Bible thumper
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Bible thumper is a pejorative term used to describe Christians in general, especially someone perceived as aggressively pushing their Christian beliefs upon those who do not share them. Its target domain is broad and can often extend to anyone engaged in a public show of religion, fundamentalist or not. It is commonly heard in most Western countries; the particular term Bible basher, along with Jesus freak is used in Australian slang to pertain to a person or group who knock on doors to convert non-Christians. Is also often used to refer to social conservatives in the Bible belt of the Southern United States.
The term is rarely, and incorrectly, used to refer to the Catholic denomination of Christianity. The Bible was not considered to be the inerrant "word of god" until it was declared so by Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation. Before that the Catholic Church considered the bible to be one of many sacred texts.[citation needed][dubious – discuss]
The term Bible thumper alludes to a preacher thumping his hand hard down on the Bible to emphasize a point during a sermon.