A Clash of Christianities
On the reactions to Bishop Budde’s sermon.
I am not the religious person I once was. This reality is due in large part to private griefs, yet I cannot discount the degree to which Christians behaving badly has contributed to my current lack of faith.
When I make such things explicit, some people assume that this must mean that I am anti-theist and have nothing to do with religion or religious people. This is not true. Both the public work I do through this newsletter, my podcast, and my writing, as well as my day job (as I am not a full-time writer) brings me into constant contact with Christians and Christianity.
I struggle every single day with the fact that Christianity is a force for both oppression and liberation—that the same religion, ostensibly worshipping the same deity, is used as the means to justify drastically different ends. Through my work on Exvangelical, I see the harm that Christians cause women, queer people, people of color, and anyone who does not conform to the script that patriarchal Christianity gives them; through my other work, I see women, queer people, people of color and those who do not conform to patriarchy emboldened to create a more just and equitable world in the name of Christ. It is an utter mindf*#!.
The discordant strains of American Christianity clashed in spectacular fashion this week following the Right Reverend Mariann Edgar Budde’s sermon at the National Cathedral. The whole sermon can be found here, uploaded to YouTube with comments turned off, which is a commentary of its own:
Through her measured and thoughtful comments, the Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington drew attention to the state of affairs in America. Her comments were subtle where others might have been barbed, but they were still pointed remarks. After opening with a meditation on the idea of unity, Budde said this:
“Those of us gathered here in this Cathedral are not naive about the realities of politics. When power, wealth and competing interests are at stake; when views of what America should be are in conflict; when there are strong opinions across a spectrum of possibilities and starkly different understandings of what the right course of action is, there will be winners and losers when votes are cast or decisions made that set the course of public policy and the prioritization of resources. It goes without saying that in a democracy, not everyone’s particular hopes and dreams will be realized in a given legislative session or a presidential term or even a generation. Not everyone’s specific prayers – for those of us who are people of prayer – will be answered as we would like. But for some, the loss of their hopes and dreams will be far more than political defeat, but instead a loss of equality, dignity, and livelihood.
Given this, is true unity among us even possible? And why should we care about it?
Well, I hope that we care, because the culture of contempt that has become normalized in our country threatens to destroy us. We are all bombarded daily with messages from what sociologists now call “the outrage industrial complex”, some of it driven by external forces whose interests are furthered by a polarized America. Contempt fuels our political campaigns and social media, and many profit from it. But it’s a dangerous way to lead a country.”
There is boldness here, in speaking this sort of truth to the power that had sat in her pews. I do not know that I would have had such bravery.
But the bishop’s comments did not stop there. She concluded with a direct plea for mercy to the president.
These pleas were met with derision.
The sitting President of the United States said this:
“The so-called Bishop who spoke at the National Prayer Service on Tuesday morning was a Radical Left hard line Trump hater. She brought her church into the World of politics in a very ungracious way. She was nasty in tone, and not compelling or smart. She failed to mention the large number of illegal migrants that came into our Country and killed people. Many were deposited from jails and mental institutions. It is a giant crime wave that is taking place in the USA. Apart from her inappropriate statements, the service was a very boring and uninspiring one. She is not very good at her job! She and her church owe the public an apology!”
The President could not even deign to respect the bishop’s earned honorifics, let alone the content of her message, which again were framed as a plea not a challenge.
And of course, the chorus of Trump-faithful had to chime in. Noted plagiarist Mark Driscoll, whose Mars Hill Church imploded a decade ago in a series of credible allegations of spiritual abuse too long to list here (which did not stop him from relocating to Arizona and rebuilding) got in on things:
Meanwhile, over on X, Christians warned against ‘the sin of empathy,’ a point of contention for sites like Desiring God since 2019 (and a topic which Desiring God OP Joe Rigney is expanding upon for an entire book, building upon others by published by Allie Beth Stuckey).
All of these people are Christians. All of these people have different relations and access to power in today’s political climate.
And while I have largely been considering the words and deeds of all these people in strictly religious terms thus far, I see parallels in another arena: that of nationalism and fascism.
I am currently reading Jason Stanley’s book How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them, which I recommend. (It’s not an encouraging read, but it is an insightful one, written in accessible language.) In Chapter 6, “Victimhood,” Stanley highlights the way in which nationalism—not unlike religion—can have different motivations:
“In the face of discrimination, oppressed groups throughout history, have risen up in movements that proclaimed pride for their endangered identities. In Western Europe, the Jewish nationalism of the Zionist movement arose as a response to toxic anti-Semitism. In the United States, black nationalism arose as a response to toxic racism. In their origins, these nationalist movements were responses to oppression. Anti-colonialist struggles typically take place under the banner of nationalism; for example, Mahatma Gandhi employed Indian nationalism as a tool against British rule. This kind of nationalism, the nationalism that arises from oppression, is not fascist in origin. These forms of nationalism, in their original formations, are equality-driven nationalist movements….at the core of fascism is loyalty to tribe, ethnic identity, religion, tradition, or in a word, nation. But, in stark contrast to a version of nationalism with equality as its goal, fascist nationalism is a repudiation of the liberal democratic ideal; it is nationalism in the service of domination, with the goal of preserving, maintaining, or gaining a position at the top of a hierarchy of power and status.”
One form of Christianity—that which champions this administration—pursues dominance, while the other aligns with those who pursue equality. Qualifiers and equivocations and exceptions can be made for these binary claims, but the fascistic live and breathe in broad strokes while their opponents get bogged down in specificity (both sides obsessed in their own way with notions of purity).
I’ve grown tired of seeing oppressive Christianity ascendant. I am ready to make allegiance with those who wield the message of Jesus of Nazareth as a tool for liberation, with those Christians who do not require a reciprocal declaration of faith to expect equality in society, and who stand side by side with those the powerful threaten, regardless of whether they wield the power of the state.
If we are to be witnesses for anything, let us be witnesses of our shared humanity.
If you want to read more of my ideas, and why I care so much and struggle so often with these issues, read my book Exvangelical & Beyond: How American Christianity Went Radical and the Movement That’s Fighting Back.
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This was cool! I loved this, I believe this divide can be attributed to one big factor. What are our hills to die on as Christians? If the hill is Christianity, then beliefs are sacred. If the hill is Jesus, then people are.
I'm a Gnostic Christian, a former nonbeliever. After reading your article, I understand exactly where you are coming from. When did specific sects of Christianity decide it was okay to lie to their followers but then tell them how to vote, who to hate, and that God only loves them because they agree with what these individuals tell them?
I look at these messengers and notice a pattern: mostly white, mostly male, and convinced they are the true messengers of God.
There is something inherently worrisome when it's one narrative, and mention or suggestion of questioning that narrative brings on a slew of hatred I never thought possible by a group of “Christians.”
The truth is that when you cannot think outside the box, question what you have been taught, and cannot put empathy above all, where are we headed?
When did hatred become the new norm? People are scared, and that's not how any place that calls itself a nation of peace and democracy should live. The amount of FEAR and the message that you are either with Trump 100% or you are not is a skewed view of reality.
Meanwhile, I watch our undeveloped and unconcerned men and few women of autonomy act as if they dodged a bullet and came close to almost having to answer a question about the sins they unquestioningly commit daily.
I don't care who you are. We all know right from wrong. Unless you are a narcissist or sociopath, in the depths of all human souls is knowing. It may not be the thought you want to feel, but you will feel it. Even worse is most people who know what they are doing or acting on will devastate other humans and can keep on doing so are so delusional in their selves that it's hard to even listen to anything or anyone not seen as an equal.
That is a dangerous place to live in. If you believe that you are the moralistic voice of God, that is when people need to be worried. Freedom to speak, live, pursue dreams and happiness is impossible if you live in fear, anxiety, and the unknown. Humans are not meant to live in a primitive state of fight or flight 24/7. And our world is not equipped psychologically or spiritually to know how to stop this ticking bomb.
I don't use social media or watch Tell A Vision, but in the situations where I have, I've noticed something. The hatred, the threats, and the lack of any decency towards our fellow brothers and sisters have turned way, way more personal than need be in the last 10/13 years.