FACT CHECK: Has The ADL Listed Christianity As An Extremist Group?

A post shared on Facebook claims the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has listed Christianity as an extremist group in its Glossary of Extremism and Hate.

Verdict: Misleading

The ADL lists Christian Identity, a religious sect of the white supremacist movement, in its Glossary of Extremism and Hate. A spokesperson for the ADL denied the organization lists Christianity in its glossary via an email to Check Your Fact.

Fact Check:

The ADL recently hosted a “Concert Against Hate” at Washington D.C.’s Kennedy Center, according to the Times of Israel. The concert featured performances from Israeli singer Eden Golan and Sia, the outlet reported.

The Facebook post claims the ADL lists Christianity as an extremist group in its Glossary of Extremism and Hate. “The ADL has listed Christianity as an Extremism, Terrorism & Bigotry group,” the post reads. The post includes a screenshot of the ADL’s glossary.

The claim is misleading. A closer look at the screenshot included in the Facebook post indicates the entry refers to Christian Identity, not Christianity.

“Christian Identity is a religious sect and one of the longstanding segments of the white supremacist movement in the United States. It emerged in its modern form in the 1960s. Its beliefs center on a racist and antisemitic variation of British-Israelism or Anglo-Israelism, which teaches that people of European ancestry are actually descended from the so-called “Lost Tribes” of ancient Israel and are thus the chosen people of God,” the ADL’s glossary entry about the Christian Identity movement states.

“They are not Christian fundamentalists, who strongly oppose their views,” the last sentence of the same glossary entry reads. (RELATED: No, Bill Ackman Did Not Make A Post Suggesting Potential Bluesky Acquisition)

Likewise, Check Your Fact found no credible news reports to support the claim. Actually, the opposite is true. On Nov. 22, Reuters reported the claim is misleading, indicating the ADL’s glossary entry refers to the Christian Identity movement, not Christianity.

Furthermore, a spokesperson for the ADL denied the organization lists Christianity in its glossary via an email to Check Your Fact.

“Online disinformation purveyors are claiming that ADL has listed ‘Christianity’ as an extremist group on our website. This outrageous claim is entirely false. The article in question refers only to a single longstanding racist and antisemitic religious sect known as ‘Christian Identity,’ which is widely acknowledged as extremist,” the same spokesperson said.