Social and Historical Awareness of US Christianity
I learned from these books on the history of modern evangelicalism that the Christian networks/organizations I thought were for love and truth actually have their roots and trajectory in being on and preserving the wrong sides of history. (For a post regarding what I learned click here).
Choices were made before I was born (thinking especially of the 1880s, 1910s, 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s) to defend power and exclude marginalized people. Whether you like it or not, the usual exclusions were made against people of color, people without wealth/land, women, and LGBTQ people. Often without awareness, people like myself bought into those historically and socially unaware ways. We inherit the choices of past generations, whether we like it or not.
When I discovered the incoherence of the worldview I had I began looking for the people and networks I was excluded from.
Many of these people have been forgotten, diminished, mischaracterized, defamed, boycotted, starved out and worse. None of them are perfect, but we inherited ways to see them that would continue the separation.
Many of these outcast people started traditions, networks and organizations that continue to this day, though many of those traditions were taught to us as worthless, unimportant and/or evil.
The New England Transcendentalists were the first I came across, in the early 1800s their pursuit of justice impacted with social and historical awareness led many of them to leave churches and universities in hopes of something better. In 1832, Ralph Waldo Emerson left his position as a minister, “to be a better minister.” Later, after an address to the graduating class, he was kicked out of his alma mater, Harvard Divinity School and most Christian fellowships for implying that following Jesus might mean questioning some traditionally held power structures. It took 30 years but he was welcomed back and is now considered the father of US American thought. He became the most well known member of the New England Transcendentalists, a hub for slavery abolitionists, labor rights and women’s rights advocates.
Emerson once wrote “The good of publishing ones own thoughts is that of hooking you to likeminded people” and so, I began an instagram account where recently I have started a calendar of “New Transcendentalist Saints” as an attempt to find, promote, and connect with more who are built not on sand, but on the solid rock of historical and social awareness rather than exploitation and oppression.
These estranged siblings will not likely be rich, they may be traumatized, most do not live glamorous lives, they may not speak in a language and presentation that appeals to their oppressors or descendants/employees of their oppressors. Some were unknowingly born into historically sound traditions.
Many have lost hope.
The goal is to find our historically estranged siblings, listen to them and reconcile into a cohesive relationship with them.
How did/do we not see the hypocrisy?
The primary way people (and their networks/organizations) can avoid the discovery that the foundation and direction of their lives rely on exploiting/oppressing others, is to remove social and historical awareness and focus on individualism. Individualism will always deserve engagement, but not without social, historical awareness.
When churches say they are ‘non-denominational’ it is a way of not seeing their historical and social foundation and trajectory. When Christians say “I take the Bible literally” they mean without social and historical awareness. When they say “It’s not a religion, it’s a relationship” or “I only follow Jesus” it is another way to avoid discovering the social and historical ways their ways were constructed. (Though occasionally, hiding social/historical backgrounds and trajectories may be beneficial to marginalized people, they may not want powerful people to know they are advocating for those they are exploiting).
Charity is another way to avoid that discovery. It is hard for many of us to understand when exploited/oppressed people refuse charity, isn’t it? When they accept, do we expect them to praise us? “They are ungrateful” and “They are irresponsible” are powerful tools used against marginalized people.
In many cases we have avoided knowing that we rely on exploitation and oppression. Perhaps because we do not want to be mischaracterized, boycotted, or forgotten like our historically estranged siblings.
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Taylor Storey splits time between Santa Barbara County California and Berlin, Germany where he is pursuing a MA in Cultural Studies.
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