Are we wanting to influence others or force them to believe?
N. T. Wright and Michael Bird’s Jesus and the Powers book is so timely for our cohort.[1] We are preparing to visit Washington DC, the United States’ seat of power, in the middle of a highly contested political campaign season. There are many topics in this book that are worth discussing but I want to discuss the influence of Christianity in this nation and Christian Nationalism.
As I write this, I am preparing to start a new semester where I teach. Tonight, Monday, I will present my introductory lecture for my Cultural and Human Diversity class. During this lecture, I discuss the three forms of bias (stereotypes, prejudice and discrimination) and show how they have been present throughout biblical history. I then show how Jesus and the New Testament teaching urges Christians to “Love your neighbor as yourself” in an effort to counter our natural tendency toward bias.[2] I then discuss the Doctrine of Discovery and the papal bulls issued encouraging European nations to ‘Invade, search out, capture, vanquish and subdue’ all non-Christians .[3] I ask the class the question, how did we go from Jesus teaching (love others) to the Doctrine of Discovery (vanquish and subdue others)? To answer that question, I talk about Rome’s embrace of Christianity during the 4th Century. Wright and Bird write “In AD 300 about 10% of the Roman Empire was Christian. By 380, however, 50% of the population were Christians, including emperors, generals and governors of the realm. Christianity was not only legalized but also quickly became the main religious force within the empire, eclipsing hundreds of years of pagan religion.”[4] This allowed Christianity the privilege and freedom to spread across Europe. Wright and Bird state “Over the centuries, the Latin West and the Greek East became increasingly shaped by a Christian vision of God’s for the world and the place of Christian virtues in society.”[5]
We cannot deny that Christianity influenced our founding fathers and the United States Constitution. However, embedded in our Constitution is the freedom for people to believe and practice whatever religion they want, or no religion at all. Contrary to this freedom, Wright and Bird discuss Christian Nationalism which envisions the government “enforcing Christian hegemony combined with civil religion” [6] Wright and Bird state that this does not lead to a tolerant society but “diminishes the rights of the people of other religions or no religion. It leads to a superficial Christianity rather than to sincere faith and deep discipleship.”[7]
Today there are examples of people attempting to force religion upon others. Two examples come to mind. First, this summer the State of Louisianna passed legislation that requires the Ten Commandments to be posted in every public-school classroom from kindergarten through higher education.[8] The other example is Project 2025, a 900-page document from the Heritage Foundation that Kristen Kobes Du Mez claims is a “Christian nationalist blueprint for taking control of every level and facet of American government.”[9] Wright and Bird raise a great question when discussing Christian Nationalism “As we all know, there are different Christian denominations, so which one should be supreme in a Christian nationalist state?”[10] I think of downtown Wooster, Ohio, like many other cities, where at the corner of Market and Larwill Streets sits three different churches and within a block in either direction sit another three churches. Which church has the right beliefs for how to rule our nation and how people should behave?
While the State of Louisiana is dictating the Ten Commandment in every classroom the Oklahoma State Superintendent of Education mandated teaching the Bible in their schools. I spent time trying to figure out the justification for both, Louisiana and Oklahoma.[11] While I could not find justification for Louisiana’s law, Oklahoma State Superintendent Ryan Walters does support his mandate.[12] Walters states “The Bible has been a key cornerstone in the development of Western thought, influencing legal systems, ethical frameworks, and cultural norms. Teachers must focus on how biblical principles have shaped the foundational aspects of Western societies, such as the concepts of justice, human rights, and the rule of law.”[13] I found Walters’ justification to be appropriate and refreshing, it does not appear that he has a religious agenda he is pushing. In fact, he states “The Bible must be used in student instruction for its historical, literary and secular value and is not to be used for religious purposes such as preaching, proselytizing or indoctrination.”[14]
Wright and Bird conclude their book discussing Christianity and Liberalism in the context of loving our neighbor. They state that “we must allow our neighbour to be beside us and yet be different from us,” which includes providing them the freedom “to find happiness, fulfillment, flourishing, purpose and meaning in ways that we might disagree with or disapprove of.[15] This is something that Christian Nationalism struggles with, but Jesus did not. May we be more like Jesus.
[1] N. T. Wright and Michael F. Bird, Jesus and the Powers: Christian Political Witness in an Age of Totalitarian Terror and Dysfunctional Democracies, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2024).
[2] Mark 12:31, NIV; I am also thinking of Peter’s vision of the unclean animals in Acts 10 and Paul’s statement in Galatians 3:28 that all believers are one in Christ Jesus.
[3] Mark Charles and Soong-Chan Rah, Unsettling Truths: The Ongoing, Dehumanizing Legacy of the Doctrine of Discovery, (Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 2019), 15.
[4] Wrigth and Bird, 23.
[5] Wright and Bird, 26.
[6] Wright and Bird, 129-130.
[7] Wright and Bird, 129-130, 132
[8] Louisiana House of Representatives, Requires the Display of the Ten Commandments in schools, Regular Session, 2024, House Bill 71, June 19, 2024, https://legiscan.com/LA/text/HB71/2024.
[9] Jeff Brumley, “Scholars Warn: Project 2025 is a Christian Nationalist Blueprint,” Baptist News Global, July 15, 2024. https://um-insight.net/perspectives/scholars-warn-project-2025-is-a-christian-nationalist-bluepr/.
[10] Wright and Bird, 132.
[11] Alaa Elassar, “Oklahoma state superintendent announces all schools must incorporate the Bible and the Ten Commandments in curriculums,” CNN, June 27, 2024, https://www.cnn.com/2024/06/27/us/oklahoma-schools-bible-curriculum/index.html.
[12] Oklahoma State Department of Education, OSDE Instructional Support Guidelines for Teachers, https://sde.ok.gov/sites/default/files/OSDE%20Instructional%20Guidelines%20July%202024.pdf
[13] Oklahoma State Department of Education, 1.
[14] Oklahoma State Department of Education, 4.
[15] Wright and Bird, 159-160.
About the Author
Jeff Styer
Jeff Styer lives in Northeast Ohio's Amish Country. He has degrees in Social Work and Psychology and currently works as a professor of social work at Mount Vernon Nazarene University. Jeff is married to his wife, Veronica, 25+ years. Together they have 4 beautiful children (to be honest, Jeff has 4 kids, Veronica says she is raising 5). Jeff loves the outdoors, including biking, hiking, camping, birding, and recently picked up disc golf.8 responses to “Are we wanting to influence others or force them to believe?”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Jeff, I would love to take your class! 🙂 How do your students typically respond? How did they respond to your first class this week? What preconceived thoughts and beliefs are they bringing into the classroom with them?
I agree that Walters’s emphasis on the literary aspects of the Bible is different from many others who insist on its use in school. My only question is, are there any other documents or resources he is pushing in like manner? Surely there are other resources that formed our government.
I looked it up and found these as other resources that influenced the Constitution:
–Colonial documents: The Mayflower Compact, which established the first colonial government, and the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut
–English charters: The Magna Carta and the English Bill of Rights
–Political writings: The writings of John Locke, Thomas Hobbes, and Montesquieu on natural rights theory and forms of government
–The Iroquois Great Law of Peace: The constitution that established the federal league of five tribes
I wonder if Walters would stand by those documents as well.
Don’t get me wrong; I would LOVE to have everyone read the Bible, even if only for its literary value. There are far too many people who grow up knowing nothing about it. I’m just not sure requiring it in schools – without similar requirements for other critical documents – helps young people grow up into adults who love it. That would be an interesting study…
Debbie,
I think Walters gives teachers freedom to incorporate other documents including those you mentioned into the classroom for comparative purposes. I believe he would welcome the opportunity to for students to learn all the different sources that impact who we are as a society. At least I hope he does.
The first night of class the students are fairly quiet and don’t respond to my statements. Many come from very conservative backgrounds with an overly positive view of themselves and their religion. I tell them one of the goals of the class is to have them challenge their biases as the learn about different cultures. Allow your overly positive biases to become a little more realistic and your negative biases to become more positive.
Hi Jeff,
Thank you for your post.
The Malaysian declaration of national principles includes believing in God (which ever faith that might be). Coming from a country where Christianity is not the main belief, I appreciate the Ten Commandments being taught in schools. In U.S. the Ten Commandments is perceived as Biblical but in Malaysia, these are basic human principles for everyday living.
In reading Matthew 22:21, where Jesus speaks about giving to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s, and how this might inform the balance between faith and civic duty.
In your understanding, how should Christians navigate the tension between their faith and the concept of a secular state?
Shela,
This tension is uncomfortable for many in our US society. Some Christians view the US as the New Israel, God’s chosen, and we need to “return to our Christian foundations.” But let’s get real, Israel only lasted a short period of time before crying out for a king who did not follow God’s law. To resolve the tension between faith and a secular state, we need to realize that until Christ’s return the world will never have a ruler who truly speaks and acts like God. Nor will our laws truly reflect God, the government will always be corrupted by sin and its desires. Our desires should be to imitate God, giving people freedom to choose, yet influence the world through Love.
Hi Jeff, When my daughter was in 8th grade she had an assignment to try to find the person who lived the longest. She went to the Bible and chose Moses. The teacher would not accept her research because she said the Bible wasn’t real. Thankfully we could process that response together, but it was an example that is opposite what is happening today. Either way, when Biblical standards are either forced or prohibited, something seem off balance. Do your students get to a point to being able to really think through these topics? How do you elicit responses?
Sorry that your daughter had that experience, but glad you could process it together. Our campus has all students take a class towards the end of their undergrad experience that I believe is designed to help them process these topics. I do see growth in our students in their ability to process these topics. I wish I had more time in my classes to talk with them about more faith issues.
Jeff,
I think you bring up a couple of good examples. Honestly, there are quite a few these days. Project 2025 is a concerning issue and possibly because of the length of it nobody will really read it and understand what is in it (myself included.) How might we as a Christian community advocate for Christian values in the schools or political realm without falling into Christian Nationalism?
Adam,
Sorry, I try not to do any schoolwork on Sundays. To advocate without falling into Christian Nationalism, I think we need to promote some basic Christian virtues that will help shape society but not force everyone to act in a specified manner. School, I believe already promote the Golden Rule. In a world where diversity is promoted, I would advocate that we emphasize the lack of diversity that exists. Schools can teach students that despite the way a person looks, speaks, dresses, etc. they are still human just like we are, and we need to respect them for that reason alone. These also need to be reinforced in the political realm. For example, we as a nation could expect the politicians to respect each other as a person, no name calling. Stop seeing everything from an us versus them position but instead, looking to work together first and foremost in areas where we do agree