Christian Colleges Talk Social Justice, Theological Orthodoxy

Who among us has not felt trapped between the appeal of social justice activism and a commitment to theologically orthodox beliefs? There shouldn’t be contradiction between a scripturally rooted worldview and commitment to equality, but it often does not feel that way.

On one side are self-identified Christians whose faith centers upon material improvement without reference to Christ; at the other extreme are Christians to whom the phrase “social justice,” and “progressivism,” must be guarded against. In response to this perceived dichotomy the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU) recently hosted a two-day conference entitled “Faithful Leadership: Race, Politics, and Evangelicalism in America.”

The conference was billed as discussing “political divisions, racial strife, and deep polarization” which have rocked both church and nation. Across two days of panels the interlocutors included Lisa Isihara of Seattle Pacific University, Beth Moore of Living Proof Ministries, pastor Robert Chao Romero, Jeff Liou of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, professor Korie Edwards of Ohio State University, professor Nathan Cartagena of Wheaton College, Ray Chang of Wheaton College, Jamie Noling-Auth of George Fox University, Mark Labberton of Fuller Theological Seminary, Nikki Toyama-Szeto of Christians for Social Action (formerly Evangelicals for Social Action), Justin Giboney of The AND Campaign and Southern Baptist policy chief Russell Moore of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission.

Many Evangelicals voice concerns about encroachments upon religious liberty and cultural hostility, but Labberton, president of Fuller Theological Seminary, said the worst threats are internal. While resolutely opposing the Equality Act, a Democrat-sponsored pro-LGBTQ bill that recently passed the U.S. House of Representatives, he also said he didn’t want to be part of any kind of religious liberty that could be used to promote bigotry. In reference to calls for workplace DEI, or Diversity, Equity and Inclusion he said “I’m for DEI and all of its implications, but we are called to that as a minimum and not a maximum.”

Justin Giboney, President of the AND Campaign, criticized Evangelicals for being willing to elect anyone who promises them vengeance, payback or power. Alluding to Former President Donald Trump, he said that the promises for retribution could be from a morally or literally bankrupt person and Evangelicals would still follow him just to see liberals kept at bay.

Attacking both sides of the political spectrum, Giboney went on to castigate progressives who call abortion “reproductive justice” and conservatives who ignore white nationalism under the guise of patriotism. He also pressed for Christians to use exclusively biblical language and not language originating from academia or activist groups.

Russell Moore, President of the ERLC, the public policy arm of the Southern Baptist Convention, went after the proliferation of conspiracy theories in the church. Whether they allege that Bill Gates places microchips in COVID vaccines or stolen elections, spiritual homelessness leads to a watering down of our theology. Moore added that he thought much of the conflict between Democrats and Republicans was due to political idolatry, where both sides actively seek conflict as a source of meaning.

Moore additionally described the difference between patriotism and nationalism, stressing our need for the former over the latter. Patriotism means honoring your country like your father and mother; it means recognizing the source of our inherited blessings. Nationalism, in contrast, means using Christianity as a means of sanctifying a political body, of using religion as a means to the end of promoting a country. He pointed to “those who want to form identity around blood and soil and Christianity can be a useful way to do that.”

Moore also lamented how impossible it seems to be for people to talk about typically right-wing issues like abortion while also addressing typically left-wing issues like poverty and refugees. He blamed these issues in part on “mass-market” Christianity, designed to enable us to ignore sin we are complicit in while focusing intently on sins we can judge others for.

Wheaton College chaplain Ray Chang noted while it’s clear that both the far-left and far-right political actors don’t share Christian morals we should not equivocate between the two. Within Evangelicalism the far-right is far more prevalent, and we must acknowledge that if we’re going to deal with it.

Nikki Toyama-Szeto, executive director of Christians for Social Action, went farther. She advocated for “land acknowledgement” ceremonies where institutions give public recognition of the particular Native Americans who previously inhabited their land. This presumably wouldn’t include acknowledging whatever tribe the land was most recently conquered from prior to European colonization.

The two-day webinar definitely showed growing demand for a Christian vocabulary to talk about social justice, divorced from far-left Marxism to one side and far-right Nationalism on the other. With conferences like these and organizations like Giboney’s AND Campaign may be the start of a real shift in how we think of political theology.