Religious Fanatics Replace Crying Babies As Worst Passengers To Encounter On Your Next Flight

Flying doesn't have to suck, but at its best, it's still no more pleasant than a long, quiet bus ride. Even the movies are better enjoyed at home on your own couch where nobody gets mad if your dog sits on your lap. That said, your fellow passengers can easily ruin a flight for you. Crying babies catch a lot of flack, but it's not their fault their ears hurt, nor is it their fault they don't know how to talk yet. As the Washington Post reports, though, one group of flight-ruiners that doesn't catch nearly enough flack has recently gotten a lot bolder — religious fanatics. 

High-control religious groups have a long history of taking advantage of planes making it impossible to ignore their spontaneous sermons or worship services, and since the advent of social media, we've seen several videos go viral over the years. Sadly, the rest of the internet voicing its distain for sky preachers who ruin flights hasn't deterred this new generation of TikTok-fueled fanatics. And as they happily told WaPo, they do it specifically because they know everyone on the plane is trapped and can't leave:

To small crowds on airplanes — and often to much larger audiences via social media — self-described evangelists are seizing the opportunity to share their faith with other passengers, whether fellow travelers asked for the word or not.

"They have no choice but to hear the truth," said Whitney Lynn, an evangelist, producer and singer-songwriter from Orlando who said she preaches on most flights she takes, filming the proclamations for social media. "When I have a gift and I have a life raft, if you're drowning, I want to give you that life raft so you can be saved."

A video she posted earlier this month showed a postflight preaching session given as passengers waited to disembark in San Diego. Almost no one looked around as Lynn, 40, spoke for a little over a minute about the weather, Jesus, sin, hell, redemption and heaven. Beneath the clip, she wrote: "I just love a captive audience."

Lynn doesn't appear to be a member of a specific Christian denomination nor a graduate of a Christian seminary, but on her website, she bills herself as an "evangelist, singer, songwriter, producer, and deliverance minister." If she decides to turn your flight into a mandatory revival service, though, you can just call her "the worst." That said, Lynn is far from the only religious fanatic hellbent on ruining people's flights. WaPo also spoke with musician and unordained plane preacher Brett Raio, who pinky promises he only ruins flights when his god tells him to:

Brett Raio, 24, a Maine-based music artist and producer, said he has been nervous before urging people to seek Jesus on planes. But he feels compelled to follow the biblical teaching to go into the world and preach the gospel to all creatures. He said he only speaks up on a plane when he feels led by God to do so, and takes seriously the thought that anyone could be spending their last day on Earth.

"You might not listen to God then that person goes and perishes," he said of his motivation. "God had you there for that specific opportunity and you missed your shot."

The sky preachers who spoke with the Post are also fully aware that their fellow passengers don't enjoy being forced to listen to unsolicited sermons:

"I've gotten cursed at, I've gotten heckled, 'shut up,' 'sit down,'" said Lynn, who is also an influencer. "I've gotten eye rolls."

She said Las Vegas tourists have been an especially tough crowd since she calls out "Sin City" specifically. She also documented an instance where police responded to a call about her preaching in an airport.

They know their fellow passengers hate it, but they do it anyway. Almost like they think being super religious exempts them from needing consent.

It doesn't appear that any major airlines in the U.S. have rules that specifically ban passengers from evangelizing on flights, but they do require passengers to behave themselves, avoid disrupting the flight, and obey all instructions from crew members. Sadly, crew members don't always come down on plane preachers as they probably should. From WaPo:

On the Spirit flight Roberts took last year, he said a flight attendant told the preacher across the aisle from him to sit down, and she complied quietly. But after the plane took off, Roberts said she got up with her Bible and started blessing people, including him. He thought he felt liquid and saw her moving her hands.

"I could have sworn it was holy water," Roberts said. "That's what it gave."

She didn't get far before a flight attendant walked her back to her seat, Roberts said. He said the passenger seemed like she was on a mission.

While other religions tend to be more than happy to find new converts, sky evangelists appear to almost exclusively be members of the Christian religion's right-wing sects. However, plenty of Christians have problems with plane preachers, too. WaPo also spoke with Rodney Kennedy, a retired pastor who, unlike Lynn and Raio, has an Masters in Divinity from a real seminary. As he put it, "I don't have any problems with people articulating their faith, but I think it requires a relationship and level of trust and a level of permission." Kennedy also added "I think that ultimately it's a turnoff and it kind of reinforces the ideas that they already had about Christians."

Of course, as anyone who's studied high-control groups can tell you, the more group members isolate themselves from outside society, the less likely they are to leave. Which is why Evangelical Christians, Mormons, and Jehovah's Witnesses push their members to experience rejection and why religious influencers like Lynn thrive on sharing that rejection with their followers. Ultimately, it isn't about recruiting more people to join their religion. It's about maintaining control and feeding their own persecution complex.