Christianity, Pluralism, and Public Life

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The leaders we interviewed identified two main sources of concern regarding a healthy religious pluralism, one from withinthe Christian community and the other more general. Some expressed that Christians who view their faith as an affiliationor as a tribe, but do not hold to the ethics of the faith, might lack the resources or the will to view religious pluralism asanything other than an inconvenience or a threat. When considering possible challenges Christians might have with religiouspluralism, Dr. Christina H. Edmundson, Dean of Intercultural Student Development at Calvin University, raised the possibilitythat “we may not have enough love for the people who represent theological and religious traditions different than our own.And so our way of dealing with them is to just wish they were gone.” A few other leaders expressed similar concerns. Becausetribalism and social fragmentation are such prominent features of our current political and social context, and political,media, and news technologies and systems often reinforce such thinking, the theological and ethical rationales for religiouspluralism can get crowded out.The second source of concern is with the idea that the presence of religious diversity requires that we flatten public discourseor justifies attempts to disadvantage or even legally limit Christian expression. When discussing religious pluralism, DeaconCharlie Echeverry, National Chair of Communications for the Catholic Association of Latino Leaders, argued that it was in linewith the Catholic Church’s teaching that “people can come to faith and God through reason alone, that nobody can be forcedagainst their conscience to believe any particular thing.” He also noted how religious pluralism has allowed for distinctlyCatholic contributions to the social good through the work of various charities, institutions like hospitals and schools, andlocal parishes. Yet, he cautioned against a view of pluralism that leads to syncretism, where people “kind of blend things intothis kind of mush” that makes them unable to value distinctly religious expressions. A religious pluralism that minimizes ordismisses the claims of faith—rather than one that provides for a robust marketplace of ideas—is hardly pluralism at all.In many of our interviews, leaders from various denominations and backgrounds insisted on the unique value of their faithtradition and then went on to defend religious pluralism. Dr. Mark Labberton, President of Fuller Theological Seminary, spokeof ways pluralism deepens faith: “[Pluralism] creates the opportunity to see and understand your faith in ways that we can’totherwise and to be able to grow in our ability to see life and meaning and even religious truth claims through a variety ofdifferent lenses.” Their comments and experiences also suggest that a vibrant faith can support a healthy pluralism.This is a critical insight. It is sometimes suggested that the way to promote religious inclusion is to emphasize similaritiesbetween different religious traditions or try to reduce the salience of religion altogether. However, our interviews suggest thata respect for difference can be grounded in the Christian faith itself. We must be able to communicate that religious differencedoes not require the compromising of one’s faith, but instead that religious difference, difference of any kind, provides anopportunity to live out one’s faith.This was essentially German Chancellor AngelaMerkel’s claim during a debate in her country aboutan influx of Muslim migrants. At a town hall forum infront of the Christian Democratic Union party she led,she said “We don’t have too much Islam. We have toolittle Christianity. We have too few discussions aboutthe Christian view of mankind.” Germany, she argued,should view this moment as an opportunity to have amore robust conversation about the “values that guide20 | Christianity, Pluralism, and Public Life in the United States
us and about our Judeo-Christian tradition. We have to stress this again with confidence, then we will also be able to bringabout cohesion in our society.” 32Our Takeaways:}}}}Christian leaders see and embrace the value of religious pluralism for religious minorities and Americansociety at large, as well as for Christians specifically.Christians who are confident in their understanding of their faith may be better equipped to supporta healthy religious pluralism. Likewise, a healthy religious pluralism may help Christians betterunderstand their faith.Christians and Bridge BuildingClearly, there are resources within Christianity to navigate diversity, but how do Christian leaders think about their faith as itrelates to partnerships across diversity?Christians have great opportunity and resources to serve as bridge builders in their congregations and communities. Many ofthe leaders we interviewed described bridge building as central to the Christian ethic, talked about its importance in the lifeof the church, and offered many examples of such work in practice.Bridge building is fundamental to the Christian ethic, beginning with the gospel story itself and the sacrificial work of JesusChrist. As Ruth Padilla DeBorst, Rector of the Center for Interdisciplinary Theological Studies (CETI), Costa Rica, explained,“at the core of the gospel is reconciliation. It’s God in Christ reconciling the world... The greatest divide was bridged by Jesus.No divide is bigger than the one separating sinful humanity from the Creator’s perfect God... He showed what reconciliationlooks like: it’s giving Himself away for the sake of others.” Christians are called to follow Jesus’ model, identifying gaps anddivides and finding ways to reconcile them.Several of the leaders we interviewed connected bridge building with the biblical command of love for neighbor, discussingways Christians can reach out across a range of differences and seek to bring people together. The Rev. Joseph A. Darby,Senior Pastor of Nichols Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church, summarized: “if we are who we claim to be, if we aredevotees of Jesus who said, ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself,’ we ought to be able to offer a voice of moderationand an extended hand and a tolerant spirit.” Such themes connect with the related call for Christians to love their enemies.Dr. Robert P. George, McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence at Princeton University, described the challenge this way: “It’sour fundamental duty to love our enemies. We have to bless those who persecute us... And we have to make our enemiesrecognize or understand or feel that we love them. And when we do that, it becomes easier to engage with people we disagreewith or who were themselves advancing causes that we think are contrary to the human good, contrary to justice, contrary tothe common good, contrary to what’s right.”Other tenets of Christian theology provide important foundations for bridge building. Andy Crouch, Partner for Theology andCulture at Praxis, pointed to original sin as one essential doctrine that makes everyone level and equally in need of salvation.32Tom Heneghan, “Merkel urges Germans: stand up for Christian values,” Reuters, November 15, 2010, Accessed December 10, 2019.Available at: https://in.reuters.com/article/us-germany-cdu-christianity/merkel-urges-germans-stand-up-for-christian-valuesidINTRE6AE3K520101115Christianity, Pluralism, and Public Life in the United States | 21
Page 1 and 2: Christianity, Pluralism, andPublic
Page 3 and 4: ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSABOUT THE AUTHORSWe
Page 5 and 6: PrefaceReady or not, here it comes:
Page 7 and 8: Third, and finally, we hope this re
Page 9 and 10: RELIGIOUS IDENTITYAlthough many sur
Page 11 and 12: RELIGIOUS BELIEF AND BEHAVIOREven t
Page 13 and 14: Opposition remains strongest among
Page 15 and 16: To say that questions involving plu
Page 17 and 18: As enmity for the other party grows
Page 19 and 20: PART IIHow Christian Leaders Are Th
Page 21: they view as essential to it—as e
Page 25 and 26: INSIGHTS INTO THE BRIDGE-BUILDING P
Page 27 and 28: BRIDGING ACROSS POLITICAL, RELIGIOU
Page 29 and 30: DIVIDES WITHIN CHRISTIANITY THAT CH
Page 31 and 32: Some of our respondents raised conc
Page 33 and 34: There are three ways to look at thi
Page 35 and 36: particular, don’t have a politica
Page 37 and 38: Politics and Christian CommunityPol
Page 39 and 40: POLITICS AND THE LAITYWe were also
Page 41 and 42: OPENLY DISCUSS THEIR OWN FAITH AND
Page 43 and 44: literate in the very basic sense th
Page 45 and 46: PART IIIA Way Forward: Recommendati
Page 47 and 48: DISCIPLESHIP AND CATECHISMMany Chri
Page 49 and 50: Encouraging Positive Christian Cont
Page 51 and 52: Recommendations for Political and O
Page 53 and 54: precisely because every man is made

Christianity, Pluralism, and Public Life

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