Undaunted in Denouncing Religious Hypocrites

A tribute to those who fearlessly call out white Christian nationalists

In the wake of Rev. Jesse Jackson’s passing, we have heard from many politicians, including African Americans who benefited from his inspirational rhetoric and morally-grounded politics. None has been more eloquent than Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA) in speaking about Jackson’s legacy and in setting an example for how people of faith should speak in the public square.

Warnock, appearing on CNN this week, recalled, “Reverend Jackson laid the foundation for that in 1980, and 1984, 1988. There could be no 2008 without 1988. And even before that, Shirley Chisholm, her courage as a Black woman to stand up.” He added that “change is not a straight line.” Warnock reminded us, “It happens in fits and starts. You make steps forward. Sometimes you have steps back, sometimes the democracy expands. At other times it contracts.”

Rev. Raphael Warnock and the late John Lewis at "Souls to the Polls" event. (Credit: Raphael Warnock - Ga3bSEBg, Public Domain)

Moreover, Warnock stressed that MAGA Republicans cannot be allowed to monopolize religious discussion or impose their views on others. Democrats — and all those who love our country — would benefit from listening to how Warnock speaks about faith and values:

[S]omething much deeper than politics is at stake here. The soul of our country is in danger. And many of the loudest voices of faith in our country are the meanest voices. They have a vision of the country that, in my view, is a far cry from the vision of the Old Testament prophets, the Hebrew prophets who said ‘let justice roll down like waters and righteousness as a mighty stream,’ who told us to welcome the stranger and to center the poor.

Jesus is a victim of identity theft in American politics and American culture. And so, those of us who have been shaped by the faith that inspired Martin Luther King Jr. and for that matter, Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel and so many larger figures, Reverend Jesse Jackson.

Nothing better illustrates Warnock’s argument about “identity theft” than the stomach-turning and hateful remarks Donald Trump spewed during one of his harangues at the recent prayer breakfast, where he managed to combine blasphemy and hatred with contempt for our Constitution.

Roughly a month ago, Warnock said during an interview: “The biggest adversary to Christian faith is people who speak in the name of Christianity but continue to behave in ways and support policies that are decidedly anti-Christian. So, I’ll be taking my cues from Jesus, and not Donald Trump.” He recalled: “It is the American Christian slavocracy that is the biggest enemy of Christianity. It is the segregationist who opposed Martin Luther King, Jr. and his movement in the name of faith.”

Warnock continued, “The folks who are so quick to use his name are some of the meanest people I know, and they support some of the meanest policies I know.” Coming from a member of the clergy, Warnock’s defense of religious pluralism and the First Amendment’s prohibition on establishment of religion carries particular force and moral clarity.

Certainly, Warnock is not alone in fighting to reclaim faith from the idolaters who worship Donald Trump and prey on the stranger, take food (SNAP) and healthcare from the poor, and spout venomous bigotry. Former transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg, Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE), Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Michigan state senator Mallory McMorrow (who noted, “I don’t think that Republicans have religion on lock”) also talk openly about their faith traditions and debunk the notion that Democrats are anti-religion — making clear White Christian nationalism is about using faith as a political cudgel. As James Talarico said in his now-viral interview with Stephen Colbert, “There is nothing Christian about Christian nationalism. It is the worship of power in the name of Christ.” He and Colbert discussed how truly faithful people should not seek to put a “big thing” (God) into a “small thing” (politics).

Speaking at the Center for American Progress on Thursday, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear echoed this message. “Christianity is being hijacked by those celebrating ICE raids, undercutting diversity, cutting SNAP and rural health care, and bullying and demonizing our LGTBQ community in order to win elections,” Beshear said. “Faith is being used to justify doing harm when it should be used to be doing good. And we should be calling this out and reclaiming it as a force for kindness.”

In that same spirit, Connecticut Rep. Rosa DeLauro and more than 40 Catholic Democratic colleagues released a letter on Feb. 13 affirming that “[a]s Catholic Democrats in Congress, we are guided by a living Catholic tradition that affirms the dignity of every human life, advances the common good, and demands that we protect the most vulnerable in our society through a strong and compassionate safety net.”

The letter continued:

We adhere to the three basic principles of Catholic Social Teaching on Immigration. First, we affirm that people have the right to migrate to sustain their lives and the lives of their families. Sacred Scripture consistently reminds us of our obligation toward the vulnerable and displaced. Jesus himself identifies with the migrant when he says, “I was a stranger and you welcomed me” (Mt 25:35. . . .

Second, we believe every nation has the right to regulate its borders and to control immigration. …

Finally, while regulating borders is consistent with Catholic social teaching, it is never a license for cruelty, indifference, or dehumanization. Border enforcement must be governed by justice and mercy.

Speaking up to denounce the constitutionally and morally abhorrent practices and rhetoric of those cloaking themselves in the trappings of religious virtue, Warnock and faith-inspired Democrats provide a critical counterweight to MAGA’s religious sanctimony. This is not to diminish the voices and views of non-believers who correctly point out that the Constitution protects those of any religion or no religion at all (hence, the prohibition on religious tests for office). However, outspoken religious believers do provide an essential service in reminding the country that no party or movement — let alone one enveloped in a cult of personality, spouting xenophobia and racism, rationalizing violence, and demonizing fellow Americans — has a monopoly on faith.

Warnock, along with other outspoken Democrats of faith, remain undaunted in the face of attacks from religious hypocrites. Reclaiming the language of faith (which is an essential part of many Americans’ lives) helps rebut MAGA’s offensive accusation that Democrats are not part of “real America.” Those willing to call out with humor and humanity the toxicity of white Christian nationalism deserve the gratitude of all Americans.