Protests against ICE after ICE officer shot in Minneapolis
Protests against President Donald Trump and his wave of immigration enforcement have swept through Minneapolis over the ICE shooting of Renee Good.
Hundreds of Christian leaders and scholars across the country have condemned President Donald Trump’s administration and called for more active resistance among believers against the “danger of injustice and anti-democracy that is spreading across the country.”
“We are facing a cruel and repressive government,” their joint statement begins. “In moments like these, silence is not neutral. It is an active choice to allow harm to occur.”
The letter, titled “A Call to Christians in Crisis of Faith and Democracy,” says the country faces a grave moral, spiritual and democratic emergency. This release coincides with the beginning of the Christian season of Lent, a period of repentance, introspection, and resistance to temptation.
Adam Russell-Taylor, president of the Christian social justice group Sojourners, said, “We thought it was important to connect this to a time when many Christians are deepening their faith.” “One of the things we criticize is that many white evangelical Christians have succumbed to the regime’s unconditional support, even though its actions are completely antithetical to the teachings of Jesus.”
Leaders of all faiths are increasingly speaking out and participating in protests against the Trump administration’s policies, particularly what many see as overly aggressive efforts to detain and deport undocumented immigrants. There have also been incidents where pastors have been arrested and beaten with pepper balls during demonstrations.
The statement said Christians have a moral obligation to speak out against “the demonization, disappearance, and even murder of citizens and immigrants, the erosion of hard-won rights and freedoms, and calculated efforts to reverse America’s growing racial and ethnic diversity, all of which are pushing us toward authoritarian and imperialist domination.”
“This is a moment of critical testing of Christian discipleship and civic responsibility,” said the Rev. Jim Wallis, founder and director of the Georgetown Center for Faith and Justice in Washington, D.C. “Democratic freedoms are being taken away and the gospel is being distorted. The vulnerable people that Jesus told us to stand by and protect are being targeted and assaulted.”
Wallis and Taylor organized the joint effort with Barbara Williams Skinner, director of the Skinner Institute in Baltimore, a faith leadership training organization.
Approximately 400 people initially signed the statement, representing leaders of various Christian denominations, Black, Asian and Latino churches and associations, and Christian universities and organizations. Organizers say hundreds more people have added their names since the letter was published on February 18th.
The executive branch of the US president, including the White House office, did not respond to requests for comment on the statement.
Apart from the risks to democracy, Christian leaders and scholars say they are troubled by “the Christian faith being corrupted by the heretical ideology of white Christian nationalism.”
“People see this as just a crisis of democracy, but it’s not,” said the Rev. Cynthia Hale, pastor of Ray of Hope Church of Christ in Decatur, Georgia, and one of the signatories of the letter. “It’s a crisis of faith.”
Christian nationalism, the idea that Christian and Biblical laws should govern American life, has permeated the upper echelons of the American government, with conservative evangelicals becoming a major political force with strong support from President Trump. Doug Wilson, an evangelical pastor who has argued that women should not have the right to vote or hold religious or political leadership positions, was recently invited by Secretary of the Army Pete Hegseth to lead a service at the Pentagon.
Bishop Raymond Rivera of the Council of Holistic Christian Churches and Ministries, who also signed the letter, said, “Religious leaders have supported this administration so unconditionally that it threatens to brand this administration as religious in the minds of many Americans. This is a distortion.” “They confuse proximity to political power and proximity to divine power. They are not the same.”
Taylor called such confusion “a form of idolatry” and said the Trump administration is misusing the language of Christianity to support its activities. For example, a job ad for Immigration and Customs Enforcement quotes the Bible, including the line, “Blessed are the peacemakers.”
“This feels especially offensive and egregious given the tactics we’ve seen them employ in places like Minneapolis, Chicago and Los Angeles,” he said. “They are corrupting the Christian faith to advance their own political agenda.”
people are “afraid”
Before signing, Christine Kobes Du Mez, a professor of history and gender studies at Calvin College, a Christian institution in Grand Rapids, Michigan, said she initially wondered if this moment needed anything more than signing more statements.
“I realized that this statement was not primarily addressed to those who are on the front lines of these issues, but to pastors and ordinary Christians who are just waking up to what is happening and what is at stake,” Du Mez said. “I think it’s important to make a statement that makes the political and theological interests clear and allows people to put their names forward…This is a way for ordinary Christians to step up.”
The letter concludes by translating into action a set of core theological beliefs that signatories pledge to practice their faith and protect democracy, including defending the right to vote, pursuing peace, and supporting immigrants who have been unfairly targeted.
Bishop Dottie Escobedo Frank of the California Pacific Conference of the United Methodist Church in Pasadena said she signed the letter to encourage Southern California communities and all Christians to fulfill their mission to serve the downtrodden, show compassion and challenge political leaders to act on their behalf.
But church ministries that provide food distribution, child care and support for the elderly are facing disruption from ICE agents and anti-immigrant protesters, she said, and “we are seeing people in our communities fearful to practice their faith because of government actions.”
Mr Taylor said he understands that many people may be understandably afraid to put their beliefs into practice, but it is important for people to get involved at a time when “authoritarian playbook pages are very effective”.
One way to overcome such fears, besides relying on the resilience of faith itself, is to connect with other Christians, he said. The letter effort includes a website where supporters can find ways to get involved.
“One of the most consistently repeated words in the Bible is ‘Do not be afraid,'” Taylor said. “Authoritarian governments thrive on people feeling isolated and overwhelmed, so we’re trying to create networks of unity and courage. We have the power to keep things from getting worse.”
