God and Politics

A common theme for editorial writers is to argue for a strict and absolute separation between church and state. Recently, an Ohio State University history professor, named Steven Conn, wrote an editorial titled, "Founders Build Church-State Wall to Protect Both Entities." Professor Conn wrote, "Recent history is replete with what happens once church and state-religion and politics-become inseparably confused. From Northern Ireland to the former Yugoslavia, from Indonesia to Saudi Arabia, it is hard to find a single example of the intermingling of church and state that has not turned out badly. The separation of church and state, on the other hand, serves to keep some of the worst human impulses in check." (Emphasis added.)

Had Prof. Conn made the more nuanced point that religion has sometimes been a destructive force when allied with politics, I would heartily agree. Of course, one would want to add, non-religion has also been a massively destructive force when allied with politics in the Soviet Union, Communist China, and in Cambodia. Human sin runs through the heart of the religious and the non-religious alike.

Now, I am not a historian. But it is certainly not hard to find numerous examples in which the intermingling of religion and politics has turned out not only to be a good thing, but an awesomely positive thing for both religion and for government. Consider for example, the work of Bishop Tutu, the Nobel Prize winning Anglican, in South Africa. Bishop Tutu has been instrumental not only in ending apartheid in that nation, but also in bringing about racial healing through his leadership of the Truth and Reconciliation commissions.

What is often not acknowledged is Christianity's role in ending colonialism in Africa, or the key role that churches and clergy have taken in what has been called the "Second African Revolution." Bishops and clergy have led national movements against dictatorships in Malawi, Kenya, Benin, Togo, and the Congo. Clerical activism has also been the source of human rights movements in Asia. For example, Cardinal Sin served as the focus of national resistance against the Marcos regime in the Philippines.

Many contemporary writers also have overlooked the fact that the Civil Rights movement in our own country entirely arose in black churches in the South. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. stated very plainly that he was "on a crusade to save America's soul." For the religious roots of the American Civil Rights movement, one might want to examine The Beloved Community: How Faith Shapes Social Justice, from the Civil Rights Movement to Today.

We need to understand that the most popular intellectual assumption of much of the 20th century was the idea that religion was steadily receding and secularization was the dominant progressive force. Thus, historians, for much of the past century, focused attention upon the secular and deistic founders of our own country such as Thomas Paine, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin. But in the last 20 years, much more attention has been paid to the writings and statements of those founders who believed that our constitutional government could not survive without Christian faith. Luminaries such as Patrick Henry, John Adams, John Witherspoon, and Benjamin Rush, etc., believed that our Republic could not survive unless we gave the Creator his due. John Adams stated, "We have no government armed with the power of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Our constitution is made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."

Having argued for a positive relationship between faith and politics, I would immediately add some cautionary notes:

1. Christians must engage the political system with great humility recognizing that we are not always right; God is not always on our side (we need to be on God's side). Politics will not usher in the kingdom of God. Politicians are often using us. Our enemies are not necessarily God's enemies. Sadly, we Christians often display too much certainty, self-assuredness, and naiveté in our political engagement.

2. The general approach of Christians in the political process ought to be one of civility and servanthood. Sadly, many Christians attack people in the government with the Bible. I have discovered that city officials are deeply and personally influenced when we Christians offer authentic friendship and sincere prayer. We Christians need to act as friends to our city and its officials, not as enemies.

3. No political party has a corner on the truth. The Bible is committed to both personal morality and social justice. We should not settle for one without the other. We must demand both from political parties and from our government.

With these caveats-Christians ought to be vigorously, fully, and unashamedly involved in politics.