Why Evangelicals Fear PBS and NPR

The quiet power of public media in the culture of indoctrination.

photo Getty Images

“I warn you about your cousin; she's very liberal and could lead you astray," my mother frequently mentioned. My cousin had just come to our house with her NPR tote bag, and my mother considered her a danger to my spiritual health because of her deep engagement with independent ideas. Evangelicals aren’t as afraid of drag queens, critical race theory, or progressive politicians as they are of something more subtle, gradual, and significantly more undermining to their objectives: Public media.

And not just any media—PBS and NPR specifically.

You know, the shows with the soft-spoken narrators, the bedtime storybook voices, the tote bags. The ones your homeschool mom warned you about.

As an elder millennial and a Xennial, a proud member of the Oregon Trail generation, I remember PBS showcasing concerts from folk artists whose heyday was well behind them. But, of course, you could sign up to be a sponsor and receive a cool CD and a commemorative T-shirt. Operators are ready to take your call, with a camera zooming in on the operators answering imaginary phone calls. PBS included Wishbone and Ghost Writer (“he’s a ghost and he writes to us”) and Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?. PBS seemed harmless while growing up, and to most Americans, PBS and NPR represent mild, trustworthy corners of the media landscape. However, to the evangelical movement, they are viewed as dangerous. Why?

Because PBS and NPR don’t indoctrinate.
They inform.

And for authoritarian systems built on absolute control, information is always a threat.

Evangelicalism Relies on Narrative Control

Evangelicalism is a worldview based on controlled exposure, particularly in its fundamentalist and dominionist forms.

What you see.

What you read.

What you hear.

Everything is meticulously curated and filtered through a biblical worldview interpreted and endorsed by patriarchs, pastors, and influential political figures.

In that ecosystem, PBS and NPR are influential. They present facts without fear, showcase nuance, and amplify diverse voices alongside conflicting ideas.

And perhaps most damning of all: They don’t tell you what to believe.

That’s the problem. NPR and PBS encourage critical thinking, which leads to logic. Both are damning to the evangelical hierarchy.

PBS teaches a child about ancient civilizations without framing it around “how the flood impacted ancient civilization and the expansion of God’s Kingdom.” In my family, PBS wasn’t seen as a threat, aside from Mr. Rogers. When I was a toddler or preschool-aged kid, I preferred other programs. We had a Disney Channel subscription, and my mother cherished the quiet moments while I lost myself in the world of Pippi Longstocking. On the other hand, NPR had a different connotation for me, shaped by my home and church perspectives. My parents typically watched NBC's nightly news and local stations. Only in the mid-2000s did they begin tuning into FOX News, exclusively consuming conservative content. To summarize what I have heard over the years, NPR represented 'the voice of Godless women who don’t shave their pits or wear deodorant.' It was perceived as a space for feminist lesbians, promoting a lifestyle devoid of the gospel.

The narrative that was spun for me was far from reality, NPR allows a listener to consider the climate crisis, white supremacy, queer rights, global conflict—without assigning eternal consequences or declaring a war on “truth.”

Public media trusts its audience to think critically.
Evangelicalism trains its audience never to question.

Public Media Teaches Kids the One Skill Evangelicalism Fears Most

Curiosity.

If you grew up evangelical in the 90s, you remember being warned about “secular influences.”

That included:

• Sesame Street
  
  

• Arthur
  
  

• Reading Rainbow
  
  

• Mister Rogers
  
  

Liberal propaganda, they said. Indoctrination, they said.

But what those shows taught us was how to be kind.

How to be inclusive.

How to ask questions.

How to sit with differences and listen without panic.

How can we be human, not just holy?

That’s the real threat.

Because once a child learns they’re allowed to question—not just science and politics, but authority itself—they might start questioning God.

Or worse, they might start questioning those who claim to speak for Him.

Why Christian Nationalists Want to Defund NPR and PBS

It’s not just religious. It’s political.

Evangelical leaders, particularly those connected to Christian nationalism, dislike public media because they can’t control it.

It is not beholden to advertisers.

It is not designed to gain ratings through fearmongering.

It exists to inform, not manipulate.

That is why every conservative defunding proposal ultimately targets NPR and PBS.

Because you can’t push Christian nationalism when kids are learning about evolution instead of Genesis, or when adults are hearing about systemic racism instead of “sin nature.”

Public broadcasting acts as a reflection. For movements grounded in mythology, reflections are detrimental to their survival.

Why Evangelicals Always Target the Mildest Things First

The war on PBS isn’t just a culture war footnote.

It’s a strategy.

Control begins with censorship.

It starts by ridiculing gentle and meek individuals. Evangelicals think they have defined what it means to be meek. Their interpretation of meekness encompasses total authoritarian submission. When public broadcasting features content that contradicts their views, they mock it by labeling its creators as “snowflakes.” Evangelicals demonize the inquisitive. I draw from my own experience: when I began to question the cognitive dissonance surrounding me, it was seen as sinful and compared to aligning with a coercive or Jezebel spirit. Asking questions emerges from identifying with the “spirit of doubt.” Instead of fostering curiosity, evangelicals frame this as a narrative that can lead you astray, ultimately questioning your salvation and faith in Jesus.

Evangelicalism doesn’t attack PBS because it’s radical.
It attacks PBS because it’s freeing.

Public media encourages critical thinking.
And for any ideology that relies on blind obedience, thought is the enemy.

So when they go after Big Bird and tote bags, remember:

Their attacks extend beyond the Left.
They aim to stifle the potential for a world where a child can grow up wondering: What else exists—and who has the authority to tell me I can’t discover it?