I’m in favor of a government that is secular. I do not want a government that imposes any faith, even if it is Christianity – the faith to which I have committed my life. My principle reason is theological, in that the Christian faith necessarily involves multiple stages of faith-development in each individual, and that God in Christ is essentially ‘invitational’ towards each person. God never imposes His will on persons, at least not this side of Judgment Day. If God, who is de facto the Great Governor sees fit to govern invitationally, then a human government ought not to govern impositionally.
Second, I remember history, and even today, you can observe the ghastly traversty of human systems, especially governments but also religious systems, that take upon themselves the power to declare their faith the only valid faith. Of you ever need evidence for the Christian doctrine of the ‘fall of humanity’ then a review of what people with power do to people without power will surely be quickly convincing. The horrid sexual abuse of minors by Roman Catholic clergy and the wicked cover up by their superiors is a current example. The hellish rule of Daesh, the Holocaust of the Nazis, the slavery of white supremacy, the shunning and cruelty of the early Puritan settlements of New England…the list is without end. A theocracy or established religion inevitably means a reduced life experience for those who do not believe in accordance with the hegemony.
Conversely, secularism in a civil government leaves room for people of every persuasion to live in peaceful plurality and co-existance. It doesn’t guarantee it, but it provides room for it. A key to a healthy society then, is a government and a social culture that includes those on the margins of society, protects the values of minorities and provides a voice to those who have little or no voice, and a seat for everyone at the table of power. The powerful majority has the intrinsic responsibility to not lord it over those who are not so empowered.
The Lord Jesus Christ understood this principle and powerfully taught it. Of you need chapter and verse then pause here and contemplate.
In the USA in 2020 our society is caught between political choices of Trumpian Rebuplicanism and anti-Trumpian Democraticism that seems to leave no ground for mutual appreciation, charitable conversation, gracious dialog, or, well, grace at all. I believe that Christians can best represent Christ when we do not engage in the dialectic and chose instead to think and act differently.