I love to read interesting articles, especially when they address issues from a new angle. That’s why when I was sent the link to Dwight Graham Hooten’s article entitled, “Wait, Should Christians Be Socialists?”, I just knew I had to read it. My immediate reaction to his title was, of course not! Doesn’t Dwight know that Christians (White Anglo-Saxon Protestants, or WASPs) are in positions of privilege and power, and have historically discriminated against those who were not white and not Protestant and that they see themselves as the "true normal" of the cultural world? Doesn’t he know that most republican Christians are republican because the party allows them to maintain power in our supremacist state? Then I read what he had to say, and I found the answers to my questions. No. Dwight didn’t know. So Dwight and others like Dwight, here goes my attempt to explain, section by section, why Christians (WASPs), will never be socialists.
"One of the things that bugs me about politics is the consistent parallel between religious beliefs and political views. Now don't get me wrong, in no way is it out of line to let one's faith influence their thoughts on this country's state or projected path. However, there does seem to be little wiggle room when it comes between picking God or picking government" (Hooten)
This comment surprises me, and frankly can be explained rather simply. Politics and religion, specifically Christianity, are conflated because religious freedom was one of the main reasons why Europeans came to settle in the Americas once they were “discovered.” Some Protestants were trying to escape persecution, while others were Separatists and wanted to isolate themselves from the Roman Catholic Church, and apparently that sentiment extended to geography. Given that religious sanctuary was such a motivating factor for emigration, it only made sense to integrate protections into the new laws that they created for themselves. But it is important to note that 17th century Europeans designed the laws to protect their religious freedoms and prevent other non-conforming beliefs from posing a threat to their way of life. That’s why the Puritans, for example, murdered dozens of women for not submitting to their given roles as pious homebodies and then called it witchcraft.
"Take this for example; I'm a Christian from an affluent, conservative neighborhood. My parents are republicans and Christians as well, a combo that seems prevalent not only in my community but across this entire nation. People of my faith often champion themselves as proponents of Second Amendment rights, the pro-life movement and limited government intervention, but that's not the issue. What bothers me the most is that being a Christian in today's society has become all but synonymous with being a conservative. And really, the correlation is quite ironic. It seems fairly obvious that Christianity is a culture of its own, and therefore carries with it ideas on everything from environmentalism to the treatment of the LGBTQ community. Again, this is all well and good, but there seems to be a divide among Christians when pledging allegiance to the credence of the church and committing to the values at the core of the faith" (Hooten)
Oh, Hey! I’m a Christian, and guess what? I voted for Bernie Sanders in the primary. Do me a favor and let’s not lump me in with the people that you are referring to, also known as WASP’s. Pew Research has conducted many studies, which verify that the Christians who vote Republican are overwhelmingly white Evangelicals and Mormons. Just to reiterate, that means the 33 million black Christians, that are also technically Evangelicals, aren’t voting Republican. What that indicates to me is that conservatism actually has less to do with religion than you think it does. It actually, in this specific instance, has a lot more to do with the age-old fear of loss of power, and good ole’ fashion racism! Let me explain. Equalization of beliefs means that theirs, which have been dominant in American society since the settlers landed here, will have less influence in the public sphere, which means it will no longer be the norm, which equates to a loss of this thing called PRIVILEGE. And while certain privileges may seem menial, let’s first acknowledge two things. Firstly, you might only find certain privileges, hearing Christmas music from November to January for instance, menial because of your privilege. I personally would love to hear “Lift Every Voice and Sing” on the radio because December is also Kwanzaa time, but apparently celebrating blackness is anti-white, so it ain’t gon’ happen. Secondly, upon the first enactments of policy supporting religious equalization: the ban on teachers leading prayers in public schools and the teaching of evolutionist theory, Christians (WASPs) were extremely upset, claiming their religious rights were violated. Hunty, no. The dirty Democrats aren’t violating your rights, we took away your privilege, and I know that’s uncomfortable but you shouldn’t have had it in the first place.
Christians (WASPs) also tend to lean republican because the party allows them also to live comfortably in their own xenophobia, which encompasses the lack of tolerance for other religions, racism, and homo/transphobia, through limited government intervention. Tolerance from afar, amirite? Translation: “I’m okay with helping black people transcend 400 years of colonialism and oppression as long as it’s on my terms”: AKA going on a mission trip to Haiti and taking pictures with underprivileged children to post on Facebook and get personal gratification. Gotta make sure your black from college doesn’t think you are racist right? Wrong! You still are IMHO, and it’s because you would rather vote republican to conserve your cushioned and privileged lifestyle than do your part to rectify economic and social inequality, which are ingrained within our governmental systems. Your Logic: Why should my taxes go toward social programs like SNAP and WIC so that low-income parents can feed their children? Maybe if they weren’t so lazy they would make more money. My Logic: Damn, I wish that states redistributed property tax income to schools equally, as opposed to based on where people lived. This way, urban schools could receive a more equal share of resources, which is directly correlated to student successes, which are in turn correlated with the ability to go to college, and that’s directly correlated with making more money. But it’s okay I understand that your school needs superfluous amenities like a bowling team and marble columns to function properly. Besides who wants to interact with people who are different, right? Take homosexual and transgender people for example. Your Logic: You vote republican because you can’t have a Trans-woman using the same bathroom as your daughter, as parent you want to protect her from potential molestation, plus according to Jesus, it just isn’t natural. My Logic: You are a hypocrite because you still send your kid to Sunday school, despite the fact that there are 1000’s of cases involving religious figures molesting children at church. You may say that the likelihood of that happening to your child is slim to none, but the reality is according to actual statistics, your child is safer from molestation in the bathroom with a transgender woman than in church. Lastly Christians (WASPs) vote republican because they are afraid of Muslims. Yes, there is nothing that greasy republican senators like more than waging war because it keeps their SuperPacs full of money, courtesy of United Technologies Corporation, Raytheon, etc. Naturally you can’t wage war without reason, so you manufacture a false threat called Radical Islam, and tell the American public that we have to get them before they get us. We have socialized most people to believe Islam is fundamentally backward compared to our “super progressive” religion. The thought of Islam overtaking Christianity in our own space is so compelling that Christian (WASPs) then feel as though the government is justified in waging war against a religious sect halfway across the world. Of course this sentiment contradicts reality because the truth is you are more likely to be accidentally shot by a toddler than die in a terrorist attack.
"I was struck a couple months ago when I was reading the book of Acts, the fifth book of the New Testament. Many of the initial chapters summarize and detail the early post-Christ church; its inception, growth and initial practices in a still Christian-repressive society. It wasn't anything out of the ordinary in terms of things I learned in Sunday school, but that was until I hit this passage:
"And all the believers met together constantly and shared everything they had. They sold their possessions and shared the proceeds with those in need. They worshipped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord's supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity-all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people." -Acts 2:44-47a NLT
Wait a second...that doesn't seem to be conservative policy, right? This early biblical society is void of trickle down money for the poor and doesn't even present a semblance of capitalism. No, there is an undeniable communal pact between the members of the church: that they will use their resources to provide for each other. And is that (dare I say the S-word) socialism?" (Hooten)
Positionality and perspective are such an amazing concepts aren’t they? I read the same passage as you and interpreted it completely differently. These little tidbits are important, “all the believers” and “all the while praising God”. These imply that charity, in the religious context, is deserved by other believers or at the very least stipulates that I have to listen to you carry on about Jesus if you are going to help me. Sounds a lot like the mission trips that Christians love to go on. The “enjoying the goodwill of all the people” part refers to the posting of pictures on Facebook. In short, passages like these are why Mission Trips exist. Mission Trips are popular because, for a lot of Christians (WASPs), it satiates the do-gooder complex without having to make a more committed and meaningful sacrifice to society.
"As it turns out, many of Jesus' teachings were targeted at improving the lives of "the least of these" (Matthew 25:40), and at times this even came through him encouraging the rich to renounce their worldly possessions as a sacrifice to him and for the benefit of the poor (see the story of the rich young ruler at Mark 10:21-22). It was a God-enforced version of philanthropy, but was it much different than the socialism that Christians out-rightly condemn today?
Whether or not it is government's place to enforce these ideals is an entirely different debate. It could easily be argued that government complicates and nullifies the effect of these "socialist" concepts and that the redistribution of wealth should be left in the hands of churches and people. The point, however, is that fiscal conservatism and Christianity do not go hand in hand.
Bigger picture, the current presidential election has offered possibly the greatest irony of all. Bernie Sanders, a man who claims not to be "particularly religious" ran on a the platform of a socialist America, adopting and adapting concepts preached by Christ and practiced by the church thousands of years ago. In a blindfold test, its provoking to ask oneself this: is socialism, at the fiscal level, the political sect that most reflects the preachings of Jesus himself? The answer might be surprising." (Hooten)
To be completely honest, without sounding Holier than Thou, I do believe the simplest answer to your question is that Christianity in the United States has been watered down to allow for, and even go so far as to justify, atrocities against people who are different. Manifest Destiny made European Kings think it was okay to pillage groups of indigenous peoples and steal their land because apparently God sanctions entitlement. Then white settlers tried to pacify slaves by teaching them to be docile and obedient as according to Christ. As the years progressed on, equalization becomes viewed as a violation of their religious beliefs because oppression through Christianity had been the norm. The result is the Christian right sees the liberal agenda as incompatible with the social teachings of Jesus, while the economic teachings have fallen to the wayside and have been converted into a sort of White Savior Complex . I would say that many people practice selective Christianity, that is they only use and follow the parts of the Bible that are convenient and support those things that they find pleasing and helpful to their cause.
