Faith as the Antidote to Fear
““Thin” but zealous practice of the Christian faith is likely to foster violence; “thick” and committed practice will help generate and sustain a culture of peace.”
Like many, hearing the date “January 6” evokes new meaning than it did before. I won’t forget the feeling of sitting on the floor of my bedroom in Arlington, Virginia, watching live news coverage from the steps of the United States Capitol and seeing a flag with the words “Jesus is King” swinging in the air while a mob swarmed the building.
The appropriation of Christian imagery by extremist ideologies is not new. The KKK would burn crosses outside the homes of Black and Jewish families. The Celtic cross has been used by neo-Nazi groups to illustrate a racial holy war, where the return of Jesus ushers in the return of whites to power. Since 2016, there has been an increase in Crusader language and imagery related to white supremacy; for example, red crosses appeared in the 2017 Charlottesville Unite the Right rally. And we haven’t even begun to talk about the digital realm. Crusader images have taken over the far-right meme-boards and infiltrated more mainstream meme culture as well. Coupled with phrases like “deus volt” (Latin for “God wills it”) signals something more sinister than an off-color joke: the desire to return to white European superiority.
If this feels frightening and shocking, it should. While these ideologies are on the fringes, they are patterns to be aware of, vigilant about, and mourn.
It is also important to understand how Christian theologies and ideologies can be twisted, taken out of context and used as gateways to more extremist views. In this interview with On Being from 2004, which feels even more relevant now, Yale theologian Miroslav Volf distinguishes a “thin” religion, which can lead to extremist and violent ideologies and practices, from a “thick” religion. He says, “It’s religiosity reduced to a formula. It’s religiosity reduced to a single symbolic gesture. And once you reduce religion to that, for instance, Christian faith, what happens is that you can then project everything that you want onto that." He goes on to speak about how Christian imagery can become a statement to demonstrate affiliation with a particular cultural identity or political action when separated from the historical traditions, context, and rich theological history of Christianity.
The reality is that not only are there Christians who join extremist groups, but faith can indeed be used for radicalization. And yet this is also the reality: the antidote to extremism is not a thinning of faith, but a thickening of faith. It is stronger discipleship and “more Jesus.”
To get to the antidote, you need to address the root causes of radicalization, which I believe can be reached by asking two simple questions: Where are people spending their time? What are they dwelling on?
Both are questions of how we are being spiritually formed.
The consumption of partisan media (or really, any news media) exacerbates the idea that we are facing a culture war. In her book High Conflict, Amanda Ripley coined the term conflict entrepreneur to describe “people who exploit high conflict for their own ends. High conflict is “a conflict that becomes self-perpetuating and all-consuming, in which almost everyone ends up worse off. Typically an us-versus-them conflict,” (xi).
We see conflict entrepreneurship demonstrated in the American news media, which frames current news through a politically charged lens, ultimately to keep their audience engaged and advertising dollars locked. The same is true of social media content, where the loudest and most extreme voices are the ones that garner the most attention through “likes” and “shares” (Jonathan Haidt describes this in greater detail in this Atlantic article.)
Pearls before Swine, May 14, 2022
It's often said, “Pastors only have people one day a week, Fox News and CNN have them seven.” This is the where.
The what is connected. It’s not only where people are spending their time, but what they are dwelling on or thinking about on a daily basis.
Radicalization does not usually happen overnight. It is also usually not a cognitive process, but an emotive one. When a YouTube video triggers an emotional response based on something that resonated with a person's current belief system and amplifies something that they are afraid of, then they click on another video, and another. YouTube’s algorithm serves up a menu of videos to people based on their past likes and dislikes. All it takes is a click of curiosity. You have extreme stories of this happening, but there are ways that the content we consume shapes us all and the way we interact with the world.
Fear is the prime motivator in this devolution. It may be a fear that the changing moral landscape of America may result in the loss of a shared value system and the feeling of no longer being in the majority opinion on moral issues. Or, a fear of instability in the future and the world changing quickly, amplified by talk of a “culture war” and discussion of the End Times coming from the pulpit or a Twitter feed. Perhaps the world feels darker and more evil than it has before, and there is fear of what that means for a person’s children or grandchildren.
Ultimately, it is the fear of something that feels out of a person’s control that makes them grasp for what might feel inside their control. Fears can be amplified by voices of influence and credibility. They can also be countered.
As a Christian, understanding the truth and context of Scripture is a counter to fear. Knowing that darkness and evil has already been defeated by Jesus and we are living in the reality of the Resurrection is a counter. Being reminded that God moves fearlessly towards all people in love, especially the marginalized, is also a counter. So is taking time away from the platforms of the conflict entrepreneurs and creating space for stillness and silence to be grounded in truth and peace.
While fear can be the thing that drives us apart, it is often in the fear that allows us to establish and understand common ground too. When we take time to sit across from someone with compassion, listen to them and respond in love, we can personally be part of countering fear and building relational bridges. We may find we have similar core fears (as well as similar hopes and desires).
Clapham plays an integral role in navigating these dynamics. During my time at Clapham, I’ve seen Mark and other staff expertly guide conversations across lines of difference with compassion and thoughtfulness. We’ve held forums for Evangelical leaders who represent different political ideologies come together to have difficult conversations. We’ve studied depolarization and bridging tactics, and served as translators between faith communities and secular organizations.
My work over the past three years at Clapham has helped me recognize a profound need in our current cultural moment: a counter-narrative to the frantic and anxious public square we find ourselves in. As Americans look to the role that faith plays in public life, there is increasing doubt that faith does more good than harm in the public square. Many are concluding religion is part of the problem, not part of the solution.
What we know is that the future of American democracy is inextricably tied to the character of Christianity in this country. The question is not whether Christianity will influence our future together as Americans, but how Christianity will influence our nation’s future.
What does it look like to operate from a place of hope, rather than fear? What does it look like to have joyful confidence in a Christian faith that offers practical solutions and practices for the good of the public? How can we foster, as Miroslov Volf calls it, “a ‘thick’ and committed practice” of Christianity believing that it “will help generate and sustain a culture of peace”?
Last week I partnered with Michael Wear to launch a new, nonpartisan institution in the nation’s capital with the mission to contend for the credibility of Christian resources in public life, for the public good. We advance our mission through two parallel streams of work: First, we explain Christianity to the public and advance Christian resources for the good of the public. This is the stream of public influence. Second, we grow, resource, convene and represent the community of Christians who are convinced of the centrality of spiritual formation (or character) to civic renewal.
I hope that you’ll join me and follow along at The Center for Christianity and Public Life as we set a new trajectory for what the expression of Christianity in civic leadership and public life looks like.
“The greatest issue facing the world today, with all its heartbreaking needs, is whether those who, by profession or culture, are identified as ‘Christians’ will become disciples – students, apprentices, practitioners – of Jesus Christ, steadily learning from him how to live the life of the Kingdom of the Heavens into every corner of human existence.”