Despite the Risk of Political Violence, Christians Have a ‘Hope that Transcends Politics’: Expert
In light of the upcoming presidential election, Bloomberg Economics conducted an analysis that measured the risk of violent political turmoil within the next year among 20 major economies. It found the U.S. ranked third highest — just behind Turkey and Russia. The report was designed “to capture [the] uneasy national mood after the assassination attempt against Donald Trump.” With America so high on the list, the question is: Should we be concerned? Additionally, as Family Research Council President Tony Perkins asked on Saturday’s “This Week on the Hill,” “What factors have contributed to such unease?”
Joined by A.J. Nolte, chair of the Government Graduate Program and director of the International Development MA Program at Regent University, the two discussed how, in the analysis, “Bloomberg contributed much of the risk to both the erosion of democratic institutions and the rise of factional grievances.” But according to Nolte, the concern is less “about the quality of our institutions” and more about “the erosion in our faith in our institutions.”
In many cases, “The institutions are working rather well,” Nolte added. “But people have stopped believing that.” Perkins noted, “[T]hat’s a really important distinction, because the same thing can be said of our economy.” As he explained, “Our economy only works when people and consumers have confidence,” which is “why we measure consumer confidence in the economy.” Ultimately, it “doesn’t matter what the economy is actually doing, it’s what people think it’s doing.”
Related to the Bloomberg report, Nolte emphasized the fact that it talks about both political violence and civil war. As he stated, the upcoming election could potentially be “so catastrophic for one side politically that it cannot be accepted,” and that’s the main concern in terms of a potential civil war. However, “As somebody who’s studied a lot of political violence and … religious civil wars,” Nolte said, “I think the risk of political violence is certainly escalated and certainly is higher in the United States than it has been since the 1970s,” but “I don’t see the same conditions for civil war at this current time.”
As Nolte highlighted, the risk of political turmoil “is a bipartisan problem,” and it’s only fueled “as people start to feel like their political opponents are enemies rather than opponents.” This is when you “start down the road to civil war.” But as Perkins emphasized, “[P]olitical violence does not necessarily lead to civil war.” He continued, “We are a divided country,” but “we clearly have some problems and it’s on both the Left and the Right side.” What are some of the “voices that are driving this?” Nolte gave insight related to both sides of the political spectrum.
“What I see on the Left … is that there’s a small but dedicated cohort of secular folks … that see politics as almost … a religion substitute.” As such, he added, they’re often “driven by fear of what they would consider sort of reactionary fundamentalist religion.” But on the Right, he explained, “what I see is not necessarily Christians that are going to church, but people who self-identify as Christians but who don’t have any direct connection to a faith community.”
For this group, the temptation to lean into political violence occurs when “they are feeling very fearful, very insecure, very much as though the world and the country that they’ve known is disappearing around them.” But “because they don’t have that connection to a religious community, they are more likely to express that in violence.” And Nolte pointed out there’s research that shows, “when there’s a pattern of political violence … it tends to be those who identify with religion but aren’t connected to religious communities that are the most likely to engage in religious violence.”
“There’s got to be a way forward for us,” Perkins urged. “There are those that see government as a religion, and there are those who have kind of religion in title, but both are at one another’s throats. How do we deescalate?” According to Nolte, “The key group” are those who are “spiritually active, governmentally engaged.”
He continued, “Those are the folks who are key because they have a commitment to government as a calling rather than as a source of idolatry.” As such, “they have an understanding that there is something that transcends government, and they’re deeply connected to it in their own lives because they’re spiritually active. They’re tied to their communities.” These are the people, Nolte contended, “who are best able to deescalate, recognizing that there are important political issues that we need to fight for, but also that there are limits.” And really, “those limits are because we have a hope that transcends politics. And … if we keep that in mind and keep that central, that is the way forward, because that meaningful faith is … the best way to protect democracy.”
Not to mention, Perkins added, when “you come as a believer, as a follower of Christ, [you come] with an eternal perspective, commissioned to advance the kingdom. You come with confidence.” Because of this, “[W]e don’t have to be anxious. We don’t have to be angry. We can be passionate, but at the same time confident of who we are and what we represent in the ideals, the truth that we stand on.”
Nolte agreed, noting “the issue is not compromising your ideals or values.” Rather, it’s “remembering, as we advocate for them, that there is a hope … [because] we know the story. We know how it ends. We know who wins.” This biblical truth means we cannot “let that hope give way to despair, because political violence is always generated by fear.” But “if we counter that fear with the hope of the gospel, I think that is the best thing that Christians can do to prevent this escalation” of political violence.
With that understanding, Perkins put forth the reminder that “the teachings of Christ [include] that we love our enemies” and “pray for them.” Christians cannot forget that “those who are opposed to us on policy issues [still have] inherent value because they’re created in the image of God.”
Nolte emphasized, “At the heart of being a Christian and giving a witness is persuasion — persuasion of the truth of the gospel.” He urged, “[A]s Christians in politics, we need to … never forget that we’re still trying to persuade. And you can’t persuade people if you don’t fundamentally care about them on some level, and you’re trying to persuade them because you think what you believe is correct, and it’s best for them as well as for you.”
“[A]nd if you have the truth, and the truth is what makes you free,” Perkins concluded, then “you want to share that truth.”
Sarah Holliday is a reporter at The Washington Stand.