ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
September 26, 2025
I was recently reminded of a Tony Campolo quote that I’ve loved. Tony once famously said, “Mixing religion and politics is like mixing ice cream and horse manure. It doesn’t hurt the manure, but it ruins the ice cream.” Ruin is probably an understatement, and my concern is that the mix of religion and politics right now is making a stinky mess of everything. I’m not suggesting that people’s faith should be entirely separate from their political views. Actually, I think the opposite is true. But how do I allow my faith to inform my politics without my politics enforcing on others a specific religious belief? I’m not suggesting there is one simple way of navigating the relationship between these two very important aspects of our social existence, but in a democracy, there needs to be some respect for pluralism.
Our tradition, the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), broke off from the Old Light Anti-Burgher Seceder Presbyterian Church in the early 1800s. Part of the disagreement was over who was welcome at the Communion Table, and Old Light people did not allow the New Light people at the Table. Churches have been bickering about such things since Jesus ascended to heaven, but what happens when it moves beyond the Table? What would have happened if the Old Light folks would have said that the New Light folks could not vote or could not hold political office? That would mean a theological difference would become the lens through which someone is deemed deserving or not when it comes to the political process. In the movie, The American President, the main character, President Andrew Shepherd, says, “America isn’t easy. America is advanced citizenship. You’ve gotta want it bad, ’cause it’s gonna put up a fight.” It is challenging and messy, and when religion gets involved, it only intensifies the difficulties, especially if someone attempts to impose specific religious beliefs on that democracy.
How do we say that our beliefs seek to inform every aspect of our lives, including our politics, but because faith is freely chosen, then it also requires us to give space for others to freely choose? The moment we attempt to dictate faith through any means is the moment we have removed the possibility of faith becoming something someone chooses.
Strengthen my convictions, O God of Immeasurable and Transformative Love. Strengthen these convictions, not so I can bully others into holding the same beliefs I have, but so that I may continue to strive toward greater love in this complex and diverse world. Amen.
