What Can We Do About This?
Churches should be more intentional about shaping political sensibilities, but Keller admits on the Faith Angle podcast that he doesn’t “know a good way forward” on that front.
There is one demographic where he sees a glimmer of hope in this political polarization crisis, though. Keller says among younger non-white people who hold to orthodox Christian beliefs (both Catholic and evangelical), the pull toward secularism isn’t as prevalent. This group also isn’t as individualistic and are more oriented toward loyalty and family, Keller observes. In other words, they “don’t buy a lot of the progressive stuff.” However, this aversion toward progressivism doesn’t mean they are camping out on the conservative fringes either. “Because they’re non-white, they experience racism, they are not idyllic about the United States’ past, and therefore they are also not so quick to buy the right wing stuff, either,” Keller explains.
“Black, Hispanic, Asian orthodox Christians give me a lot of hope,” Keller says. “Not all of them, but most of them are willing to pool together and come together and talk.” And according to Keller, seeing Christians coming together is vital to the work of the church. “For those outside, our unity is a very important witness…us hating each other discredits us.”
To hear more of Tim Keller’s thoughts on political polarization, be sure to check out the ChurchLeaders podcast.
