I Got My Window and You Got Yours

Freedom of Religion

Photo by Олег Мороз on Unsplash

We live in the same house, on different floors
I got my window. and you got yours
We’ve each got a door that leads to the hall
But the rooms are so cozy and the door is so small

One and Many,” Noel Paul Stookey, Elizabeth B. Stookey, and Sam Lardner
©2008 Neworld Multimedia Publishing

In our first meeting to talk about the book, both of us expressed having a heart for “nones,” those people who check the “none” box (or answer “nothing in particular”) on questionnaires that ask about religious affiliation. They include the “spiritual but not religious,” atheists, agnostics, and Christian but not “churched.” The religiously unaffiliated is the largest “religious” group in America, making up 28% of Americans and growing in number since 2013. They outnumber white evangelical protestant (13%); white mainline/non-evangelical protestant (13%); white Catholic (12%); black protestant (7%); and Hispanic Catholic.(1) Their reasons for claiming that category are varied, but 67% of them say they left their faith tradition because they stopped believing its teachings.(2) That’s not to say that they have stopped believing in God or in a higher power. Most still do.

At that first meeting, both of us knew the meaning of “nones,” but neither had heard of the term “Christian nationalism.” Even if we had, we wouldn’t have been asking what “nones” had to do with it and with its blurring of the separation of church and state. The website of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State explains that connection well. The rise of nones proves that the “First Amendment is doing exactly what it was intended to do—give Americans the choice to be religious to explore spirituality within the confines of a house of worship or do it ourselves.” We have the right “to blend traditions, explore theology or reject faith entirely.” In addition, Americans United contends that “the rise of the Nones infuriates Christian Nationalists,” who remain convinced that that everyone should attend a church (one approved by them, of course).” Therein lies the problem.

Christian nationalism is a manipulation of Christian faith to fulfill a political aim—to use the power of the state to force a rigid form of Christianity on the whole population. For some, the means of force includes violence, which they justify by seeing themselves as soldiers in a battle between God and Satan, good and evil. Since Trump’s first term in office, Christian nationalists have supported banning books; restricting curriculum in public schools, colleges, and universities; withholding research grants in climate science or medicine; using tax revenue for public schools; taking away funding for services that help the poor, and marginalized; and destroying parts of government that have taken both major parties decades to build. Some Christian nationalists believe that it’s ethical to use violence to carry out their goals. For them, the end justifies the means. One strain of Christian nationalism, the Seven Mountain Mandate, names seven spheres of cultural influence that their kind of believers should dominate: religion, government, family, education, media, arts/entertainment, and business. Pretty much everything.

Christian nationalism does a huge disservice to the “nones” and others who stand on the borderline of faith only to encounter a form of Christianity that takes up an outsized place in media and strives to take an outsized place in government, indeed, in society. Most of all, Christian nationalism ignores the diversity of ways human beings seek to understand the nature of God (or not) and practice faith. It also harms the public perception of Christianity when it disregards the realities that Christianity has within its history many theological perspectives and that genuine faith cannot be dictated or imposed.

(1) https://prri.org/spotlight/2024-prri-census-of-american-religion/

(2) https://prri.org/spotlight/partisanship-and-political-engagement-among-religiously-unaffiliated-voters-ahead-of-the-2024-presidential-election/

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Connections

In their official statements, mainline protestant denominations, the U.S. Catholic Bishops, and many interdenominational and interfaith groups oppose Christian nationalism and strongly support the separation of church and state. Here are official statements from some of them: Evangelical Lutheran Church, United Church of Christ (a.k.a. Congregational), United Methodist Church, National Council of Churches, and Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

Vibrations

Noel’s “One and Many” has played a central role in One Light, Many Candles, a multifaith program created by the Rev. Elizabeth Stookey, which she and Noel have presented in churches, synagogues, other settings across the nation for over 15 years. Betty’s vision has been to help audiences learn to appreciate, honor and respect the communal truth of another’s faith tradition and guide persons of varying spiritual traditons toward a peaceful coexistence within those differences.

Resonance

We invite you to share a story about what the separation of church and state has meant to you.