identity politics at church

[Picklemuncher]

Hi All,
This is my first time posting in this forum and wondered what people's opinions were on this.

I went to a progressive Christian church for the first time this morning. I was interested in going because they are trying to take a modern view of the Bible, like times have changed, for example, a woman can be a minister or gay people can be married, etc. I was really enjoying the sermon which was about how we should view Jesus as more than just a sacrificial lamb but after the sermon they had sort of an open prayer forum.

That's when the politics came out. It got political. Basically praying against Donald Trump and praying for illegal immigrants. Now, I don't like Donald Trump and this church where I was going was not American, none of these people could have voted in America. I just felt like the service was ruined, that if you disagreed with illegal immigration (which I do, because I myself have moved countries twice and done it legally and also my grandparents were WW2 refugees so I know the difference between someone, say, fleeing death from a place like Syria and someone being a chancer and flouting the law).

I am digressing here.
I guess what I am getting at is I don't think it is acceptable to bring identity politics (whether you are left or right leaning) into a prayer service. I would not have asked people to pray for a conservative cause because I don't think it would have been appropriate and some people might be offended if they vote otherwise. It would be like going to church and having someone stand up and say the were praying for Remain or for Brexit, either way it is divisive!! It doesn't matter what you think personally, someone is going to feel excluded. I thought it was wrong.
What does everyone think of this?

Seems very odd - never been to a church service with open prayer with the exception of "meetings" for communion but that's about worship. Perhaps in smaller groups or in a life group yes and then you just try to find a church that suits.

I don't think it's the church for you OP but don't write it off entirely.

How about going to a cathedral rather than a parish church? Cathedrals usually do peace and stillness really well. It is likely that the cathedral worshipping community is involved in politics in the running of night shelters or similar but it is less in your face than in a local church.

Who doesn't have real problems in their life? I think you're unreasonable to think the church should be some protective bubble, cut off from real life. If you really want that then yes, you should go to some sort of retreat.

rafals yes I would have had the same issue. Because I don't want to hear about Donald Trump at church. (The sheriff was enforcing immigration laws...that were on the books..not making up his own laws).

Maybe I don't think church should be politically driven. After all, my ancestors were pagan until around 1200. The Teutonic knights kept killing them until they forced them into subjugation trying to spread Christianity. That was politically driven Christianity.

I was hoping it would be more spiritually driven.

Alegretto I see danger when religion gets political frankly.

Church doesn't exist in a vacuum though. Who the world leaders are and what the priorities of the governments are is really important.

OK, well, I don't know if anyone actually gets why I don't want to hear about politcs at church. Maybe I shouldn't bother.

Over and out!

For someone who doesn't want to hear about Trump you seem to have very pro-Trump opinions on the matter. FYI the sheriff also violated constitutional rights, kept people in inhumane conditions and racially profiled people which is illegal. He wasn't enfircing laws, he was convicted of flouting them. But let's not make this political.

Alegretto I see danger when religion gets political frankly. So if evil is being done it's better to keep quiet?

The problem with churches is that they follow the teachings of that Jesus chap. He had a thing about those who were poor and marginalised and was not much liked by the religious and political elite of his day. So you find churches that support refugees, the homeless, the unemployed, asylum seekers, the lonely etc, etc, etc.

Some churches are the still the Tory party at prayer but scratch even the most traditional and staid looking church and you will probably find them supporting children in war torn parts of the world or toilet twinning.

I am inclined to agree with what I think you are saying, OP, in that prayers shouldn't be party political, yes?

Of course people who pray should pray about concerns (local, family, private, national, and international, but it should be
"That a solution is found to the conflict in Syria" type of prayer, rather than "That the Secretary of State / Foreign Office / Military Heads ... should agree to bomb/ should stop bombing /should put troops on the ground / should not put troops on the ground" type of prayer.

Christians come from people across the political spectrum, and have different views on how to best resolve a problem, or political issue, and I agree that we should pray for (and investigate what practical things we can do to help) situations that are of concern, but not for a certain political party or way of legislating around any issue.
Christians can campaign for anything they want - same as people of other faiths and people of none, but I do get cross when media report that "The Church says......." as if all people who attend Church must think the same. It simply isn't true.

But what if you have had enough of politics. What if you have enough going on in your own personal life that the world's politics is something you don't even want to know about because it's just adding your burden? Do people not understand that? Cannot church be a place of peace?

Personally, I find that having the time to reflect on those things and others more in need helps me to shelve my own worries for an hour. Although that might take practice. A pp's suggestion of a more traditional building is a good idea.

OP.

Why do you refer to 'identity politics'? Do you know what 'identify politics' means?

Can you give me an example of non-political religion?

Just thought I would respond to the person who said Jesus was political. I wondered what you meant by that?

Many people at the time were disappointed because He WASNT the political leader they had hoped for. They wanted a leader who would defeat the Romans and advance the Jewish nation once more. But the freedom He promised for all who believed in Him was of a different sort, and His kingdom was not of this word.

It really isn't Biblical to be promoting political causes in church in this way. By all means pray about current events e.g. Terrorism, the situation in Syria, an end to violence, Grenfell etc. But worship is not the place to be expressing your support/disdain for one party/leader or another - it'a divisive.

Paul said "there is neither male or female, space or free, Jew or Greek but all are one in Christ Jesus."

I'm sure there are people of all political persuasions in my church, but I'm really not interested in who they vote for. Judging others for any reason - whether it's who they vote for or anything else - is wrong, and it's so easy to tip into self-righteousness.

Sorry if this sounds preachy - don't mean it to. I used to be a very political Christian, and I still do have strong political views but I try not to bring divisive party politics into worship with me as my focus should be on His kingdom .

Being political doesn't mean the same thing as being a political leader does it?

I don't know if the OP has made it particularly clear whether this was promoting political causes or praying for current situations.

Either way this was an open prayer service. People offer up intentions for concerns they have or things they want to ask for help with. Some of those will be personal, some for local/national/global issues. It's not really for any member of the congregation to be policing what people should and shouldn't be praying for.

Obviously this isn't the church for her, but she might find one that's a better fit.

Not the point of the thread, but this is not 'IDENTITY Politics', this is just politics