The Future of American Christianity

American Christianity Far Left or Far Right
The American religious landscape is experiencing broad-based changes at a time when the number of Americans attending religious services on a monthly or bimonthly basis has declined by 7 percentage points (Myers & Whiting par, 8). This decline is evident across various demographic groups including Hispanics, white people, and black people. American Christians face unique challenges as the nation is increasingly polarized and divided over issues of gender, race, and sexuality. Liberal and conservative American Christians are faced with the need to deal with the conflict between the conventional dictates of their faith and the personal political allegiances and views. Additionally, liberal and conservative American Christians differ of various kinds of issues that are central to their faith because of their personal political views and allegiances. This paper explores the future of American Christianity with either the far left or far right and whether a consensus is possible in American religion.
American Christianity – Far Left or Far Right?
Right-wing extremism appears to be growing substantially in the United States as evidenced by the number of terrorist attacks carried out by far-right perpetrators over the past decade (Jones par, 1). Terror attacks by such perpetrators have more than quadrupled between 2016 and 2017. White supremacists and anti-government extremists have emerged as a major concern in the United States. This comes at a time when the far left is also growing and opposed to the ideals and views of the right-wing. As a result, the American society is increasingly polarized and divided on far left or far right ideals. These ideals have permeated nearly every facet of the society including American religion. Similar to other facets of the society, American religion is experiencing challenges posed by the opposing ideals between the far left and far right secular values.
Over the past few years, the connection between evangelism and political activism has grown significantly. For example, Mr. Franklin Graham is a renowned preacher with a reputation for unapologetic condemnation of everything considered as sin. However, the growing connection between evangelism and political activism is evident in Mr. Graham’s outspoken defense of President Trump (Dias par, 25). Mr. Graham recently challenged Christians to run for political office in every level of government, for city council, and for mayor. Some evangelicals support Mr. Graham’s position while others have not been comfortable with this political direction. This exemplifies the division in American Christianity to an extent that some preachers like Franklin Graham feel isolated within the evangelical world.
The divisive political ideologies and views of the far left and far right that have crept into American Christianity are evident in major issues affecting the society such as racism. Debates over racism, the role of law enforcement, and stereotypes have become increasingly divisive among American Christians. Some liberal churches or houses of worship have adopted measures to divest from law enforcement by stating that they would never call the police again in almost every circumstance (Kaleem par, 2). These churches believe that they can provide safety to their congregants without the involvement of law enforcement officers.
As the division continues, the future of American Christianity is likely to remain divided along far left and far right ideals. The division is likely to remain in the future of American Christianity because of the controversies surrounding the authority, interpretation, and context of Scripture among ministers and scholars (Stauffer par, 5). These controversies have affected the ability of the church to speak out to a constantly changing culture. The hot debates remain even on issues that Jesus gave specific instructions such as marriage, divorce, war, wealth, adultery, greed, possessions, and lust.
According to Green, American Christianity is likely to remain divided along liberal versus conservative and mainline versus evangelical (par, 2). This implies that American Christianity has become more and more politicized, which in turn continues fueling its polarization. Consequently, many American Christians continue to face challenges or difficulties in navigating the political division and turmoil brought by the politicization of faith. American Christianity is faced with a lack of a framework that acts as the guiding story of faith. While the Bible exists, many Christians in the country lack a framework to guide their lives, which results in the proliferation of conflict and moral confusion. As the American society becomes more and more polarized along far left or far right political ideologies and views, American Christianity is likely to remain divided in the future.
American Christianity is a reflection of its society in terms of conservativism and liberalism. Over the past few years, Christianity and politics have become more aligned with the religious right, the Republican Party, and evangelicals. This alignment poses significant challenges as it increases confusion and controversies in the church. Liberal American Christians bundle everything together on the premise that liberalism gives them freedom of thought and exploration. Since everything is bundled together, all issues are viewed as one package and require one stand. Therefore, the Bible is no longer used as the sole framework for taking a stand on issues like abortion and gun rights. Political views and ideologies are taken into consideration and inform the decisions and opinions of American Christians on major issues affecting society. This has in turn narrowed the gap between religious observance and politics resulting in a more divided church.
Division along political ideologies and views is likely to continue in the future of American Christianity because of the growing fear that some modern and cultural imperatives do not align with the conventional teaching in the church (Green par, 9). The differences between conventional teaching of the church and modern imperatives have created fear among some leaders and ministers. As a result of this fear, these leaders and ministers fear speaking out against some issues, which continues to perpetuate the existing moral conflict and confusion. For example, LGBT remains a major issue in today’s American Christianity. While the Bible is clear about this issue, Christian leaders and ministers face a dilemma on how to address it. This dilemma is attributable to the fact that conventional church teaching on this issue relates to judgment and condemnation. Therefore, portraying judgment and condemnation may not align with the modern imperatives of the LGBT issue. Consequently, some church leaders or ministers avoid addressing this controversial and divisive issue, which is likely to persist in the future.
American Christians will continue to face challenges in dealing with the conflict between their personal political allegiances/views and the traditional dictates of their faith (Ross, Lelkes & Russell, p.3616). This conflict is obvious among American Christians who identify with the Republic Party and the Christian Right. On the other hand, liberally-inclined Christians in the country face the challenge of reconciling their usually moderate views on major issues like gay rights and abortion with the traditional teaching of the church.
Is Consensus Possible?
As evident in the analysis, American Christianity is currently divided along far left and far right political ideologies, allegiances, and views. This generates a concern on whether a consensus is possible or whether Americans are too polarized and divided on critical issues like gender, race, and sexuality. Progressive or liberal Christians in the United States admit they are struggling to figure out how to mobilize politically, which is a reflection of the significant divide in American religion (Bush par, 16).
Consensus between conservative and liberal American Christians seems nearly impossible as Americans are too polarized and divided on critical issues affecting their society. Consensus building has become more difficult and impossible in the age of President Trump, which has generated new conflicts of various kinds. As a result of the emerging conflicts under President Trump Administration, many Americans including Christians feel entitled to their own opinions, thoughts, and views. Many Americans are currently escalating their efforts on behalf of their personal viewpoints and thoughts (Susskind par, 6). Additionally, many Americans feel entitled to act in their own best interests regardless of the views and interests of others. This trend implies that any efforts to build consensus among the two opposing groups would ultimately fail. The heightened conflict accompanied by commitment to personal wishes makes it difficult to reconcile the two groups.
Additionally, the difficulties in achieving any reconciliation are evident in the strong opposing opinions held by these groups regarding the major issues. The Christian right and left share the same faith but differ in interpretations and views on major issues in the American society. American Christians who identify as conservative have value, moral and belief systems emanating from a deep-rooted Christian faith. Their views and opinions regarding major issues in the American society are rooted in their faith and traditional teachings of the church. They oppose the views of progressive or liberal Christians on divisive issues in the society. Conservative American Christians tend to focus on sin, repentance, and salvation. On the contrary, liberal American Christians tend to focus on the radical love of Christ and the inclusion of marginalized people (Terry par, 6). The gap between the two is huge and continues to widen as moral conflicts and confusion emerge in the society. The widening gap makes it more difficult to reconcile and implies that division along far left and far right will continue to characterize American Christianity in the future.
Costello contends that achieving a consensus between the Christian Right and the Christian Left in the United States is difficult because Christians tend to polarize and retreat into opposing political tribes and views (par, 2). On one hand, the Christian Right tends to focus on morality issues such as adulterers and sorcerers. On the other hand, the Christian Left emphasizes justice issues. Therefore, the Christian Right represents the salt, which is small and necessary, while the Christian Left reflects Jesus’ imagery of light as it focuses on exposing what is in the darkness and promoting instant change. The challenge persists at a time when Christianity should be viewed on the premise of left and right but as a potent tool for transforming societies and nations. Deeper issues exist in white evangelical church, which is too aligned in right-wing politics (Lewis & Timmons par, 5). President Trump Administration is likely to continue making the gap between the left and right wings of American Christianity worse, which in turn thwarts any efforts to achieve consensus.
In conclusion, the American society is increasingly characterized by division on major issues, which has resulted in increased polarization. The divisiveness of the society is also evident in the church or American Christianity that has become more politicized and polarized. American Christianity has two groups divided along liberal versus conservative and mainline versus evangelical. As the gap between the two groups continues to widen and the society becomes polarized, the future of American Christianity is neither far left nor far right. American Christianity is likely to remain divided and polarized in the future as the two groups hold strong opposing views on major issues that are central to their faith. The anticipated widening gap between the two groups implies that achieving a consensus is nearly impossible as controversies will continue to characterize American Christianity.
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