Introduction
The Church and politics are critical establishments crucial in shaping humanity’s current and future state. The Church refers to a congregation of people who profess the Christian faith. It is universal and is not limited by ethnicity, nationality, race, denomination, gender, or position in life. All church members assemble to worship and are unified by believing Christ is their lord and Savior. The Church derives its teachings from the Bible, and the book of Galatians 3:26-28 indicates that “You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus…. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Covenant Press, 2020, p.822). The Church also entails a place where Christians meet to worship God, a body of worshippers of God through Christ, or a community of God’s people.
Politics involves governance and is the process through which governments are formed based on different ideologies or manifestos. It is believed that politics originated from the Church, as it was initially called Ekklesia in classical Greek (Braunstein et al., 2018). The Greek term refers to a collection of citizens who meet to legislate.
The Hebrews adopted the term to refer to a spiritual congregation of Israelites. The early Christians used the same term to describe a group of believers in Jesus Christ. Therefore, the development of the Church is closely associated with politics. The separation of the Church and politics is a prominent principle in modern democracies. Still, the congregation can engage in political discourse and activities if they observe the biblical teachings and values.
Voice of the Church Congregation or Denomination in Politics
Most people think the Church should not engage in politics or promote the ideals of any political party or agenda. It is believed that the Church ought to uphold biblical teachings and values and promote the common good of society. However, by condemning different ills in society, the Church gets involved in politics. The Church is called upon to complete the spiritual, lasting, and invisible kingdom of the lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Baba (2022) argues that the key mandate of the Church is to exalt Christ, teach, instruct, and live as an example to society in seeking redemption. In doing this, the Church has to pray for the government, including those in power. The Church prays for peace in the land to facilitate the preaching of the gospel and for people to see the existence of Christ.
By preaching and teaching the Word of God, the Church informs the congregants and applies the biblical worldview based on His values. Casey and Ryan (2019) state that the Church expects Christian politicians to realize that they must stand up for Biblical values over and above all other matters. Politicians must avoid embracing values that contradict the Bible so they may be influential and sanctify God. Every Christian value must be altered through the domination of the Holy Spirit and by an invariant and in-depth understanding of Biblical teachings. It does not matter whether one is a Democrat or Republican.
God wants his followers to understand that the kingdom of heaven and the earthly kingdom will forever be in friction. His world seeks to enlighten humanity that the government does not have the power to take over the world but to control evil. Only Christians have the power through the Holy Spirit to make a difference.
Elsner (2022) states that the Church must help its members recognize their leadership gifts. The Church can then encourage such people to get into politics and use the blessing to serve the public, particularly those who feel tormented and marginalized. The involvement of Christians in politics does not only mean they represent the Church in leadership. Christian politicians are more responsible for addressing critical societal predicaments, which include social injustices, bribery, and corruption.
Church as an Organism and the Church as an Institution: Relevance in the Political Life
The Church can be called a dual creature in society, given its establishment and manifestation as an organism and an institution. The organic nature of the Church emanates from its power to invoke spiritual energy in the lives of individual believers. Baba (2022) states that the Church manifests itself as an institution through its ministry, office functions, and duties to serve humanity. The organic nature of the Church existed before becoming an institution.
Today, the Church stands behind the institution, but the organism remains the primary feature providing its fundamental value. Leeman and Naselli (2020) indicate that the organic nature of the Church is centered on Heaven and Jesus Christ. The Church as an organism covers all the ages from the beginning of the world to its end, which describes its eternity and lives through people’s individual beliefs. The Church upholds the blessing of God in a broader domain that can function well only if the institution is established according to the provisions defined in the Word.
The existence of the Church as an organism and an institution helps to set apart the biblical teachings and spirituality from the impact of its actions on the world. This is important as it sets the stage for the Church’s political involvement. Faggioli and Hudock (2021) state that the Church as an institution is separated from the Christian teachings. Even though the institution only functions when the organism reaches a broader audience and connects to human life, it is recognizable by diverse representations of human life and activity. The institution works through political actions such as law, occupation, family, jurisprudence, business, public opinion, art, and science to support human life (Baba, 2022). The Church can exercise power and penetrate numerous hurdles to serve its political agenda.
Voice of the Institutional Church on Societal Issues
The Church is established on righteousness and is expected to serve as a model for truth and justice. Acts 2:40-47 shows the evils that the early Church struggled with: massive injustices and immorality, including corruption (Covenant Press, 2020). It also shows the coming together of the Church through love and following Jesus Christ. The Church made sacrifices and satisfied the community’s dire needs, which is what is expected of it even today. Proverbs 29:2 says, “When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; but when the wicked rule, the people groan” (Covenant Press, 2020, p.466). The scripture provides the basis for the Church to come and speak out against ills in society, not to fold hands and watch.
The Church must be dynamic and progressive and should not glorify the status quo. The institution must avoid withdrawing and isolating itself by being cozy and comfortable. It must embrace creativity through a high sense of ministry and commitment to influence considerable contributions to the social and political life of the congregation.
Baba (2022) states that only an adaptively relaxed and prudent church can sufficiently, legitimately, and skillfully work for the good of society. By being dynamic, the Church must do all within its power to enhance socialization, support morality, enhance social solidarity, nourish comradeship, and foster societal resilience (Doak, 2020). The Church must affirm personal rights and status, exercise social control, fulfill social welfare and philanthropic needs, and provide recreational, vocational, medical, educational, economic, and counseling services.
The Church can play a broader role in society by enhancing its influence on numerous societal issues. By commenting on critical issues, such as abortion and euthanasia, the Church is expected to promote the primacy of family and the sanctity of life as the foundation of society (Baba, 2022). The Church must advocate for policies that promote human dignity, respect for the poor and vulnerable, stewardship of resources in connecting social welfare reforms, and the need for a balanced federal budget.
Conclusion
The Church’s place in politics spreads from its mandate of teaching the Word of God and spirituality. It originates from ancient politics, giving the congregation power to speak politically across different societal issues. The Church is not expected to come out as a political institution or advocate for any specific political agenda. It must seek to support and encourage its followers to exercise their leadership skills based on biblical values.
The Church is separated as an organism and an institution to set apart the Church’s teachings and values and its role of promoting the common good of society. As an institution, the Church is required to speak out on issues touching on the moral principles and the common good of society. These issues could include life and death, human dignity, social justice, and the protection of the vulnerable.
References
Baba E. D. (2022). The Church and politics. International Journal of Humanities, Social Sciences and Education, 9(4), 162–168. Web.
Braunstein, R., Fuist, T. N. & Williams, R. H. (2018). Religion and progressive activism: New stories about faith and politics. New York University Press.
Casey, C. J., & Ryan, F. (2019). The Church in pluralist society. University of Notre Dame Press.
Covenant Press. (2020). Holy Bible: Literal standard version (lsv). Covenant Press.
Doak, M. (2020). A prophetic, public Church. Liturgical Press.
Elsner, R. (2022). Praying instead of protesting? The Belarusian Churches and political protest after the 2020 presidential election. Nationalities Papers, 1–17. Web.
Faggioli, M. & Hudock, B. (2021). Joe Biden and Catholicism in the United States. Bayard.
Leeman, J., & Naselli, A.D. (2020). How can I love Church members with different politics? Crossway.