Christianity, Pluralism, and Public Life

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REINTRODUCE CHRISTIANITYBuilding on this idea of what pluralism requires of Christians, we believe Christians should view rising religious disaffiliationand secularism as not just a challenge, but an opportunity. Christians can no longer rest on the assumption that theirneighbors understand what it means to be Christian, but this means that they have the opportunity to introduce theirneighbors to Christian principles and practices. This is a historically significant moment. Much of what presents as culturalantagonism or cold indifference may derive from a lack of understanding of Christianity. This situation creates an opportunityfor Christian individuals and institutions to educate others about the faith and encourage meaningful dialogue with thosewho do not identify as Christian.BUILD BRIDGESIn a pluralistic environment, diverse relationships and interactions are essential to living out the command to love yourneighbor. It is impossible to show love for neighbors without knowing them and expressing interest in learning moreabout them. Christian leaders and organizations should focus on building bridges across various kinds of difference as anexpression of the expansiveness and transcendence of God’s love and of their concern for the communities in which they arelocated.Christians and Christian organizations can seek to build bridges for the sake of relationship alone, but, as many of the leaderswe interviewed noted, building bridges is easier when it is oriented toward some shared goal or purpose. Some of the mostfruitful efforts are built around service and a pursuit of the common good.BE DISTINCTDiversity alone does not make for healthy pluralism. Pluralism is healthy when people feel they can enter the public as theyare, free to express themselves without fear. Christians have made and can continue to make contributions in a pluralisticAmerica that are not uniquely Christian. Such contributionsoffer great benefits. However, we believe Christians who arewilling to take up the call should also be welcomed to makedistinctly, identifiably Christian contributions in public.Christians—like anyone from any faith background or noneat all—need a place in the public square to express theirviews and make distinct contributions that result from livingout their faith commitments.48 | Christianity, Pluralism, and Public Life in the United States
Recommendations for Political and Other Public LeadersSUPPORT RELIGIOUS FREEDOMHealthy religious pluralism requires robust religious freedom. 36 We encourage political leaders to affirm the importance ofreligious freedom as a foundational human right and to be clear about what they believe religious freedom entails. It is moredifficult for religious communities, as with any other community, to think about and act in politics in a healthy way if actualor proposed public policies infringe upon their fundamental freedoms, including the free exercise of their faith.Of course, a commitment to robust religious freedom complicates public discourse when people air conflicting views, andconversations and democratic compromise grow difficult, especially in a pluralistic society. But everyone—religious andsecular—must be free to act according to their deeply-held beliefs.PARTNER WITH CHRISTIANSGovernment, 37 philanthropy, and social service organizations should view Christians 38 as potential partners, particularly inserving those in need, and invite them to partner as Christians, with distinctly religious attributes. As religious adherence andaffiliation decline in this country, secular actors should accept responsibility for bridge-building work as well. A pluralisticenvironment that welcomes Christian involvement is much more likely to facilitate publicly-minded Christians.Such partnerships do not always need to be financial. Our interviews revealed many ways that communities of faith buildintellectual, social, moral, and human capital. Pastors and other Christian leaders are great resources because they knowtheir communities well and can be vital sources of knowledge on a range of matters of public importance.ADVANCE A POSITIVE VISION OF FAITH IN PUBLIC LIFEAs the leaders we interviewed clearly and openly admitted, both the real and perceived contributions of Christians inthe public square can be negative and harmful. Conversations about these negative contributions are relevant for publicdiscourse, though they should be constructive and respectful. Christian leaders can serve the public well by engaging theircritics humbly and seeking forgiveness when they fall short.When public leaders, especially political leaders accountable to constituents, speak to the role of Christians in public life,they should do so with honesty and integrity, treating Christianity with respect equal to that of other religions. Leaders needto cast a vision for how Christians are playing and can play a positive role in public life, and those who are Christian can do soby setting positive examples.36Religious freedom, like other rights, is not absolute. Although we have offered some discussion of its place and relevance, it is beyond thescope of this report to prescribe just how much religious freedom is necessary or advisable.37There are broadly accepted norms and guidelines surrounding faith-based partnerships with government. In our national context, it isvital for pluralism that faith-based partnerships with government are done in ways that respect the Constitution.38To be explicit, we should note here that while this report focuses on Christians, the value of partnerships with faith communities,particularly when it comes to the government, is applicable to other faith communities as well. We would add that, when it comes to thegovernment, partnering exclusively with Christians is harmful for pluralism just as excluding Christians is harmful for pluralism.Christianity, Pluralism, and Public Life in the United States | 49
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 and 22: they view as essential to it—as e
Page 23 and 24: us and about our Judeo-Christian tr
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: Encouraging Positive Christian Cont
Page 53 and 54: precisely because every man is made

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