A081 Combat Rising Religious Nationalism
Resolved, the House of ________________ concurring,
That the 81st General Convention acknowledge the urgent issue of rising religious nationalism as a deeply rooted issue, both domestically and globally, as it rises to the forefront as a continued and troubling phenomenon; and be it further,
Resolved, That The Episcopal Church as a Body of Christ lament the negative impact of rising religious nationalism in the promotion of violence against marginalized groups, adversely affecting social, cultural, and historical contexts; and be it further
Resolved, That General Convention encourage individuals, congregations, dioceses and other communities within the Church to educate themselves more thoroughly about this critical issue and its negative impact on marginalized groups; and be it further
Resolved, That General Convention urge The Episcopal Church and its mission-related entities to combat rising religious nationalism in partnership with inter-religious, ecumenical, and Anglican Communion partners.
Explanation
Both domestically and globally, extremism is at a crisis point, including religious nationalism. Religious nationalism is the intersection of religious identity and nationalist ideologies within a specific country or nation. Rising religious nationalism includes both the “Christian nationalist” movement in the United States of America and global forms of extremism. These movements promote violence against marginalized groups, severely affecting social, cultural and historical contexts.
Since the mission of The Episcopal Church, as stated in the Book of Common Prayer’s catechism, is “to restore all people to unity with God and each other in Christ (pg. 855),” the Episcopal Church has a responsibility to acknowledge and identify rising religious nationalism given our presence domestically and globally, to identify incidents of this movement and to call them out urgently. Incidents may include turmoil or volatility in a social context, life-threatening behaviors against a people or religion, an historically based continuation of systemic hate crimes, and the targeting of minority groups.
The Standing Commission on World Mission offers this resolution to call for the recognition and acknowledgment of rising religious nationalism and urges The Episcopal Church to combat rising religious nationalism in partnership with inter-religious, ecumenical, and Anglican Communion partners.