A New Moral Majority

Public theology was front and center in Election Night victory speeches this week. After a sometimes-nasty campaign season —in which candidates of faith were attacked for their faith — it was refreshing to hear them reflect on why they entered public service in the first place, how leaders of faith had gone before them to pave the way, and how their relationship with God and Scripture would inform their decisions once in office. Though I can’t share them all, here are a few speeches I saw that featured a combination of religion and politics.

Georgia Governor-elect Keisha Lance Bottoms made history by becoming the first Black woman elected as a governor anywhere in America. In a particularly moving moment, she evoked the name of her enslaved great, great grandmother Betsy Peak, born in 1845, on whose shoulders she now stands. She stated that God gave Betsy a vision, and provision. She celebrated that one of those provisions was found in the people who stood with her and lifted her in prayer. Keisha Lance Bottoms’ win was historic in many ways, and she thanked the great cloud of witnesses who had gone before her to make her win possible. “Grandmama, Granddaddy, other mama, and the rest of the great heavenly cloud of witnesses, we have run this race with perseverance, and I know you’ve cheered us on the entire way.” Lance Bottoms also named that she felt God with her throughout the election journey.

The celebration speech by Kansas Senator-elect Adam Hamilton moved into a sermon about the Gospel story of the Samaritan. He reminded his audience that the Samaritan acted contrary to how we expected. In Hamilton’s retelling, the Samaritan was a Republican, and he called on his supporters and the larger audience to reject the temptation to dehumanize political adversaries. Hamilton also challenged listeners to look at the suffering in the world around us, as he quoted Martin Luther King, Jr.’s sermon on the same parable. King called us to focus on the person in the ditch who needs our help and care. “There are people who don’t mind hurting other people in order to enrich themselves,” he stated, and “there are people who know that it is wrong, but they don’t say anything.” But there are also the people who do the right thing like the Samaritan. Hamilton asked us to reflect on who we want to be as we imagine ourselves in the parable.

The public theology contained within these speeches went beyond Christian public theology, as politicians celebrated and exalted God from their own faith traditions.

Michigan Senator-elect Abdul El-Sayed delivered a speech that started with a reminder that he relied on the phrase inshallah, which means God willing, and moved to alhamdulillah, praise be to God. Anti-Islamic attacks were a central feature of the campaign to defeat El-Sayed, stating “they might have been pointing to my name and my faith, but we all know that my faith isn’t the reason why you can’t afford your gas.” He claimed a public theology that was big enough for all people — religious or not – and pointed to a better future for the United States. .

Ohio elected the state’s first Jewish and first female governor, Amy Acton. In her speech, Acton thanked Ohio voters who supported her for believing in kindness and decency, and for voting for a candidate who believes the same. She called the people to be courageous, and encouraged them to keep fighting for something that is bigger than ourselves. Acton evoked her faith on the campaign trail, and connected her progressive politics to her beliefs. She ended her speech with a call for a resistance to hate, and an embracing of relationship building, and kindness. She stated that all of us have stories of overcoming obstacles. “But our stories, Ohio’s story, is one of resilience, of grit, of grace.” Acton called for patience as the healing of the state will take time, and it will take grace and hope to make it possible.

We should take time to celebrate a public theology across faith traditions that challenges the hate and fear of White Christian Nationalists. But there is obviously much work to be done, and the fight against hateful fundamentalism will never be complete. We need to keep talking, building relationships, and working in our own communities. We need to be courageous as we stand up for victims of government abuse, violence, and injustice.

Finally, it may not be liturgically appropriate for early November, but Election Day results reminded me of the following poem from Howard Thurmon, The Work of Christmas Begins.

When the song of the angels is stilled,

When the star in the sky is gone,

When the kings and the princes are home,

When the shepherds are back with their flocks,

The work of Christmas begins:

To find the lost,

To heal the broken,

To feed the hungry,

To release the prisoner,

To rebuild the nations,

To bring peace among people,

To make music in the heart.

Thurman reminds us to embrace joy. The work is never complete. And it will take all of us to make the visions expressed last night more of a reality. May we continue to feed the hungry, find the lost and rebuild our nation. This work is not going to be easy, and it is going to take time to reembrace who the nation can be.