For over a century the Fellowship of Reconciliation has gathered people from different faith traditions to work on, and advocate for, issues of peace and justice. During that time our work has included conscientiously objecting to numerous wars, struggling for civil rights for all Americans, and proclaiming the necessity of disarmament and the removal of nuclear weapons. And during that time we have learned that the need to advocate for peace and justice is constant but the way those issues manifest themselves is incredibly dynamic.
These days FOR-USA is closely following the rise of right-wing nationalist ideologies in the United States. These movements don’t generally self-identify as “Christian nationalist,” but in their world view, the United States should declare itself a Christian nation and the federal government should advocate for Christian values. They co-opt the message of Christ as well as Christian language and imagery — not to mention the history of the United States — in support of a truly poisonous agenda of violence, exclusion, and white supremacy.
FOR-USA has now launched the Reclaim the Name campaign to raise awareness around this issue and seek out allies and faith partners in the work of combating its growth. Our members — Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, Sikh, Indigenous, and Baha’i as well as people of conscience with no religious affiliation — are unified in the belief that the work of peace and justice transcends our different faith journeys because the divine ultimately transcends all divisions. The fusing together of nationalist identity and religious faith of any kind is a blasphemous weaponization of the divine.
The early stages of our campaign so far have taken on several forms. FOR is developing video content that explains the reality of the phenomenon happening in our country. We organized a petition requesting that Mother’s Day be considered a national day of prayer against guns and violence (see item below). We are also developing resources for schools, churches, and community groups to educate about and help combat these violent distortions of a sacred faith tradition.
“Christian nationalism is related to all forms of religious and cultural nationalism,” said FOR’s senior advisor Rev. Graylan Hagler. “It takes the radically inclusive and profoundly countercultural message at the core of Christianity and distorts it into an instrument of political, racial, religious, and cultural power and domination. Christian nationalism, like all forms of religious and cultural nationalism, is built upon hatred, racism, and destructive racial and cultural supremacy.”
Drawing on FOR’s long legacy of resistance, executive director Ariel Gold commented that “the Fellowship of Reconciliation conscientiously objects to individuals or organizations who participate in this weaponization of the divine, whether it be in the United States or anywhere else. We call on our members and all people of good will to reclaim the name of God from those who have warped the divine to fit their own political, racial, social, military, and economic agendas. In its place we raise up the concept of divinity grounded in radical love, openness, justice, equality, and peace. Above all we pray for the humility to know that WE are not God.”
Our resources are slated to be released in Summer 2023. We invite you to contact us at reclaim@forusa.org for more information.