Many of you know that I have been struggling with my faith and especially with organized religion over the last five years. I have fought very hard to hold on to my faith in God/Jesus during a dangerous politicized religious climate and my kids coming out LGBTQ+. I’m very thankful I have worked hard to retain my faith in a Divine God who loves the world, but it has been difficult for these reasons, mainly because of how the Religious Right has behaved.
The central message of Jesus’ life and ministry was to liberate the oppressed, provide for those in need, call out the Religious Right, and stand with and give hope to the marginalized. Let’s look at the example of Jesus feeding the 5000. Jesus didn’t place any conditions on who was fed a meal. He didn’t require them to “profess Jesus is Lord,” “repent of sin,” or anything else. Jesus unconditionally fed them because they were hungry, and he offered his teachings to those who chose to listen. Most of all, Jesus lived by example to liberate the oppressed, provide for those in need, call out the Religious Right, and stand with and give hope to the marginalized much more so by what He did through action than by what He said.
I believe that a large portion of White conservative American Christianity does the exact opposite of what Jesus did in his ministry: they further oppress the oppressed, coerce money out of those who are struggling, give more power, wealth, and influence to the Religious Right, and ignore and even further marginalize the marginalized. I have observed and experienced their shenanigans in conservative religious circles and have watched them weaponize harmful doctrines into secular civil law for many years. The pain and betrayal I have encountered from later fully understanding the actions of the Religious Right during the Trump era is a betrayal like no other in my life. Understanding that faith leaders I once admired sold out to a 34-count convicted felon, an adjudicated rapist, an indicted insurrectionist and fraudster, and many other unsavory official titles, have created a sense of doubt and uncertainty like no other in my life. But those doubts and uncertainties have given me the ability to critically think and fully-embrace what is good, helpful, and life-giving for all vulnerable people.
In fighting to hold on to my faith in God/Jesus, I have found hope in urban faith communities and secular nonprofits of various flavors who are either openly welcoming and/or affirming of the most vulnerable people. I think this is the litmus test. If a church, faith community, a secular nonprofit, and allied individuals are willing to protect the most vulnerable from the Religious Right and stick their necks in the line of fire to protect them from the World’s Largest Hypocrites, that’s a sign that they are actually following Jesus. As one of my favorite progressive Church signs says from the United Church of Christ, “Kind Atheists are much closer to Jesus than mean Christians.
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