Being a Christian in a Pluralistic Land

This morning I opened up the front page of the San Francisco Chronicle to find that Jerry Falwell has begun a “Friend or Foe Christmas Campaign.� Right off the bat, without reading any further, I cringed, thinking of my deeply religious friends who are not Christians but who are nevertheless Americans. Their legal citizenship in this country makes this a pluralistic country and therefore not a place where Jerry Falwell gets to force his faith on us in the public square.

Falwell and his fellow fundamentalists are going to sue school districts, boycott stores such as Target, and basically try to intimidate the country into choosing between their brand of Christianity and more inclusive, pluralistic and democratic American norms.

What I want to say to Jerry Falwell is that you can be a Christian in this country. Absolutely no one is stopping you. But your rights end at my nose. I don’t subscribe to your view of Christianity and am secure enough in my own progressive Christian faith not to have to force others to subscribe to my beliefs.

There are no privileged faiths in this country, just as there are no privileged races (or shouldn’t be). Fundamentalist Christianity shouldn’t get to dominate the public landscape over and above all others. And let’s be clear. The fact that they don’t get to force-feed us their version of Christianity in the public square is not a persecution of fundamentalist Christianity. This is a protection that democracy provides to all Americans. And Jerry, this protects you too. What if in a hundred years another religion is the dominant faith in America. Do you, as a Christian fundamentalist, want your Christian great-grandchildren force-fed another religion’s songs in the public schools of this country? I think not.

A pluralistic, democratic America, protects us all. This may be hard for fundamentalists to accept, but it’s like being a sibling in a big family. Just because you’re the first-born child doesn’t mean you are the only one entitled to the benefits of being a member of the family.

Back in the late 60’s when I was in grade school I always looked forward with special anticipation to the Christmas assembly. At the appointed time each classroom would make its orderly way to the auditorium where a giant Christmas tree had been placed in the center of the room. Each class would find their designated section and sit down cross-legged on the floor. The auditorium lights would be dimmed, allowing the Christmas tree lights to twinkle as we took turns singing beloved Christmas carols in anticipation of the arrival of a candy-cane plying Santa Claus.

Years later I shared this memory with my grade school friend Donna who had a completely different memory of the Christmas assembly. She told me that as a Jewish kid, the assembly was always the hardest part of being in public school. She felt left out and alienated by the event. She said she was scared not to sing the songs about Jesus for fear of being bullied, threatened or made fun of by her fellow classmates. What was for me a cherished memory was for her a hard and painful experience.

As a Progressive Christian with children in public school today, I am profoundly grateful that we have finally begun to act like the pluralistic, democratic country that we are. Just because we as Christians consider ourselves to be a “first born� faith doesn’t mean we get to dominate over others who came later or were smaller in numbers than we were. We must be sensitive to our other siblings and live in peace with them. My progressive Christian faith asks no less of me.

SF Chron article:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/11/20/MNGVDFRH0...