On Churches Being Political

Over the last couple of years, I have heard a few people from my church complain that the church has become "too political".  From what I can tell, these people seem to be complaining because the pastor often talks about how we need to hold those in power accountable for their corruption and the abuse of their authority when they seek to lift the rich and powerful higher and higher while further marginalizing those who are already marginalized: the poor and the outcast.

Part of the problem is that people seem to be conflating two types of politics into one thing.  There are churches which are "political" in a narrow, partisan sense.  They explicitly advocate for particular political candidates or parties and seek to have their religious opinions enshrined as secular law; in other words, they want a theocracy.  Then there are churches which are "political" in a much broader sense, they are advocating for justice and equality on a much larger, society-wide scale.  They don't advocate for particular candidates or parties, although their ideas may align more neatly with one party or another.

The first type of political church is a problem.

The second type is not.

If it is a Christian church, then the second type is definitively fulfilling the mission of the Church as set for by Jesus: to care for and love the poor, outcast, and marginalized as Jesus did.  This is what churches are supposed to do.  As the church, we are called to love, we are called to hunger for justice, and we are called to take care of those who society has rejected.

During times like the one we are in now, where there is a corrupt oligarch occupying the highest office in the land, we must speak out just as the prophets in the Old Testament did.  We are called to make sure that we stand with those who are made voiceless by laws that seek to disenfranchise or marginalize them.

So, if you are Christian, I hope your church is political.  It must be, otherwise it is not fulfilling the mandate set forth by Jesus.  If you are not Christian, I hope that your church is political as well, that it stands with the poor and oppressed, that it seeks to uplift those who are being held down.

I am proud that my church is political and I pray that it continues to be so for a long time to come.