Discussing Politics in Church?
Where do we draw the line?
I’m writing this a few days before the fourth of July, and it’s really hot in Sacramento. We’re just getting into the heart of summer, so I think it’s safe to say the holidays (as in Thanksgiving and Christmas) aren’t on anyone’s radar yet. But in a few short months, most of us will be dealing with a perennial challenge: As families gather for holiday celebrations, how do we handle political differences?
Many know from personal experience how polarized we are as a society because this division has seriously affected our families. Relationships with family members who were once close can become strained and distant. To avoid painful conflict, some families have returned to an old practice of “Never talk about politics or religion” (at least the politics part). For some, that works.
Others don’t have that option with their families. Maybe they have an aunt or uncle who insists on loudly pontificating about the latest issues, even if it makes everyone else uncomfortable. Or they might have a contingent in their family who can’t understand why anyone could disagree with their political views. So—in these holiday get-togethers—some will be avoiding any comment that could remotely lead to politics, some will have to bite their tongues to not respond to a bloviating relative, and others will find themselves in awkward—and increasingly hostile—political debate with those to whom they should feel closest.
This a sad reality for many, but it’s also one (thankfully) most people face only a few times a year. But what about our church families, the people we see every week? Many Christians live out their church lives with brothers and sisters who have very differing political convictions. And because of the often intensity of these views—and the ensuing political discussions—many have essentially adopted a “holiday” approach when spending time with church family, and avoid any mention of political issues at all. Now, discretion can certainly be the better part of valor, and this is undoubtedly much better than open hostilities in the church! But . . . is this the best we can do? Is this really the way for Christians to handle our current politico-cultural mess? When followers of Christ gather together should we just . . . not go there?
Now let me clarify right away, there are some kinds of political talk I think should be eliminated in the church—permanently:
It’s not the place of pastors or leaders to tell the people in the church a specific candidate they should vote for or which propositions they should support. The church shouldn’t be handing out partisan voter guides, or inviting representatives from only one political party to address the congregation.
We shouldn’t turn the application of any (or every) text of Scripture into a political rant. If a passage we’re studying clearly teaches a biblical principle that touches on politics, then we should have the courage to thoroughly address what Scripture does. We don’t want to be guilty of dancing around biblical teaching because it might offend someone’s political sensibilities. But we also shouldn’t be looking for opportunities to interject our own political viewpoints. Pastors shouldn’t become political commentators.
We need to put an end to snide comments about the other side—whoever that is. We shouldn’t be tossing out partisan comments in a way that assumes everyone here shares the same views (my views, of course). This is rarely the case, even in your church. You’d be surprised how many of the people you see each week at church have very different views than you do, and it’s really kind of arrogant to assume everyone in the church agrees with my political convictions. Instead, we should always assume someone from the “other side” is present—because they usually are.
So is the answer to just not talk about politics with our church families? Let me ask the question another way: Are we no more capable of discussing volatile political issues than anyone else in our nation? Where can we have a healthy discussion about controversial subjects? If there’s anyone who could have a thoughtful, fair-minded, mutually respectful, loving but substantive, even pointed discussion about controversial political issues—without simply parroting partisan talking points—shouldn’t that be the church, the followers of Jesus Christ? Shouldn’t we be the ones modeling another way?
When we spend time together as brothers and sisters we’re supposed to be helping each other grow and mature spiritually, encouraging one another to more faithfully live out our lives in a Christlike way. Are we supposed to do this in every area of our lives except for how we engage politically? Does this make any sense? It’s definitely easier, and avoids unpleasant tension. But are we to avoid quarreling by just not talking about difficult issues? Isn’t that kind of admitting defeat?
It’s easy for any of us to fall into groupthink when the only political interaction we have is with our side. We can all have an echo chamber (and, yes, there are echo chambers on both the left and the right). If I’m beginning to advocate political views that are incompatible with kingdom principles, I need brothers and sisters to hold me accountable and tell me, “Curt, I don’t think that way of thinking fits with the character of Jesus.” We need iron to sharpen iron, especially where the outside culture is most divided—and where Christians are tending to divide as well. These are the issues we most need to discuss with fellow believers.
That doesn’t mean we’ll always come to perfect agreement. We shouldn’t expect all Christians to have identical views regarding tax policy or the details of border security. We need to be okay with that. At the end of a frank discussion of our differing political views, we should be able to embrace each other as brothers and sisters in Christ—even if we still don’t agree. And we should be more in harmony with our fellow believers on core values and principles (even if we disagree on methods and strategies) than we are with either (any) of society’s political parties. If our identity with our political party is stronger than our identity with the body of Christ—including believers who have different political views—then we are falling into political idolatry.
Because it’s human tendency, and churches are made up of humans, many churches end up falling into one of two extremes in handling politics. Some push an overtly political agenda. This may have become more intense recently, but it’s not new. I remember years ago being given a voter guide at church that told me how to vote on everything in the next election. After looking it over, I had to wonder: Is there really a clear “Christian position” on the latest bond act? Other churches so bend over backwards to not say anything political, they hesitate to even mention a biblical principle that might touch on political views, or be too pointed in teaching against what is blatantly immoral.
Our church’s policy is that we’ll set aside time to study and discuss anything that people want to study and discuss, no matter how controversial. (If we in the church can’t model how to do that in a healthy way, how are followers of Christ any different—right?) But we ask everyone to refrain from making partisan comments in our general time together as the church. This is just the loving thing to do. When you say something that’s clearly partisan (when politics aren’t the designated subject of discussion), even if it’s just a joking aside, you put your fellow believers who disagree with you in an awkward position. Either they have to counter you in public, which could lead to a political argument right in church, or they remain silent, which gives the impression everyone agrees with you. Either way, that’s not a loving way for us to treat our brothers and sisters.
As a pastor, I studiously avoid making comments that will unnecessarily telegraph my personal views regarding a candidate or proposition. But I won’t allow a fear of offending people politically to keep me from teaching what Scripture clearly teaches—even if it directly relates to current politics. It’s not my job to suggest what the finer points of border policy should be; it is my job to remind believers of the consistent teaching throughout Scripture that we’re to be welcoming to foreigners, protective of the most vulnerable among us, and to seek to lovingly help as much as we possibly can. It’s not my role to make pronouncements about the latest actions of Congress; but I should faithfully teach that God says repeatedly he detests double standards, and warning Christians about falling into an ends-justifies-the-means approach to politics.
It’s not my place to tell you who to vote for; but it’s my responsibility to keep teaching about biblical character, and that we’re not to align ourselves with what is contrary to a scriptural standard of good and evil. If any of this directly relates to some current political issue or personality, I teach what Scripture teaches, apply biblical principles where they undeniably apply, and let the chips fall where they may. I won’t abuse my position by targeting my personal political foes (whether a candidate or a proposition); but I also won’t avoid clear scriptural teaching in order to escape tension or to provide cover for someone or something people in the church might support.
We need to refrain from being partisan when we’re with other believers, but there are some things we all must faithfully push back against, regardless of the source:
Slander
Political debate in our society often includes the slandering of one’s opponents. Christians should never take part in this. We must have a zero-tolerance policy in the church regarding slander, and not allow ourselves to be corrupted in this way. Slander often comes out in a mocking or ridiculing manner. If we’re seeking to mock or ridicule someone, we’re sinning already. Everything we do and say is to be done in love. Jesus even said we’re to love our enemies (Matthew 5:43-47). You’re not treating someone with love if you’re mocking or ridiculing them.
This behavior is common practice in the world, but it’s blatantly unbiblical and un-Christlike. We are not supposed to copy the behavior of the world, we’re to be transformed by the Holy Spirit (Romans 12:2). We’re to be different. We should never be passing on anything about someone if we haven’t confirmed it’s true. If someone in the church is saying anything slanderous—especially about someone we would see as a political opponent—we need to speak up, and not allow the slander to go unchallenged. There is no room for slander in God’s church.
Baseless claims
Jesus said we’re to love God with all our minds (Matthew 22:37). This means we can’t blindly give credence to extreme claims, even if we’d like them to be true. Over the years, I’ve heard Christians make wide-eyed claims about mass resurrections of the dead in Africa or South America. When I enquire whether the person has confirmed if these stories are actually true, I usually get a blank look in response. A claim that can’t be confirmed or refuted isn’t a basis for any belief or conclusion, and it’s not something we should be asserting as true.
To confidently pass on something as true when we can’t verify or refute it, is to hurt our witness as those who proclaim the truth of Jesus Christ. A conspiracy theory is one that can be neither verified nor refuted. So this should have no part in our reasoning or in church discussions. This is especially true of any unverified theory that slanders or harms another person. Insisting on truth claims that no one outside our select group affirms as true is a characteristic of a cult, and we don’t want to fall into cult-like behavior.
Validating extreme views
Both the political left and the political right have fallen into extremism, to varying degrees and at different times. A balanced approach doesn’t mean just finding a midpoint between where the two major parties happen to be at any one time, and it also doesn’t mean treating all views as valid (regardless of how popular they may be).
Our church tries (as do many other churches) to not draw lines doctrinally unless it’s necessary for us to live and function together as a church. I’ll often explain a number of different beliefs Christians hold on a certain subject, and describe these as all legitimate options for biblically-committed believers. By that, I don’t mean all the views are true, of course! I just mean there are significant biblical cases for each of the views, and they’re worthy of serious consideration by Christians. Any of the views I include can be held in good faith by sincere followers of Christ (even if they’re not all correct). Catholics and Protestants, Baptists and Presbyterians can embrace each other as fellow believers in Christ, even if we disagree with one other on serious doctrinal issues.
But I would not include the idea that Jesus isn’t God as a legitimate option for Christians. There is no good biblical case for this belief. It’s too extreme, outside the range of orthodox Christian beliefs. I wouldn’t list this as a belief followers of Christ can hold in good faith. That doesn’t mean I wouldn’t treat this claim fairly, and give a gracious hearing (in the right context) to someone advocating this belief. And it doesn’t mean I’d condemn someone who holds this view as necessarily cut off from God. (That’s God’s call, not mine.) But I’m not going to tell the people in our church this belief is one of a number of biblically legitimate options for Christians. That would be irresponsible.
In the same way, I try to teach and give illustrations in a way that doesn’t require a particular viewpoint politically. I’ll often show how a biblical truth can be meaningful to both conservatives and progressives. But I won’t include, as legitimate options, claims that have absolutely no basis in truth—no matter how popular they may be at any given moment. The earth isn’t flat. I’m not going to include a flat-earth view as one of many legitimate options. That would be irresponsible.
In the same way, I won’t give credence to any political claim that can’t be verified or refuted. Now, hopefully this never comes up, because I don’t go out of my way to speak out against ideas that may be growing popular with some in the church. It’s not my place to be a cultural watchdog, and tell people what ideas they can or can’t believe. But it is my responsibility to not allow the church to become a haven for extreme ideas that have no basis in verifiable fact. Treating baseless, extreme views as legitimate can harm the people in the church, and it does great damage to our witness to those outside the church.
We must be people of truth. This doesn’t mean we’re so arrogant as to think we know all truth, but it does mean we have high standards for what we accept as true or as legitimate options worthy of serious consideration. And we don’t equate popular acclaim with verifiable truth. The truth is too important to us for us to subvert it for the sake of our political agenda.
As followers of Christ, we’re to be people of truth and people of love. We’re to be showing the world around us both our commitment to truth (above any partisan loyalties), and the love of Christ within us. We especially need to be modeling this love when we have the strongest disagreements. We need to show them Christians don’t have to avoid certain subjects (which is often the best the world can do) because the Spirit has equipped and empowered us to be able to discuss anything and do it lovingly, respectfully and peacefully. We don’t divide and become hostile over differences of viewpoints, but we do hold each other to vigorous standards of truth, and to a process of accountability to Scripture and to each other—iron sharpening iron—to help each other stay focused on what is both verifiably true and genuinely loving.
We must demonstrate that, through this kind of thoughtful interaction—where we’re seeking the truth, not trying to win arguments—we grow in our understanding of issues and help each other reach biblically-grounded, spiritually faithful viewpoints that are in harmony with the kingdom principles of our King.
So, how well are we living out the fruit of the Spirit in our political engagement?
Are we behaving like everyone else . . . or are we showing them another way?
Are we showing them his way?
Related posts:
What Is Christian Nationalism, and Why Is It So Dangerous?
What Does Christian Character Look Like?
Was Jesus a Conservative or a Progressive?
We All Hate How Polarized We’ve Become . . . So What Are We Doing About It?
Playing Fair: Defining the Terms We Use
Did God Use Evil People in the Bible?
Thanks, Lori!
Just a Thank you!