Separation of Church and Self: why we need to keep personal political agendas out of our churches
Let me preface this by saying: I’m Christian. I emphasize this fact because what I’m about to espouse (like many of my beliefs) is not the predominant thinking within mainstream Christianity. So here’s the crux of my argument ~ I’ve stated it before but it bears repeating: America is not a Christian nation, therefore it is not the Church’s responsibility to foist its beliefs upon the nation’s citizenry, nor is it one church’s responsibility to foist its individual political convictions (should it have any) on its members. This is a commonly-held sentiment OUTSIDE of the religious community, yet for some reason too many people within it want to equate America with Israel: the chosen nation, a theocracy, a place where the laws of the Bible (or more correctly, someone’s INTERPRETATION of the laws of the Bible) should be the law of the land.
Of course, this is all common knowledge ~ one has to look no further than the nomenclature “the religious right” to see that we’ve accepted this religious infiltration into our politics and policy. (Check out “The Family” if you want a chilling look into just how inter-connected Evangelical leaders like Dr. Dobson and Pat Robertson are with the political underground.) I grew up in churches where it was no more strange to sign an anti-abortion petition in the foyer of the building than it was to sing choruses at the start of each service. And to many people within Christian circles, I would guess this idea is somewhat innocuous. But here’s the thing: IT’S NOT. By veritably preaching politics from the pulpit, the church is alienating anyone who might believe differently by essentially saying: “We are the authority on this subject, this is the correct thing to believe, and here is the correct way to vote.”
Now, again, for many people in this religious community, that last statement seems perfectly fine. They believe the church IS the authority, and that they (and by “they” I mean whatever denomination or specific church that person happens to belong to) DO have the market cornered on truth and the correct way to vote. But by making this statement, we’re forgetting several things:
We aren’t the authority on absolute truth. I wrote an extensive post on the idea of absolute truth and the misconception that we as one denomination or one religion or one people group can have the market on absolute truth cornered, understood and correctly interpreted. It just doesn’t work that way ~ we all interpret things through our own lenses using a number of different things to taint and affect our understanding.
This isn’t to say we shouldn’t search after truth or that we shouldn’t have a dialogue about it within our churches (I actually think that’s the BEST place to have a dialogue). However, when it comes to politics, it doesn’t make sense to preach a certain action or way of voting as absolute truth when we can’t be sure, and when by so doing we run the risk of creating a rift within a community.
I’m not saying that we don’t stand up for what we believe in. I’m not saying absolute truth doesn’t exist. I’m not even saying that we can’t come to a conclusion about what we believe that truth to be, based on the best tools at our disposal. I AM saying that I aspire to a belief system built on springs (ie, one that can accommodate different view points and is in flux as I learn more and more about my world and my religion), rather than one built on bricks (ie, one that walls people in or out, and is based on a stark black-and-white interpretation without much room for error).
There’s more than one way to skin a cat. I’m going to sidestep the abortion issue right now because that’s not the debate I wish to get into but it’s the easiest issue to point to as it’s one of the things the Church has most actively and fervently aligned itself with. Similar parallels can be drawn between homosexuality, environmentalism, evolution, and the list goes on. There are many, many absolutist beliefs that mainstream Christianity seems to inject into its followers without much evidence, argument or discussion. It can then equate these beliefs with political action.
I’m still trying to get over my frustration and bitterness toward the Church for allowing ~ nay, fostering ~ this type of atmosphere. I’m going to sidestep that as well and suffice it to say that because one church or THE Church isn’t the authority on absolute truth, there are bound to be different beliefs within the community. And that’s ok. It’s when we get into this “Us vs. Them” mentality that we’re treading on dangerous ground.
The bubble is bigger than we think. My above two points have touched on this, but I think we need to remember that even (especially?) within the church, we are all unique individuals with the potential for coming to our own unique conclusions. If our bubbles only include people who think, act and believe like us it can be hard to remember this ~ I should know, I grew up in communities where there was a sense of shock and indignation if it was revealed that someone had voted Democrat!
I’m not saying we shouldn’t have opinions or discuss our political beliefs ~ au contraire! I LOVE opinions and discussions but they shouldn’t be coming as mandates from church leaders.
In closing I do want to point out that I come from a place where the so-called “religious right” and their belief system was most actively espoused, but I don’t think that preaching ANY politics from the pulpit ~ right OR left ~ or encouraging ANY partisan action within a church is acceptable. Even in a relatively small bubble, where many people believe similarly, we can’t be SURE of the convictions our neighbor holds. I’d rather - and this is a process for me, too! - be able to discuss, understand and dialogue about these convictions as I build a relationship instead of creating an environment where anyone with different convictions feels unwelcome.
January 18 2010 08:33 am | politics and religion and science and soapbox
January 18th, 2010 at 1:11 pm
Thought provoking post, Alexis, thanks! A few off-the-top-of-my-head responses:
I think politicizing (i.e. promoting a certain political agenda) by churches/church leaders is probably at least partially motivated by a desire to “remain separate” from “the world”, as defined by some interpretations of that notion. I can understand that desire, but I’m not sure it gets at the heart of what remaining separate is supposed to mean.
I agree wholeheartedly about the turn-off it is for a church to take a political stance. Great potential for alienating people. Not sure I know the Bible well enough to defend this preference with Biblical evidence, but it’s my preference nonetheless.
Political and religious convictions tend to be equally strong, and often interrelated (i.e. one supports and gives a medium to the other). It’s hard not to combine the two. But yes, a closer look at what a church is supposed to be may help solidify the line between them.
PS - thanks for linking to your blog. I didn’t know you had one! Great idea, good way to get it all out there.
January 19th, 2010 at 11:04 am
Thanks for the comment! The interesting thing about being “separate from the world” - which so many Christians and churches use as their go-to platform - is that it seems that mantra would lead to LESS political fervor, not more. I do know of people who have taken that missive out to the conclusion that Christians are supposed to be uninvolved with the political process which I don’t think that is necessarily the case either (though any one of course has the RIGHT to abstain).
I didn’t delve into it in the post, but a good Biblical reason for churches and their leadership remaining uninvolved is Jesus himself and the early church - this system wasn’t set up to augment, support or even undermine the political parties and beliefs of that day. Jesus’ “system” was something completely removed from the governmental drama of the time ~ it was intended to be a entirely new option for people that challenged just about every pre-supposed tenant of that culture. Women being given equal value and rights? Unheard of! Debts being forgiven? Ridiculous! Working on the Sabbath? Sacrilegious! It saddens me to think how much of this “newness” we’ve lost because we’re so busy trying to fit the church or our beliefs into our culture’s politics. For a GREAT look into this “system,” check out Jesus for President: Politics for Ordinary Radicals
“>
Don’t get me wrong ~ I LOVE politics and any and all debate on the subject. I love talking about these issues with fellow Christians and Pastor Jeff, who is a wealth of knowledge on many topics I’ve just skimmed the surface of. I’d be foolish not to take advantage of these opportunities to get to know the people in my community and hopefully challenge and examine some of my beliefs along the way. But I do NOT want to hear specifics on how I should vote from my church or pastor.
I’m not saying we SHOULDN’T combine our religious beliefs with our political beliefs, but that’s also exactly the problem ~ people with dogmatic, unfounded religious beliefs tend to have dogmatic, unfounded political stances as well. But this is a topic for an ENTIRE other post …
March 9th, 2010 at 12:36 pm
I find your entire position a bit unwelcoming and preachy, ugh. First off, I guess I understand what you are trying to say, but back here in reality, there is no such thing as “the church”. Of course many like to act like there is, but I assure you there is not.
While I am sorry that your Church experience has been so politically motivated, mine have not, AT ALL, hence you should be careful calling out “the Church”. None the less, I am not surprised that a place full of people has opinions on things….other places which fit this bill include TV stations, Schools, etc.
March 19th, 2010 at 12:44 pm
I’m sorry it came across as preachy - this is one of my “soap box” topics so I maybe could’ve stood to tone it down a bit.
If you come from a “church” experience free of politics, I am envious. Unfortunately, much of my experience within the evangelical church (or we can call it christianity if that’s better suited than the term “church”) has had incredibly political undertones and assumptions. I have a lot of baggage from that, and it is a continual movement of grace in my life that brings me away from a point where i renounce “the church” completely, and toward a realization that, as you said, there is really no such thing as “the church.” WE are all the church.