Many argue that activism within black churches has declined (if not disappeared) since the days of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. But last month, on his birthday, a group of African American faith leaders called for Americans to “Occupy the Dream” with protests at Federal Reserve banks. If black churches are renewing their tradition of activism in this post-civil rights era, what are the most pressing issues for them to address?

To read the debate, go to the New York Times “Room for Debate”

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In recent history, the right has dominated public use of religious language, and mostly applied it to social issues, so that only hot-button topics like abortion or same-sex marriage tend to be viewed as clearly decided by religious beliefs. On such issues, Christianity and “conservative” positions often end up conflated. But neither the “pro-life” position nor opposition to gay marriage is the only viewpoint that follows from a Christian perspective.

On issues like gay marriage, a Christian perspective could lead voters to conservative or liberal stances.

Christians who believe that the state should be bound to a literal reading of certain biblical passages might vote for a candidate who seems to agree. Yet there are also Christians who, for example, find in the scripture good news of a God who affirms all humanity, regardless of sexual orientation. These Christians might be more inclined to vote for a candidate who has supported legislation that seeks to protect the rights of gay and lesbian citizens. Such diverging positions are apparent on even most polarizing issues, and this holds for religious communities across lines of race and ethnicity. And there are a range of Christian perspectives on issues, including education, military and economic policies.

With the Occupy Wall Street movement looming large, more people are raising concerns about the growing divide between the rich and poor. Christians active in these protests might be taking cues from the biblical tenet that one’s faith is measured by how we treat “the least of these.” In this view, there is a religious responsibility to hold government accountable — on everything from federal budgets to corporate bailouts.

Ultimately, there is no simple or singular formula for applying Christianity such that a clear candidate emerges.

Read the entire conversation at “Room for Debate” on the New York Times website.

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Many of you have requested the link to the webcast of the panel I moderated last October here at Columbia, which explored the role of black churches in contemporary society. Albeit a bit delayed, it is now up and featured on the recently re-vamped website of the Institute for Research in African-American Studies. I’ve embedded the first introductory clip here. You can find the rest of dialogue at the site, which features remarks by Anthea Butler, Eddie Glaude, Obery Hendricks, Eboni Marshall Turman and Otis Moss III. Hope you enjoy it!

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According to popular reports, sexuality is a taboo topic in African American churches. The black church has been described as simultaneously one of the most homophobic and homo-accepting institutions. In recent years there have been numerous media stories that have centered around the intersections of black churches and sexuality, in general, and homosexuality, in particular. On one hand, black churches have figured centrally as the foil in discussions of the push for social equality on the part of LGBT persons in American society, as well as within Christian churches (i.e. same-sex marriage, “don‟t ask, don‟t tell”). On the other hand, there have been sensational accounts of sex scandals (i.e. no need to name names) in which African American preachers have been the main protagonists. In the former, black churches are typically cast as hyper-homophobic even as they are part of the larger culture of American evangelicalism that, as a rule, continues to unofficially elevate homosexuality as an ultimate “sin.” As for the latter, whether alleged or confirmed, the coverage and appeal of these stories taps into centuries-old tropes of black sexuality—both gay and straight—as defined by deviance…

To read the rest of this essay and check out the dialogue of which it was a part, go to: The African American Lectionary Project

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The Scandal Is About More Than Bishop Eddie Long
Shifting sexual mores, racial anxieties and unresolved issues of gender and power are what really drive our fascination with the Georgia mega-church crisis, says a professor of religion.

Roughly 20 years ago, Cornel West — in his best-selling book Race Matters — argued that “it is virtually impossible to talk candidly about race without talking about sex.” So it remains today: When we chatter about sex, race is always already on the table.

At the center of the Bishop Eddie Long story is a civil suit against a preacher alleged to have violated the sacred trust between pastor and congregation. Long stands accused of coercing sexual favors from several young male mentees — this after currying favor with them by using perks from his multimillion-dollar spiritual empire, which has more than 25,000 members.

The exposure of Long’s alleged same-sex erotic activities has occasioned an act of collective catharsis in a shifting sexual landscape. Sadly, if not surprisingly, we seem more concerned with sex acts than actual sins. That the alleged victims are young men rather than young women should not matter — abuse is abuse, end of story. But it does, especially in this moment, in this country.

Our concern with Long’s sexual orientation obscures the larger issue of the relationship between gender and power, which is only magnified by religion. Our society takes for granted the exchange of sex acts, both coerced and seduced, between young women and older men — from athletes to CEOs to clergy. Rather than deal with the issue of unchecked authority, we prefer to focus on who’s touching whose … well, you get the picture.

The core of our attraction and repulsion to this affair — what turned the event from pastoral scandal into public spectacle — is about much more than Long…

To continue reading, go to: The Root

*A Quick Update: This story was also picked up the next day by the Washington Post’s On Faith column, with a link back to the story’s original home at The Root. To view it there, go to: On Faith