The official recruitment practices haven’t changed, but more than a year after the US State Department’s excavation, a new contract with Military Hire, a subsidiary of RedBalloon, aims to recruit candidates ideologically aligned with the current administration, including Christians. Not an isolated incident, this was just one example illustrating how a particular Christian nationalist ideology has been seeping into domestic and foreign policy. We should hear the clarion call warning of the dangers of extremism. But it should also invite us to a deeper understanding of one another and a reimagining of our democracy.
Journalists have described Secretary of War Hegseth’s membership in the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches (CREC), his invitations to clergy from this denomination to preach at the Pentagon, and proclamations of God’s will as he wages war against Iran. This ideology elevates the concept of our nation based on an extreme, narrow Christian identity.
According to Actions Counters Terrorism in the UK, some of the characteristics of those drawn to extremism include a need for identity, meaning, and belonging; an obsessive, angry desire for change; spending an increasing amount of time online, sharing extreme views on social media; being influenced or controlled by a group; and a desire for status or domination. Extremist ideology also reflects and propagates traditional gender norms, so it should come as no surprise that CREC believes that women should lose the right to vote. Hegseth’s latest attempt at testosterone screening to keep US armed forces “on the leading edge of lethality” co-opts ideas of masculinity that justify violence.
These warning signs reveal real underlying needs that can pull people towards extremist thinking. Such ideology promises the power of a new world of security, control, and prosperity. Yet when extremist groups of any religion, nationality, or ethnicity capture power, the future becomes limited, one of exclusion, narrow rigidity, and disappointment. However, the motivation, the deep longing within each individual and community, is that the vision of what we desire is far more expansive than we can imagine. This vision of purpose, meaning, and belonging can not only be found in shared stories but co-created anew.
We are lucky enough to live in a country that values freedom of religion. This right gives us the responsibility to live with others who may or may not share our faith or any faith at all. The coexistence can be a struggle, and perhaps that is what is reflected in Scriptural references cited at the National Prayer Breakfast and by the Department of Homeland Security, as key messages coming out of the current administration.
In fact, the deeper meaning underlying these Scriptural verses is a recognition of the frailty of human life, the challenge and difficulties of living one’s faith, and the worthy endeavor of peacemaking, which is not just the absence of disorder and conflict but the striving towards wholeness. Christianity has quite a bit to say about fear, fear of losing control, fear of the stranger, fear of the unknown. Jesus is often calling Christians to the places of discomfort, challenging them to be more inclusive of the other, to reconcile with one another. Indeed, among Christians, people are called beyond mere tolerance of their neighbors, but more to love them.
This reflects the overarching teaching of Scripture to love the Lord your God…and to love your neighbor as yourself. The invitation to relationship with God and others is actually expansive, unconditional, more about the humility of being in right relationship, faithfulness, not blind obedience. The call, the responsibility is to embody this compassion and recognition of all human beings as created in the image of God. And yes, even those with whom we disagree.
While valuing the US separation of church and state, there is a role for religious and lay leaders to engage in public discourse. Christian nationalists’ narratives are not only dominating the cultural and media space but also dictating national security. Where are the religious (and lay) leaders to challenge such interpretations shaping our governmental policies? We need the moral courage to engage in dialogue. Having worked with women peacebuilders globally, I have witnessed how they draw upon faith and cultural traditions and influence religious and community leaders to join movements for peace and justice. From Indonesia to Iraq, local organizations – many of which are led by women peacebuilders – have joined up with religious leaders to promote values like human rights, democracy, tolerance, and full acceptance of the differences that exist on this earth.
Pope Leo has preached against war, reminding us that “it takes only a moment to destroy, but often not even a lifetime is enough to rebuild.” His message of peace is not idealistic or utopian. Like the work of building democracy, the work of building peace is slow and painstaking at times. Other Christian religious leaders should join him in challenging scriptural interpretation weaponized for violence to articulate its messages of hope, peace, justice, compassion, and dignity. Indeed, one of their tasks is to explore the relevance of religious scriptures for our lived realities, a tradition which spans cultures and religions, from women ulama in Indonesia to the Social Principles of Methodism. Religious leaders hold the moral authority to practice dialogue and reconciliation.
Similarly, citizens of all backgrounds can practice peace in our homes, communities, and professions. Can we read or listen to media outside of the algorithmic bubbles which inhabit our everyday lives? Can we spread messages of peaceful coexistence online to counter those which would divide us? Can we strike up a conversation by asking questions simply because we are curious and seek to understand? Can we ask ourselves, if I were living in different circumstances, how might I respond? We can participate in both intra and interfaith dialogues to build understanding and connection, which strengthen our communities and our democracy. And we can hold our political leaders accountable.
We can ask ourselves whose voices we are not hearing. For some, it may be those who feel oppressed, who do not want to lose their history, their way of life. They may struggle to find their place and leadership in a fast-changing world. We see and hear you. And to those from CREC and others, may we remember, in the words of the Reverend Ginger Gaines-Cirelli, that Christianity “reveals a different kind of power…not domination, not control, a power that gently breaks in and beckons us toward life.”
May we lean into our future life and rebuild a democracy which truly embodies the values we share. Imagine safety on our streets and in our schools, affordable access to healthcare, enough resources to meet our needs, and welcome and belonging for the stranger and our families into community.
And isn’t that a vision that we all yearn for?
Stacey Schamber works for the International Civil Society Action Network (ICAN) which spearheads the Women’s Alliance for Security Leadership (WASL). She holds Masters degrees in Social Work and Theological Studies.
