I’ve written on my blog before about the necessity of the separation of church and state. It is truly to protect the Church, both from state influence and from becoming something it was never meant to be – an entity consumed with power and privilege and earthly wealth.
Today, I want to focus on a different aspect of the church/state debate. While I have often been critical of churches that have openly supported the current administration (highlighting, for example, the megachurch pastor who said tariffs are “from God,” or the other megachurch pastor who screamed from the pulpit that any democrats in the building should just leave because they were unwanted there), there are other churches which have taken the complete opposite approach – refusing to enter the political arena at all.
You would think this would be ideal. After all, most churches have a mix of people from the right and the left, and so by maintaining a neutral stance, churches can keep the status quo.
However, the difficulty I see is that so much is considered “political” nowadays that avoiding these topics means churches are staying silent on issues that are truly important.
In reality, some things we have labeled “political” are not political at all, but rather human rights issues. Social justice issues. Love your neighbor issues.
Things like racism, violence against women, starving children, school shootings, even Christian nationalism itself – are these not issues we should be talking about?? Or maybe things like helping the poor, feeding the hungry, visiting those in prison, or welcoming the stranger – all things Jesus talks about in Matthew 25.
If we write these issues off as “political” and refuse to talk about them, are we not furthering the problems of our world rather than creating a people who can be a part of the solution?
I have heard normally non-political churches talk about abortion. And the recent murder of a far-right political figure and influencer. So, we can talk about hard things, sometimes, at least. But even those churches avoid many of these other issues.
I saw someone online state that churches are afraid to talk about these matters because they don’t want to lose their tax-exempt status. This is a perfect example illustrating how we have made these issues about right versus left, rather than right versus wrong.
Human suffering should not be a pawn to be played on a political chessboard. Trauma, poverty, social justice, human rights violations – are these not things the Church should be concerned about? Should we not have a voice on these things? Because God has a great deal to say about these types of issues. His heart for human suffering is shown all through the Law and the prophets and the very words and actions of Jesus.
If we are avoiding talking about sensitive topics for fear of offending one side or another, are we not avoiding huge chunks of the Bible as well? Cherry-picking what we preach and teach about in order to spoon-feed people… won’t that produce very shallow, uninformed Christians?
Or perhaps, we avoid these issues because we don’t know enough about them.
In the information age we live in, I feel like this is merely an excuse. It does not require much to research topics we don’t understand. Or we can find experts to bring in and talk about these issues. Or we can do a concentrated book or Bible study on a topic. There are incredible books and studies and organizations available to help – if not locally, then available virtually. It does require some critical thinking skills to make sure we are looking at authoritative resources and not at all the false information that is put out there. In my personal opinion, we should definitely avoid AI. But again, I don’t think it is impossible to inform ourselves, if need be.
If we want to. If we are willing to.
Perhaps if Church people had a better understanding of a Biblical view on poverty, oppression, immigration, or the sacred value of human life – all human life – we would make better decisions regarding how we treat other people. (Remember, empathy is not toxic.)
And yes, it may ultimately affect how we vote and who we support. But the purpose should not be political – because our purpose is not political. We live within a culture and a time and place, but ultimately, our focus should be on the cross of Jesus, not on a political party or particular flag. The purpose of helping people understand deep issues should rather be about discipleship and building Christians who look and act like Christ.
Isn’t that what we are called to do?
Nowhere in the Bible does it say, go and make good Americans or good Republicans or good Democrats. It says, go and make disciples. Little Christs. People who follow in the way of Jesus.
How can we help people do that if we don’t teach them the Way?
Good resources to get you started:
Made for PAX Bible Study (4 books on immigration, mental health, and peace-building)
Generous Justice by Timothy Keller
Tattoos on the Heart by Gregory Boyle
Jesus for President: Politics for Ordinary Radicals by Shane Claiborne, Red Letter Christians
On race issues:
Be the Bridge by Latasha Morrison
Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson
On immigration:
Women of Welcome Bible studies
Welcoming the Stranger by Matthew Soerens of World Relief
Beyond Welcome: Centering Immigrants in Our Christian Response to Immigration by Karen González
S.M. Reed holds two Master’s degrees, one in Theology and one in Psychology. She was raised in church and has been involved in different ministries and lay leadership positions for most of her life. She is presently enrolled in a Master of Divinity degree in order to pursue pastoral work. You can read more from her on Substack: The Jaded Evangelical | SM Reed | Substack or pick up her book, “Letters to the Jaded Evangelical: Finding Jesus in the Shards of Religion.” Available on Amazon in e-book and paperback formats; free to read for Amazon KU subscribers.
RLC welcomes and encourages individuals who engage in critical thinking at the intersection of faith and justice to contribute to our blog. The views and opinions expressed by our blog authors are their own and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of RLC, its staff, members, or officers.
