Evangelical Christian Furries In The Spotlight As Viral Tweets Discuss Their Existence And Mission

An article in the Religion News Service written earlier this month about a group of evangelical Christians within the larger furry subculture has picked up steam on Twitter, with a variety of posters struggling to read it from their preferred partisan or cultural angle.

The article, written by Riley Farrell, describes a group of furries that call themselves the "Christian Furry Fellowship" and quotes many Furscience researchers (that is, social scientists who study furry culture) on the subject of religion among furries. According to current scholarship, up to three-quarters of furries report not being religious. The furry community also is deeply associated with queer culture and the counterculture. This places evangelical Christian furries, some of whom say they are against homosexuality, at odds with the larger community.

As a result, a large number of posters online expressed surprise at the mere existence of evangelical Christian furries.

Farrell's article is a larger summary of the status of Christianity in furry communities, but the part which most commentators seized on was a part at the end, which explained that many of the furries interviewed for the story chose to remain anonymous, "fearing doxxing from within the largely secular furry community for their Christian identity and ostracization from their professional lives for their furry hobby."

On its website, the Christian Furry Fellowship describes itself as a "mission" to the furry community, intending to spread the gospel at furry conventions and in furry-oriented online spaces. The group's manifesto describes the emotional draw of the furry community (it is "home") and of Christianity (it represents a desire to "live with such love that it can’t be mistaken for anything else"). Many in the community spoke up in defense of it.

Influencers like the controversial political activist Jack Posobiec tried to capitalize on the moment through reaction posts on social media.

Others simply marveled at the diversity and variety of human social practices and groups.

Some also expressed a general hostility to the idea of evangelical furries.

Others reflected on what the public response to the article indicated about the perception of evangelicals.