Secular politics is not the reason I created this blog and it is not something I look to talk about very much within this blog. However, I've noticed a disturbing trend not only within the leadership of the Episcopal Church, but also within the greater body of Christianity.
Firstly, it should be said that there is absolutely nothing wrong with Christians being involved in secular politics and holding various opinions when it comes to the political issues of the day. There is also nothing wrong with Christian leaders holding a wide-array of opinions when it comes to secular politics.
All of this being said, the problem is when the leaders of Christian churches state their political opinions as being the opinion of the whole church. There is not one Christian denomination that exists where all members hold the exact same opinions on politics and the issues of the day. Heck, there is not even a single parish where you can find people who hold the exact same opinions on politics. People that are required to hold the exact same opinions on all issues can often be found in religious cults, like the Jehovah's Witnesses. Thus, when the leadership of a church makes these claims that "we think this way" on a certain issue, it becomes a source of strain between those who share those opinions and those who do not share those opinions. It becomes even more problematic when the leadership of the church calls on all of their flock to lobby politicians in support of a controversial political cause.
In the Episcopal Church, in particular, there is now a push that calls on all Episcopalians to support stricter gun control. The issue of gun control is extremely emotional and controversial for many Americans. It is an issue that needs to be discussed and rational debate and discussion should be at the forefront of all discussion. That said, it seems that the Episcopal Church leadership has already decided that they support gun control and there hasn't been any discussion about the issue between those that agree with gun control and those who do not agree with more gun control. What about those who disagree with stronger gun control? Are their opinions of no value to the church? What is to be gained by taking such divisive stances? I have no problem with bishops and church leaders making their opinions known on gun control, whether they are for or against, but we should not be in the business of calling on all the flock to support or not support these controversial issues. It should be noted that those who do not support stronger gun control do not face punishment of any kind by those in leadership positions, but there are sure to feel alienated that the church doesn't seem to value their opinion on the issue. Therefore, I think that it is quite easy to see how taking such controversial stands harms the church faithful. Why can't the leadership and bishops stand against gun violence, but allow that there are many opinions and views on how we reduce gun violence and crime and that they encourage the faithful to follow their own consciences on such matters. After all, we are not a cult.
Also, such lobbying is sure to expose the hypocrisy of those in leadership positions. There seems to be much concern about innocent American children being gunned down by lunatics with guns, yet there has been no statements of about innocent Muslim children being killed by US drone strikes in the Middle-East. These kind of things exposes the partisanship of the leaders of the church and makes the entire denomination look bad.
Further, since the 1960s, mainline Christianity has suffered massive decline in membership and church attendance, the Episcopal Church has seen massive losses since the 1960s. You would think that there would be more concern about how we get people in the pews than taking controversial stands on the "flavor of the month" political issue of the day.
The Episcopal Church and mainline Christianity is not alone, the evangelical Southern Baptist Convention has recently been seeing decline over the last several years. The statements of justified wars in Iraq and the Middle-East and the strong lobbying against gay marriage has not been something that has been of help to evangelicals as of late. People are searching for God and have a strong thirst for the Gospel message, but many are turned off by the constant political lobbying and involvement in secular politics. Young people are so turned off by this kind of politicking, that they call themselves "spiritual" but not "religious" and seem to have no interest in involving themselves in organized religion.
If we are truly a welcoming and accepting church, then we as Episcopalians need to find ways to make ALL feel welcome at our parishes and in the Anglican faith. Differences of opinion should be valued and respected and the leadership should be wary of involving the church in issues that are sure to be divisive, especially when very little is to be gained by such lobbying and involvement. Anything else, in my opinion, runs dangerously close to being exclusive and even cult-like in mentality.
Please feel free to comment!!
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