The Idolatry of Outrage

I recently stumbled upon an Instagram account dedicated to advising Christian women what they should and shouldn’t think about therapy, empathy, cultural parenting advice, and, of course, the Lindsay Clancy case. The level of engagement on this person’s posts caught my attention, and thanks to the algorithm, my feed was soon filled with similar accounts from Christian women proclaiming their roots in “biblical motherhood” and exposing cultural lies through the truth of God’s Word.

On the surface, none of these accounts seemed problematic. But after doing some deeper digging (and way too much scrolling), I noticed a pattern. The more I noticed it, the more concerned I became.

The content creators who share divisive information boldly get approving comments and reshares. These creators package short, punchy statements that drive the reader’s brain to activation, and that activation drives followers to comment and commend the creator for being so “bold and brave.” 

Any comments that fall contrary to that person’s position aren’t met with thoughtfulness or reflection. They’re met with doubling down, even if the logic of the original position starts to break down, Scripture is used out of context, or double standards emerge.

I love the freedom of speech we Christians have in our country, and I love using social media to engage with various viewpoints and perspectives. However, here is my concern: while those with the strongest megaphones are heralded as “bold and brave,” there is little bravery in outrage for outrage’s sake. 

It seems many on social media have traded speaking the truth in love and being the light of the world (Matthew 5:14-16) for rage-baiting one-liners that drive the algorithm to rally like-minded followers in the echo chamber. As someone who’s passionate about mental health and wellness through a biblical lens, I question what this is doing to the brain, not to mention our connections with each other.

How Outrage Becomes Idolatry

As I’ve written before, Christians aren’t immune to the age of outrage. But thanks to its addictive nature, there’s a fine line between everyday outrage (such as “did you hear about that news story?”) and idolatry of outrage (spending excessive amounts of time posting and interacting with others on distressing, divisive topics). The more outraged a person presents, the more it feeds a dopamine loop in the brain.

Here’s what this looks like: 

• When your amygdala (your brain’s emotional reaction center) perceives a threat (real or imaginary) or is triggered by a strong emotion, it requires a response. It then fires off a signal to the brain to produce dopamine, which is responsible for focus, motivation, learning, and reward. 
• Dopamine drives you to action (comment, scroll through someone’s account, or make a post). A simple like on a post or comment can feel rewarding (which is why you keep refreshing your notifications… or maybe that’s just me). 
• That reward might bring a momentary rush, a rush that the brain records in its memory so that next time you encounter similar information, you’re urged to respond even faster. 
• Dopamine’s feel-good effect then drives you to keep checking your phone for notifications, likes, or comments (even negative ones).

This loop is part of God’s intelligent design for humans that allows us to take action and live out our God-given purpose. It becomes problematic when that consistent activation of the amygdala, triggered by countless perceived threats, interferes with the activity of our frontal lobe, the portion of the brain that matures last and is responsible for careful decision-making, impulse control, and even empathy. It keeps us all in a reactive state, addicted to the chemical rush of the feedback loop. Addicted to the outrage itself.

God didn’t design us to be chronically activated, fueled by the next hit of dopamine. I know this because chronic activation creates a cascade of imbalances in the body—from blood sugar dysregulation to microbial imbalances in the gut microbiome, hormonal imbalances, and even heightened pain perception. Those are all what I call “dashboard alerts” in the body, designed to get our attention and slow down (which I write about extensively in my book).

Those dashboard alerts are also designed to point us toward a beautiful aspect of our God-created design, the concept of co-regulation with Christ. 

Co-regulation is a trendy phrase in the therapy world that is based on the concept of interpersonal neurobiology, the idea that our nervous systems (and state of stress) can be soothed by someone else with a calmer nervous system. We receive that state of calm from connection with the Lord and also from connection in a safe community of believers. On the flip side, our nervous systems can be more activated by someone else’s stressed-out nervous system.

Which brings us back full circle to the idea that collective outrage is not only addictive, fueling each other’s dopamine loops, but it has become an idol, even in Christian culture.

The dangers of outrage idolatry

Outrage becomes idolatry when it takes our focus off of the life-changing gospel of Jesus and draws our eyes toward content that hijacks our neurotransmitter function—and our peace. It puts our hope in the next notification, and it shapes our discouragement when that notification doesn’t satisfy our deeper longing for connection.

Outrage idolatry creates intentional division among believers and encourages disunity. And the Bible speaks clearly to how doing so is incompatible with his will for our lives: 

• Romans 12:18 encourages us to live at peace with others. 
• In Matthew 5:9, Jesus reminds us that the peacemakers will be blessed. 
• Ephesians 4:2-3 encourages us to bear with one another and encourage unity. 
• Colossians 3:13 uses the same Greek word, anechomai, for the phrase “bear with one another,” which can be translated as “to hold oneself up against something.” I believe it could indicate an urge to withstand the pressure of intentional division with patience and gentleness.

The most dangerous aspect of outrage idolatry in Christian culture is that it mistakes Pharisees for prophets, creating a false gospel of conformity to perfectionism and a works-based gospel. It postures with “I’m telling you what you’re doing wrong” and condemns anyone who isn’t trying hard enough to seek out God’s kingdom first. It leaves very little room for the nuance of wrestling with real-life stressors, like anxiety, depression, or even faith doubts. It leads to shame, and shame has no place in a grace-based gospel (Romans 8:1).

Please know that I don’t miss the irony that this may seem like an outraged article on outrage. My hope through writing this is not to add more charcoal to the flames of outrage culture. But I do want us to consider whether what we share brings light to the gospel of Jesus, proclaiming what is true and worthy of good repute (Philippians 4:8), or if it instead contributes to division and confusion, drawing others away from the hope found in the truth of God’s Word.

I take comfort in the fact that, as Ecclesiastes says, “there is nothing new under the sun.” The addiction to outrage isn’t new. Idolatry of outrage isn’t new either. However, as believers, we are called to something so much bigger, beyond the trending outrage today. 

It was the kindness of Jesus that led the lost to repentance, not his outrage. It was the way he taught the truth through love in action.

And we are called to model the same.