Journal Inquirer, Manchester, Conn.
Tim Leininger, Journal Inquirer, Manchester, Conn.
Tue, August 9, 2022 at 4:04 PM·5 min read

Aug. 9—Over the past few months, several U.S. legislators have been promoting "Christian nationalism," advocating that the U.S. government should be led by and fundamentally governed by Christians under Biblical law.

Five local church leaders say they disagree with this movement.

At a Colorado Springs church event on June 26, U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, a Republican from Colorado, said, "The church is supposed to direct the government. The government is not supposed to direct the church. I'm tired of this separation of church and state junk."

And on July 23, at a Turning Point USA Student Action Summit, U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Georgia Republican, labeled herself as a Christian nationalist.

"We need to be the party of nationalism and I'm a Christian, and I say it proudly, we should be Christian nationalists," she said.

Nationwide, according to a Pew Research poll in 2019 about 65% of U.S. adults identify as Christian, with 43% identifying as Protestant and 20% as Catholic.

That percentage of professing Christians does not necessarily reflect any tacit agreement with Boebert and Greene's comments.

"I have a hard time with those 'isms,'" said the Rev. Tara Krantz, pastor of Rockville United Methodist Church in Vernon. "I think that's one of our biggest problems is that we have 'isms.' I think that's our job, to show that there are no 'isms.' That ultimately the only label we need is that we are God's children.

"In this church, we welcome everyone," she said. "I believe that we're all different and one of the reasons why we're here is to learn how to love everyone. Sometimes that means to agree to disagree. It's learning people's stories. I think that's where we mess up, especially in politics. We're not learning the stories and without that, we really can't understand other people. That's why I think the church's job is to show how to love on everyone and to take the judgements out and to be active listeners and to be a community that prays for one another, to really work together."

The Rev. David Saylor, pastor of First Baptist Church in Manchester believes church and state should remain separate.

"As traditional Baptist policy we believe there is a healthy division of church and state," Saylor said "It tends to get blurred in this day and age. I think it's healthy to have a distinction, especially in a democracy or a republic."

He said Christian nationalism is foolish and wrong, especially in the current politically charged environment.

"History has shown that has never worked well, whether it be Christian or Islamic or others," he said. "I think Christianity is supposed to thrive where there's freedom of speech and freedom to share and give people the option to choose to believe or not believe."

The Rev. Cheryl Kincaid of Calvary Presbyterian Church in Enfield also reflected on the history of Christian nationalism.

"We've experienced that in the Holy Wars which were not holy at all," she said. "Jesus said for us to change the world by loving people and humility. Nowhere in the book of Acts do we see the apostle Paul saying we need to change the senate. They were interested in proclaiming Jesus Christ. There's only one way the world changes and that's through love and humility and through prayer.

"My great fear is, instead of the world seeing Christians as 'People of the Way'... they'll be known as people of a particular political party, and I think that shames the Bible," she added.

The Rev. Mike Srisam-ang, pastor of Grace Church in South Windsor, said the church needs to understand that God has placed political leaders there, but doesn't affirm to Christian nationalism.

"We're called as Christians to be a light and that is to be a light even to political authorities by praying for them and living lives consistent with our faith and devotion to Christ, not to respond in any way that would lead to violence or anything like that," he said.

"As Christians we're supposed to be humble," he said. "It comes with the understanding that we're supposed to be the pillar of truth and entrusted with the knowledge of Christ and the Gospel. The church shouldn't lose sight of that and get too focused on the politics. All of this is happening under sovereign control and that is out of our control. The role of the church is a spiritual one."

The Rev. Michelle Hansen, a priest at All Saints Episcopal Parish in East Hartford, had the strongest words for Boebert and Greene.

"I don't believe she's Christian," Hansen said of Greene. "She doesn't espouse Christian principles. She's got a big mouth.

"The separation of church and state goes back to the founding principles of this country," Hansen said. "These people that are opposed to it don't understand the history of the United States. They don't know what religion means in the United States. It's a sad development that has come about. A lot of different political stances have tried to run under the cover of Christianity and they clearly weren't. I believe these people aren't espousing Christianity in any way."

https://www.yahoo.com/news/keeping-church-state-apart-200400010.html