Community and The Trinity: Threats to Fascism
Injustice thrives on silence and isolation. Dictators, rogue presidents, and malicious kings, enforce their agenda via violence but they succeed because of the compliancy of the military, law enforcement, and police. On a practical and intellectual level, I absolutely understand the notion: “well what can I do? As a member of the military, ICE, law enforcement, etc it is my job to follow orders” Many people rightfully scoff at that idea saying, “I was just doing my job didn’t work at Nuremberg trials and it isn’t going to work now.”
But part of what is undergirding the idea of, “I need to do this, because it is my job” is a sense of isolation. This isolation is by purpose. The United States obsession with capitalism and individuality has created a situation where there is very little safety net on the national and state level. And the community that should in theory rise up, is decimated and broken. American individuality, tied with the false gospel of Christian Fascism thrives on this lack of community. This lack of safety net and community provides those in the military and law enforcement with no viable alternative, while also creating a situation where the most vulnerable: trans people, undocumented people, the disabled, etc are left to fend the growing authoritarian regime on their own.
And to be frank, while the dominant American culture has created this sense of isolation, accelerated by a fascist administration, the Christian Church (in general) has often failed to counteract this isolation. While there are individual congregations that provide a bright spot in this fight against isolation, too many churches have created an environment that is a microcosm of the violence and loneliness that dominants American society. It is well known that Evangelical congregations have a long list of those who are are not part of their group: queer people, disabled people, trans people, women, people of different faiths or no faiths, etc.
But Catholicism and Mainline Protestantism aren’t in practice, much better than the Evangelicals they disparage. The Catholic Church, is overwhelmingly a conservative institution that seeks to force men and women into proscribed roles, at best ignores queer and trans people, at worst disparages them, and women of course, have no place in leadership. Many Mainline Protestant denominations at least on paper are years ahead of Evangelical Christians and Catholics in acknowledging the humanity and dignity of queer people, the leadership skills of women, but in practice the stained glass window is still in place. And acceptance of queer people has torn denominations apart. Not to mention white mainline churches are still that…white.
Things are looking bleak…and the violence, isolation and compliancy that allow fascism to thrive will only continue to grow. And yet, the reality put forth by fascism is not the whole story. Yesterday, the No Kings Protest occurred. I live in a rural area and did not participate because I assumed that there would be no protest here. But I was wrong. There was a protest and 20 people showed up. That may not sound like a lot, but consider the protest was announced last minute, it was pouring rain, and I live in a military town. Surrounding rural areas also had their protests and saw dozens of people attend. Which again, may not seem a lot, but for this area, is a statement. I have also seen videos of individuals in the deep south standing and protesting alone, knowing that while they are physically alone in that area, they are being joined by millions throughout the US and internationally.
People ask, what do peaceful protests like these achieve, especially those whose purpose is not to engage in civil disobedience? I firmly believe that there is room for a variety of tactics in nonviolence and while civil disobedience is important, protests that do not have a civil disobedience component also matter. Things are looking bleak…and the violence, isolation and compliancy that allow fascism to thrive will only continue to get worst. And yet, the reality put forth by fascism is not the whole story. Yesterday, the No Kings Protest occurred. I live in a rural area and did not participate because I assumed that there would be no protest here. But I was wrong. 20 people showed up. That may not sound like a lot, but consider the protest was announced last minute, it was pouring rain, and I live in a military town. Surrounding rural areas also had their protests and saw dozens of people attend. Which again, may not seem alot, but for this area, is a statement. I have also seen videos of individuals in the deep south standing and protesting alone, knowing that while they are physically alone in that area, they are being joined by millions throughout the US and thousands internationally.
People ask, what do peaceful protests like these achieve, especially those whose purpose is not to engage in civil disobedience? I firmly believe that there is room for a variety of tactics in nonviolence and while civil disobedience is important, protests that do not have a civil disobedience component also matter. The No Kings Protests pushes back against the narratives of silence and isolation that fascism lives on. It lets those who attended and sympathizers who for whatever reason could not attend, know they are not alone. Like I said, I didn’t know my area had one, and assumed it would not, but there are at least 20 other people who view this administration with disdain and disgust. And who knows how many others also did not know our area had a protest, or who couldn’t attend because of work, or the rain, or other reasons. These protests also lets those in power know, that the narratives they seek to endorse will not have the last word.
Additionally, I know quite a few religious leaders and their congregations who participated in the protest. They are pushing back against the twisted version of Christianity that states that God is on the side of fascism. Fascism, distorts every facet of society. It seeks to infect everything it touches with hatred. Religion is not immune and in fact has been used to advocate for various forms of fascism. Yet the individuals who showed up to the protests or who are supporting in other ways, are stating: “no. Your warped version of Christianity is not the truth.”
You may wonder, what does the No Kings protests and community have to do with the Trinity? Well everything. Listen, as anyone who knows me, I find the theology around the Trinity to be convoluted. (I recently responded to the notion of the Trinity as a mystery with the statement, “that’s a theological cop-out.” Opps Sorry about that!) But what I do understand is that embedded in the Trinity is the notion of community. How can it not be? The doctrine of the Trinity reinforces the notion that Christianity is not about a dictatorial God, but at it’s heart, is about relationship. God’s relationship with themself and God’s relationship with us. The Trinity for all its theological convolutedness embodies love, community, and equality. I may not be able to explain the Trinity without unintentionally falling into heresy, but what I can say is that the Trinity is unequivocally in stark contrast to fascism. Fascism thrives on hierarchy, individualism, and power over others.
I am not going to mince my words. Things will get worse before they get better. That’s the nature of fascism. We will struggle with despair and hopelessness. There will be moments where we feel as if we are the only ones speaking out against the injustice we see around us. But not only should we hold onto the reality that there are millions in the US and throughout the world, who refuse to allow fascism and the forces of death to have the last word, but we can hold onto the God who embodies community within their very being.
Image: green, purple, and orange background. Text: The Trinity for all its theological convolutedness embodies love, community, and equality.