CAMP Spirit

In this way African-American religious educator Howard Thurman articulated what for him was one of the major problems of Christianity as it is lived out in the United States. Thurman’s words, written in 1949, are just as true today as they were then. Many Americans, despite clear evidence to the contrary, still regard the United States as a Christian country, while many (if not most) Christians continue to see the rest of the world as needful of American guidance, protection, and benevolence, even if it involves preemptive war and disregard for international human rights. The current administration articulates both of these sentiments regularly and fervently as some sort of civil religion of its own.

Moreover, some of the most prominent and influential sectors of Christianity continue to preach an exclusivist gospel of Jesus Christ as "the only way" to salvation, without seriously engaging the logical questions that arise in a climate of religious pluralism: What about people of other religions and faith traditions? Are they not candidates for salvation simply because of an accident of birth or geography? Does God manifest Godself in other ways besides Christianity? Have there been other saviors besides Jesus Christ? Has the Divine been made known in scriptures other than the "Old" and "New" Testaments of Christianity? I believe that these are questions with which all people of faith must grapple as we strive for peace in our world, in our country, in our churches, and in our hearts.

These musings seem particularly important at this time of year, when Easter triumphalism on the part of super-Christians mutes the importance of other religious festivals such as Passover, as well as the ongoing spiritual witness of Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, and others. Why does Christian "good news" (the root meaning of "gospel") have to mean bad news for so many other people around the world? I find it ironic that a religion that was birthed in the Roman Empire as a counter-movement to Empire should have become one of the guiding forces of Empire. Progressive people of conscience—which should include any queer person who has her or his head on non-crookedly—should take the lead in dispelling the myth that labels such as "Christian," "American," or "heterosexual" indicate automatic superiority.

Today’s world is a place of incredibly rich diversity. Technology, in such manifestations as quick and easy intercontinental travel, mass media, and the Internet, has created a truly global village, the citizens of which blend together in varying combinations with individual stories, life circumstances, challenges, and opportunities.

As the world proceeds along this trajectory, it is no longer possible for one to be isolated or unconnected to others in some way; nor is it possible for anyone to go very far without encountering others who are different from oneself in some way, shape, or form. Polarities of "us" and "them" multiply, however, when we do not see the diversity around us as an opportunity to grow in knowledge and experience without sacrificing our uniqueness and individuality. Nowadays, even when we know so much more about "foreign" lands, peoples, and customs, those in dominant societies still have the need to make the Other conform through political, economic, military, and even religious means. In the twenty-first century this is often accompanied by a religious and political fundamentalism that recognizes only one way of thinking and living in community. Some voices in the last fifty years or so, however, have dared to confront those in power and call their systems of hegemony "colonial," "imperial," "tyrannical," "fascist," or "totalitarian." Of these daring voices, some of the most significant are those who call their ideological stance "postcolonialism"—a radical questioning of the notion and manifestation of Empire.

As the pastor of a Christian church in the queer community, I constantly struggle with how to bridge the gap between the ancient world and the contemporary scene, the premodern and the postmodern, the spiritual and the secular. If our world and its people are indeed interconnected, there must be more and better ways of speaking religious truth and breaking down the barriers that exist between people. Homi Bhabha, widely recognized as the "father" of postcolonial studies, has pointed out that the quintessential text used to authorize Euro/ American colonialism and imperialism was "the European Book," that is, the Bible. Therefore, postcolonial scriptural interpretation has become an extremely important area of interest within both postcolonial and religious studies. This kind of interpretation seeks to peel away layers of narrow ethnocentric chauvinism in order to look for the deeper truth contained in the world’s scriptures. In future columns I will be looking at the methods postcolonial religious scholars are utilizing to broaden the range of options for spiritual consciousness. Won’t you join me?