Facebook denies conservative Christians’ demand for crucifix button

After the rainbow flag button appeared on Facebook in support of the LGBTQ community during the Pride month of June, conservative Christians are now demanding for a crucifix emoji from the social media giant. However, Facebook isn’t giving in to the pressure.

Facebook user Hikmat Hanna posted an image (see main image) that says Facebook must add a crucifix reaction button because it added a temporary rainbow icon last month. The post, which is now unavailable to the public, was noticed by American evangelist Joshua Feuerstein, who is infamous for his conservative Christian views. He posted the image on his account.

His supporters agreed, saying it was only fair that Facebook also acknowledged the existence of Christians since the company has acknowledged the existence of the gay and lesbian community. The post has racked up over 28,000 likes from his followers, including from Feuerstein himself.

As critics of the crucifix button noted, the logic behind the demand appeared to be that Christianity and a person’s sexuality were somehow polar opposites. Hence, if Facebook allowed a rainbow flag to be added as support of the LGBTQ community, it should also add a crucifix to support Christians.

The post, however, did not include reaction buttons for other religions, such as a Star and Crescent flag for Islam, the Star of David for Judaism, or the Wheel of Dharma for Buddhism. This was the counterargument of Feuerstein’s critics, who said that should Facebook include a crucifix, it should also include other religious symbols for fairness.

Nevertheless, Facebook does not have any plans of giving in to the demand. “This reaction is not actually available on Facebook and is not something we’re working on,” a spokesperson told the Huffington Post.

The social media leader added the rainbow flag button in June to show its support during the Pride Month. “We believe in building a platform that supports all communities. So we’re celebrating love and diversity this Pride by giving you a special reaction to use during Pride Month,” a post on Facebook’s LGBTQ account read.