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...

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...…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…