Religion and politics are a dangerous mix – whether it's Putin or Trump

Patriarch Kirill, head of the Russian Orthodox Church, has framed his country’s brutal invasion of Ukraine as part of a “metaphysical” battle against Western values that bless so-called sins like gay pride parades.

But the patriarch’s concern for sexual morality hasn’t stopped him from jumping into bed with Russian President Vladimir Putin, politically. And that really is a sin.

Strange bedfellows pose a perennial problem for religious leaders – and not just for them but for their faith communities as well. As the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. wisely said, “The church must be reminded that it is not the master or the servant of the state, but rather the conscience of the state.”

King knew what he was talking about. All manner of politicians offered him worldly power if he was willing to sanction their policies. But without the Black church’s prophetic witness – which always requires distance from the powers that be – there would have been no civil rights movement.

Religion should hold governments accountable

What’s true in the United States is also true in Ukraine and Russia. Will religion be reduced to a tool of authoritarians, as King warned, or will it be the critic and guide that he said governments always need?

The situation now – and importance of moral leadership in Russia – could not be more urgent: Russian bombs are raining down on hospitals, schools, desperate families and vulnerable children. The world is watching in horror.

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As Pope Francis told Kirill during a virtual meeting between the two church leaders on March 16, “The church must not use the language of politics but the language of Jesus.”

Naming Putin’s war and the Russian military machine’s assault on an entire country as “evil” should be the first thing religious leaders do during a moral outrage like this one. The good news is that religious leaders are rising up around the world and directly challenging Patriarch Kirill to rethink his support for his country’s immoral invasion.

Use influence of faith leader to end war

I was part of one such effort: More than 100 U. S. church leaders, including heads of denominations and charities, prominent writers and activists, wrote to Kirill and said: "With broken hearts, we are making an earnest plea that you use your voice and profound influence to call for an end to the hostilities and war in Ukraine and intervene with authorities in your nation to do so."

Our letter was neither political nor ideological, but rather “ecclesial” – a message from one community of faith leaders to another.

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The message we wanted to impart was that Kirill’s support for Russia’s invasion might be good for his relationship with Putin, who gave him the country’s highest award in November, but it is disastrous for the people of Ukraine and for his relationship with other Christians, including members of his Orthodox tradition.

An increasing number of Orthodox Christian leaders are cutting ties with Kirill. At least 20 have taken the symbolic but spiritually significant step of removing his name from their ritual prayers during worship services, citing his failure to condemn the war, while clergy groups are also demanding their church declare independence from the Moscow Patriarchate, according to National Catholic Reporter. At least one Russian Orthodox church in Amsterdam announced it would sever its ties with the patriarch.

Partisanship overwhelms the faith

In the United States, we’ve seen similar divisions erupt among white evangelicals over their staunch support for former President Donald Trump. As columnist David Brooks wrote recently in The New York Times, “Partisan politics has swamped what is supposed to be a religious movement.”

“This politicization is one reason people have cited to explain why so many are leaving the faith,” Brooks continued, pointing to surveys that show white evangelicals declining as a percentage of the American population.

Sociologist David Campbell argues that the religious right’s obsession with partisan politics – with political power, really – is costing them a generation of disciples.

“Many Americans – especially young people – see religion as bound up with political conservatism, and the Republican Party specifically,” Campbell writes. “Since that is not their party, or their politics, they do not want to identify as being religious.”

It’s not easy to stand up to political power. As the Bible tells us, the prophets were rarely popular in their home countries, especially in the royal courts and corridors of power. King’s decision to speak out against the Vietnam War resulted in immense criticism.

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But prophetic courage is required of religious leaders, even when great risk is involved, and we must accept that criticism comes with the territory. It shouldn’t stop us from examining our relationships to people in power: Are we bedfellows, court chaplains or prophets? 

As Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reminded President Joe Biden last month during an address to Congress, being a leader in this world means being a “leader of peace.” Our lives depend on it.

The Rev. Jim Wallis is founding director and holds the chair in Faith and Justice of the Georgetown University Center on Faith and Justice. He is an author, theologian and founder of the Christian social justice advocacy organization and publication Sojourners. Follow him on Twitter: @jimwallis