Keep the conversation alive

I have been a member of a group that discussed the book Waking Up White. We have agreed to continue our conversation not so much about racism itself but some of the ongoing polarization that is taking place within our country and Church.  

I am beginning to understand that just as racism was a deliberate decision by some in order to subject those of color with injustice and many times justifying it in terms of religion, so now we find ourselves in another kind of deliberate decision in creating Christian Nationalism, and this too is being justified in the name of religion. Our religious symbols are being intertwined with our national symbols, which does an injustice to both.  

I am afraid that too many people are being led along this line of thinking without really looking at what the Christian Nationalism project includes. Just because it is using the word Christian doesn’t make it Christian. As Carlos A. Rodriguez states, “To be a proper Christian nationalist you must be bad at Christianity and bad at caring for your country.”  

Christian Nationalism merely uses the veneer of Christianity to advance its own aims. It points not to Jesus of Nazareth but to the nation, as conceived of by a dangerous political ideology, as the object of allegiance. This kind of thinking is being cauterized in the agenda of 2025. Both are detrimental to our democracy but being disguised as a Christian response to the issues of today.  

The issues of our day are complicated, but they cannot be solved simply on a political agenda. These issues are moral issues and can be resolved in a synodality of conversations with faith people of various positions of belief. Our Precious Blood Community has the charism of bringing about such a conversation in the context of reconciliation, justice, and peace. 

Fr. Mark Miller, C.PP.S.