiritual leader.  

Assume goodwill toward everyone. Seth Godin wrote, “There’s often doubt. Giving someone the benefit of that doubt enables us to move forward, and that requires us to realize that our doubt might be unfounded. Systems that assume goodwill create possibility, connection, and utility far easier than those that don’t.” Remember that we’re all changing, learning, and growing, so let’s give permission to ourselves and others to adjust positions. Peggy Noonan said, “We have to ease up, we have to slow down our desire to look down, we have to be a little more generous, we have to stop enjoying our hate so much.” 

I want to conclude by echoing the closing words of the “Evangelicals in the Public Arena” study: “Let us recognize that our differences need not divide us but rather serves as catalysts for deeper engagement, empathy, and mutual respect. May we forge a path forward with a spirit of humility and grace that transcends ideological divides and seeks to strengthen the bonds of fellowship within the Church, even in the face of disagreement.” 

Kent E. Fillinger is President of 3:STRANDS Consulting and Regional Vice President (OH & MI) with Christian Financial Resources. 

Author: Kent E. Fillinger

Kent E. Fillinger serves as president of 3:STRANDS Consulting, Indianapolis, Indiana, and regional vice president (Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan) with Christian Financial Resources.