O Ye of Little Faith
By Jennifer Sims, Ph.D., Contributing Writer
Mark Twain famously cautioned that we should not let our schooling get in the way of our education. In my sociology classes, I explain that this can be understood to mean that formal curriculum and participation in institutionalized credentialing (schooling) should not be pursued to the exclusion of engaging our intellectual curiosity and learning new things (education). In short, Twain was pointing out that as we participate in organized institutions, we must be careful that we do not lose sight of their original purpose. This advice can be extended to the spiritual realm to remind us that we should not let our religion get in the way of our faith.
Unfortunately, the nation witnessed an example of just that in June. In response to widespread criticism of the Trump Administration’s policy of separating newly-arrived immigrant families, several of the policy’s advocates rooted their support for it in the Bible. For example, Attorney General Jeff Sessions cited Romans 13 which says to “obey the laws of the government because God has ordained the government for his purpose.” White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders commented that “It is very biblical to enforce the law.” Setting aside the fact that physically forcing immigrant families apart is not actually a law, many were quick to point out that the Bible, indeed Romans 13 specifically, has been cherry-picked throughout US history to justify slavery and other inhumane actions against racial minorities. Sessions and Sanders, like many whites before them, let an aspect of formal religion, i.e., a line from an official text, supersede the original purpose of Christianity, i.e., the expression of a faith full of love, compassion, care for the sick, and helping the poor.
This summer, I also noticed another example of the consequences of letting adherence to religion get in the way of following one’s faith. I began a new research project interviewing mixed-race men and women who are gay, bisexual, and transgender and their reports of family members using religion to reject—and in some cases abuse them—quickly stood out. If Romans is the white supremacists’ go-to Bible chapter, then Leviticus is the go-to for supporting the rejection, abuse, and discrimination against members of the LGBTQ community. Gender scholars have also noted that Ephesians has long been cited to support male domination. In all three cases, a single aspect of formalized religion has gotten in the way of the vastly more numerous proscriptions of love, compassion, and equality that compose our faith.
My students often report having a difficult time taking a sociological view of spirituality because it challenges them to see the difference between religion as a social institution made of business organizations, formal rules, official texts, and sponsored events and faith as a moral philosophy regarding life and the beyond. Rigid adherence to a single line in the Bible may support separating immigrant children from their parents and rejecting LGBTQ loved ones; but when we refuse to let our religion get in the way of our faith, we can clearly see that families belong together and that love is love.
Jennifer Sims, Ph.D. is a sociologist specializing in the ways persons of mixed-race navigate societies. She has published several academic articles and edited volumes. Dr. Sims is an assistant professor at the University of Alabama-Huntsville.
