How Should Religious Institutions Interact with the Institution of the State?
barely scratching the surface of this question toward peace and the Age of Aquarius
My wife framed and hung the official photograph of US President Barak Obama in her classroom of a Classical Christian school overseen by our church. The student body represented a diversity on the political spectrum. Several parents leaning toward the right or more protested in Teacher-Parent conferences - “Why have you posted Barak Obama in my child’s classroom?!!” My wife had to educate these parents on the Christian custom of showing the American flag and hanging the official photo of the current US President in every classroom. (When Donald Trump was inaugurated, my wife framed and hung his official photo in her classroom.)
In the Presbyterian tradition of the Christian church, in which I have served these past 38 years, we pray in our Sunday worship services for our nation and specifically for the President of the United States of America. We don’t pray for a President for whom we voted while refusing to pray for a President for whom we would never vote. The Christian custom is founded on the Hebrew Scriptures and New Testament, both insisting that God raises up governmental rulers, calling all of us, who are members of Christ’s church to honor and respect - yes, even submit to these governing authorities. And so, in our worship meetings we pray for the US President regardless of his political party affiliation, whether or not we agree with his/her policies, rhetoric and behavior. As I have always said, “It you don’t like or agree with the current President then you have all the more reason to pray for him/her.”
In the Presbyterian denomination I served for 30+ years, a ministerial colleague published a book titled, “Obama Prayer: Prayers for the 44th President.” Ministers and congregations skewed to the right politically erupted in protest of our denomination’s bookstore and of this officer of our church. When Donald Trump became President of the United States of America, Charles M. Garriot, author of “Obama Prayer,” published a second book, “Prayers for Trump: Petitions for the 45th President.” In this conservative denomination, there were no protests. Ironically, for those of us, who purchased copies of both books, Garriot published the same book twice, changing the name of the US President!
The church is headquarters on earth for the kingdom of God, also known as the kingdom of heaven. Christians - followers of Jesus Christ - are citizens of a heavenly kingdom. In this sense we are foreign aliens on earth, in the nations of our residence. This primary and fundamental truth put forth in the New Testament is lost on many Christian nationalists today.
This post is in no way a comprehensive answer to the question: How should religious institutions interact with the institution of the state? But it is a start. Here are a few answers to the question, which I have gleaned from the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament:
#1 = God has ordained the institution of the state to wield the sword and commanded the institution of the church to use exclusively the sword of the written word of God. The church or any other religious institution, should refrain from militaristic activity. The sword of the church is the revealed gospel of Jesus Christ, giving up his life for the sake of the world. God has given to the state the responsibility of executing justice, including declaring war against the unjust for the sake of peace. And so, the Crusades were a travesty of divine justice.
#2 = Jesus’ Apostles invite us to pray for those who hold governmental authority. And so, the church should pray for the officers, rulers, and heads of state, regardless of who they are, what their party affiliation is, whether or not we agree or support them.
#3 = The church or any other religious institution should call its members to respect, honor and submit to the governing authorities of state. The institution of the state is designed by God to promote the peace and purity of the whole community. There are occasions when opposing the state would be the right action. But in most situations, the prescribed interaction is submission - a hard sell for US Citizens, whose nation was born through violent protest/opposition/war against the ruling authority. A member of a religious institution is also a citizen of a state institution. Such a person is free to operate in both institutions. She can go to war as a citizen of her nation, but as a member of the church, synagogue, or mosque, she should pray for the peace of all people groups, seeking to be a good neighbor to everyone regardless of affiliation. This should not be a difficult bifurcation to achieve, since the purpose of any state going to war should be the peace enjoyed by everyone involved. A just war is one intent on ushering peace for both parties - all sides - especially the common person.
#4 = The church or any religious institution must stick to the mysterious practice of prayer, focusing upon the axis between the infinite God outside time and space active in time and space and finite creation confined to time and space. The religious institution prays for God’s will to be accomplished for the good of everyone. The religious institution must welcome anyone, trusting that God will do a good work of transformation in all of our lives. We pray to this end, and our prayers inform our behavior, our actions toward others and our plans for the future.
#5 = Religious institutions should encourage their members to participate in the institution of the state. When a Muslim, Christian or Jew participates in the institution of the state in the United States of America, they are not seeking to establish an Islamic state or a Christian state, or a Jewish state. They are seeking to produce a free, just and peaceful society for all. In such a free, just and peaceful state, anyone has space to make a choice concerning religious persuasion, devotion and action.
It is a sad, unproductive, unholy day when Christians identify themselves as “Democrats,” or “Republicans.” It is a sad day in Islam when some identity themselves as “Sunni,” and others as “Shiite.” It is a sad day in Judaism when members of the Reformed synagogue refuse to interact with members of the Conservative synagogue. It’s a sad day on planet earth when the atheists prance about, uttering all of their rational propositions while every religious pulse on the planet is actually attempting to do something good for the sake of all others.
It’s a sad day when any of us divide from the other.
The institution of the state is designed by God to allow peace and collaboration between differing religious, cultural, ethnic groups of people. The institution of the state is designed by God to assure liberty and justice for everyone within national boundaries.
We are well into the Age of Aquarius and look how far we have come…We have not made any progress at all.