Church & State
by Anonymous
Finals. I thought I'd share with you the questions I'm considering for one of my final exams. I'm taking an elective called "Islam in the Modern World" from Dr. Charles Amjad-Ali in which we take a deeper look at the buzzwords of today and the relationship between religion and politics in America and around the world.
The course has tempted me to ask others about their personal relationship with church and state before preparing my final paper. I sent the following email to most everyone on my email contact list and have received a lot of helpful feedback already. I offer these for thought in a time that demands our serious consideration of the relationship between faith and nationality, this kingdom and the next.
Hi All,
I'm writing to ask you about what it means to be a Christian living in and believing in democracy. (I am referring to the more general form of government, of course, not the American political party.) Most of you have been both Christian and Democratic for your entire life, but not all. I'm writing one of my final exams about this complex identity and hoping to receive blurbs back from many of you that will form the interview portion of my research paper.
This request is being sent to people of all political and theological persuasions from within the Christian and Democratic perspective and I look forward to receiving many different reflections and opinions. Please respond to one or all of these questions at whatever length you choose by Saturday, December 15. Your reply will help shape the voice of my paper. Your participation would be much appreciated - both initial gut reactions and thoughtful, reflective replies welcome! Thank you, in advance, for taking a moment to consider these questions. There's no right or wrong answer, so even admitting that you are either or both because of birth or life-long habit is of great interest to my project.
1. Are there buzzwords used by the media and contemporary culture that you use or hear being used, but struggle to clearly define because they seem so broad and assumed? (Ex. 'Western', 'Green', 'Radical', etc.)
2. What does it mean to be both Christian and Democratic? (I refer to the more general form of government, not the political party.) If you are both, why? How do they support one another (or not) and how do you uphold their mutual (or conflicting) values?
3. Does your Christian faith influence your democratic citizenship? Does your democratic citizenship influence your Christian faith? How so?
The course has tempted me to ask others about their personal relationship with church and state before preparing my final paper. I sent the following email to most everyone on my email contact list and have received a lot of helpful feedback already. I offer these for thought in a time that demands our serious consideration of the relationship between faith and nationality, this kingdom and the next.
Hi All,
I'm writing to ask you about what it means to be a Christian living in and believing in democracy. (I am referring to the more general form of government, of course, not the American political party.) Most of you have been both Christian and Democratic for your entire life, but not all. I'm writing one of my final exams about this complex identity and hoping to receive blurbs back from many of you that will form the interview portion of my research paper.
This request is being sent to people of all political and theological persuasions from within the Christian and Democratic perspective and I look forward to receiving many different reflections and opinions. Please respond to one or all of these questions at whatever length you choose by Saturday, December 15. Your reply will help shape the voice of my paper. Your participation would be much appreciated - both initial gut reactions and thoughtful, reflective replies welcome! Thank you, in advance, for taking a moment to consider these questions. There's no right or wrong answer, so even admitting that you are either or both because of birth or life-long habit is of great interest to my project.
1. Are there buzzwords used by the media and contemporary culture that you use or hear being used, but struggle to clearly define because they seem so broad and assumed? (Ex. 'Western', 'Green', 'Radical', etc.)
2. What does it mean to be both Christian and Democratic? (I refer to the more general form of government, not the political party.) If you are both, why? How do they support one another (or not) and how do you uphold their mutual (or conflicting) values?
3. Does your Christian faith influence your democratic citizenship? Does your democratic citizenship influence your Christian faith? How so?
posted by Anonymous at 9:31 AM
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