This Moment Calls For Fearless Faith Leaders

There is an emboldened rise of white Christian nationalism in this country that is supercharging support for the MAGA movement and our nation’s dangerous slide towards autocracy. Many Christian nationalists are animated by the idea that this country was founded by and for white Christian men and should prioritize their comfort and power. This thinking harms us all, but has tricked many into believing it serves them and centers their protection. What we need in this moment is the witness of faith leaders who can stay committed to the principles outlined in Proverbs 31:9 - to speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy. 

This administration has clearly named its targets. In return, we must build a solidarity-based  hedge of protection around those who are most vulnerable. Jesus called them, “the least of these,” in Matthew 25. The great theologian Howard Thurman called them, “the disinherited.” News outlets call them “marginalized.” Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde recently described them as, “the people who are scared now.” As people of faith, we must prioritize the more than two thousand verses in our scriptures that call us to care for and protect the most vulnerable in our midst. This is a faith imperative. 

White Christian nationalists are distorting faith to advance their own ideals. The hypocrisy is alarming beyond the distressing lack of virtue and character displayed by this administration. Claiming to be pro-life, but cutting programs that protect and sustain health and life for all reveals an ethos that is pro-birth at best. The Capitol insurrection and pardons, attempting to end birthright citizenship, and a multi pronged attack on transgender people are all clear examples of a dangerous, self-serving, and cruel political agenda. This is not a debate between conservative and liberal political views–it’s a clash between right and wrong. We are called to act in the wake of stunning incompetence, disrespect for laws and institutions, callous disregard for vulnerable people in our nation and beyond our shores, and vicious identity-based attacks with resistance based in love. Part of that resistance means stepping into the breaches created by this administration in defense of the most vulnerable.  

The heretical lure of Christian nationalism is so insidious and enticing that a large segment of Christians enthusiastically supports the president without even realizing the dangers and harms of his actions. Many wouldn’t dare identify as Christian nationalists, but a combination of their passive acceptance and in some cases full-throated support of his Christian nationalist agenda tells a different story. This moment calls for us to see white Christian nationalism as a threat to our faith and summon our moral courage to both disciple people away from this ideology while we resist it in the wide variety of ways we may be called to do so–and the time to resist is now. 

We can gather courage from leaders who have been unwavering in their faith despite facing great adversity, inspiring countless others to join them in common cause. In January, many applauded Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. for his unwavering faith that a nation where the concept of “justice for all” truly prevails can be achieved through sustained nonviolent struggle. We can’t afford to forget that he kept this faith in the face of a government that mistrusted, reviled, and surveilled him continuously. Crucially, Dr. King wasn’t alone. Alongside other greats  like Dianne Nash, Rev. C.K. Steele, Ella Baker, Fred Lee Shuttlesworth and many more in the South, he helped birth  the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, which proved instrumental in the major victories of the Civil Rights movement. Faith-based resistance to oppression and injustice is an ever present thread that we can trace all the way back to Moses persisting under the rule of Pharaoh, David remaining steadfast under the authority of King Saul, and Jesus’ persistent challenge of the laws imposed by the Roman Empire and the Pharisees. That is the true strength of faith.

Fortunately as the prophet Isaiah proclaims, the government is on Jesus’ shoulders and not simply our own. Sojourners is playing an important role in the movement of people and organizations of faith coming together in this perilous moment to speak prophetic truth to power, inspire hope, defend the most vulnerable, and catalyze faithful nonviolent resistance. We’re supporting churches serving and protecting immigrants, pushing back against threatened cuts to programs that support low-income families, and much more. It will take many organizations and individuals raising their voices and living their faith courageously to replace this broken politics of self-interest and cruelty with a politics of the common good where everyone is valued and everyone can thrive. We’re committed to being an indispensable hub of faith in action for social justice that helps close the gap between the world as it exists today and the better world that we know is possible. We invite all people of faith and conscience to sojourn with us.