The Changing Face of Being Christian

If asked for a single word to describe Christianity today, I would say “diverse.” To call oneself “Christian” is to claim a place among a body of believers which grew from the oral teachings of a charismatic prophet who preached briefly in an obscure corner of the world two thousand years ago. Beyond that, agreement slips away.

Just take a look around and you’ll find enough letters to fill a bowl of alphabet soup: UMC, ELCA, UCC, UBIC, just to name of few. Baptists, Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, Episcopal and Anglican, Presbyterians, etc. -- we didn’t get all these variations because we agree on everything. Quite the contrary.

But now, in what might be a parallel to our political landscape, some young Christians are calling for a truce in this fighting among ourselves.

There was a time when all “Christians” had to agree. Disagreeing could get you killed in a most painful way. That kind of forced allegiance to the church’s version of truth undermined the faith, and most of what was good about the Gospel disappeared. The Reformation brought a correction but also divisions. Denominations fed their flocks a diet of doctrinal nuance, and arrogance became inevitable: “if we’re right (and we are), you must be wrong,” which led to, “we are saved and you are not.”

Is it any wonder that a culture grown weary of political infighting would also tire of religious wars? We should all thank God for this new generation of believers who would rather open spiritual doors than close them.

I’m not saying Christians should turn away from public policy debates. But political alliance does pose a problem. The phrase “Holy Roman Empire” should ring a bell. It’s one thing to take political stands -- Jesus himself championed the poor and oppressed -- it’s another to ally oneself so closely with the establishment that you become the establishment. Do so and you’ll lose your edge.

But it’s a hard habit to break. Witness “evangelical” Christianity and how its social platform became a political platform under the Republican banner. But now many evangelicals are refusing to make dogmatic political loyalty the ultimate test of faith. A story this week in the New York Times says many younger Evangelicals are rejecting the dictates of party and church elders. The article, by Neela Banerjee, describes a generation of Christians looking for ways to unite rather than divide. Banerjee writes:

“The Journey, a megachurch of mostly younger evangelicals, is representative of a new generation that refuses to put politics at the center of its faith and rejects identification with the religious right. They say they are tired of the culture wars. They say they do not want the test of their faith to be the fight against gay rights. They say they want to broaden the traditional evangelical anti-abortion agenda to include care for the poor, the environment, immigrants and people with H.I.V., according to experts on younger evangelicals and the young people themselves.”

The article quotes Notre Dame sociology professor Christian Smith to say young evangelicals reject using the church to enforce political orthodoxy: “Evangelicalism is becoming somewhat less coherent as a movement or as an identity. Younger people don’t even want the label anymore. They don’t believe the main goal of the church is to be political.”

One of the most public rifts among evangelicals is the dispute over environmental activism and global warming. Dean Inserra, a young Southern Baptist preacher from Tallahassee, Florida, says older leaders have felt threatened by grass roots “green” initiatives because they’ve allowed themselves to become too entangled with “the right-wing agenda.” According to the Times, Pastor Inserra asks, “How is taking care of God’s creation a political issue? Since I am pro-life, I am pro-environment.”

Despite their willingness to move toward a wider set of concerns, these young Evangelicals remain a fairly conservative bunch: still literalists in their understanding of scripture, still judging homosexuality as sin.

I would have to disagree with them on that last point. I believe that when God looked on creation and declared it good, God was including all genders and all sexual orientations. Machines in factories sometimes kick out rejects, but God is not a machine.

Still, let’s give credit where it’s due. The movement toward greater diversity by caring Evangelicals is a good thing. As the proverb says, “the longest journey begins with a single step.” And while the journey from that village in Galilee has already covered many miles, it is far from over.