Clergy in Kansas and Missouri Say the Rise of White Christian Nationalism is a Threat to Democracy
OLATHE — Thursday, the Rev. Bobby Love of Second Baptist Church backed a campaign to make Kansans more aware of the dangers of white Christian nationalism and to get more people to understand how a movement that wants to destroy welcoming communities could hurt democracy.
Love said, “Together we must reject the idea of putting one race above the other.” “We need to reject the idea of intolerance.” We must say no to the idea of violence in the name of Christianity.
The crowd was gathering outside the Johnson County Courthouse, two blocks away from where the Second Baptist Church building was built in 1882. He said that the church was started by Black Exodusters who left the South for the Great Plains. He said that even though the church had been through a lot over the past 150 years, it still felt like a community.
He talked about the late Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s idea of a “beloved community” with a critical mass of people who believe in and practice nonviolence. King understood that people have personal, group, and national conflicts, but he also said that those disagreements should be settled by making peace between people who are at odds with each other. King said that peace and unity could win in the end.
“Either we can find ways to live together as brothers and sisters or we will all die together as fools,” Love said about King.
“If that’s how you feel today, let’s reject the idea of rhetoric that divides us.” Let’s say no to the idea of violence. Love said, “Let’s work together to make the beloved community stronger.”
The Metro Organization for Racial and Economic Equity, or MORE2, planned the event at noon. It is a nonpartisan social justice group in Kansas City that wants to change neighborhoods. People from a range of religions, cultures, races, and income situations were part of the group.
From April to October, there will be seven rallies in counties in Kansas or Missouri near the Kansas City metropolitan area. The Olathe gathering was the fourth of those. The next one is set for August 15 at 7 p.m. in Plains County’s downtown Parkville.
Rev. Stephen Jones of the First Baptist Church of Kansas City, Missouri, led the two-state campaign and said that Christian nationalism was a problem that voters would have to think about in 2024.
“Many people in our society are very worried about the rise of white Christian nationalism,” Jones, co-pastor of First Baptist Church, said. “At these rallies every month until the election in November, we want to bring attention to how dangerous white Christian nationalism is to our democracy in the United States.”
Rev. Laura Phillips, who works at the Overland Park Christian Church, said that King’s vision of the beloved community gave women, men, and everyone else the same rights as men and women when it came to leading and speaking out.
“I want everyone to work together,” the Rev. Barry Dundas of Grace United Methodist Church of Olathe said. “I believe we all want to work together.”
After the attempt on the life of former President Donald Trump at a campaign gathering in Pennsylvania, Dundas said it was time to talk about unity.
He said that the shocking attack on Trump made it even more important for Republicans and Democrats to work together and talk about how to make politics more cooperative.
Rev. Chris Wilson, who leads the Saint Andrew Christian Church of Olathe congregation, said that Kansans should learn about damaging ideas that try to use religion for political gain rather than for good.
That’s why Christian nationalists say government and Christianity should be the same, he said, they want to break down the wall between church and state.
What he said was that “Christian nationalism is not a religion.” “The political idea of Christian nationalism is skewed.” White Christian nationalism is a skewed ideology that tries to use and pressure the word “Christian” in a way that benefits those who already have a lot of power and advantage.
Wilson said that one of the main goals of Christian nationalism was to push people who should have a voice in government to the edges and silence their opinions. He said it was very important for Kansans to “vote their values” in the events in August and November.