Should Christians Protest?
Many Christians simply assume that it is obvious that Christians should engage in political protests or even civil disobedience if they disagree with the government’s actions. However, this is by no means self-evident. After all, we cannot judge those outside the church (I Cor 5:12), nor can we reasonably expect people who do not know God to know what is moral, good, and just, much less can we reasonably expect them to act in this way. As far as we can tell from the Gospels, Jesus never spent any time criticizing the brutal, oppressive, pagan Roman Empire. Instead, He spent his time criticizing God’s covenant people Israel and calling them to repentance. The apostles do sometimes engage in criticism of pagan Roman society. But this criticism is always for the sake of encouraging Christians to live a radically different way of life, not for the sake of encouraging Christians to engage in political protests. There is no indication anywhere in the New Testament that Christians should engage in political protest of the Roman Empire’s policies and try to change its laws to be more just. Instead, the apostle Paul commands Christians “to live quietly and to mind your own affairs” (I Thess 4:11) and to “be subject to the governing authorities” (Rom 13:1).
Thus, if modern Christians are going to engage in political protests or civil disobedience, the burden of proof is on them to explain why their situation in relation to contemporary secular political powers is different from the situation of the earliest Christians in relation to the Roman Empire. One significant difference is the form of government of many modern political entities. Americans, for example, live under a constitutional democracy, in which, theoretically, the people are self-governing. If the government claims that its law is an expression of the people’s will, then Christians living under such a government might see themselves as justified in engaging in political protests of the government’s unjust actions as a way to express that will. Christians are commanded to “be subject to the governing authorities.” But in a Constitutional democracy, civil disobedience to an unconstitutional law would arguably express subjection to the higher governing authority of the Constitution. And since that law is not constitutional, it could be regarded as invalid and thus not something to which a Christian needs to be subject.
Another significant difference between the situation of the earliest Christians and that of many modern Christians is the number of professing Christians in society. During the New Testament era, Christians were a tiny minority within the Roman Empire, and it would have been absurd to think that they could have any influence on the Roman Empire’s policies at all by protesting it. The early Christians were focused on building God’s Kingdom through evangelism and the church community growing in Christ. Obviously, this should still be the church’s primary and central focus. But if Christianity spreads to the point where a sizable percentage of people in a society claim to be Christians, doesn’t this put Christians in a position of responsibility to use their influence to protest the injustices of the government? Arguably, the silence of the New Testament on the topic of political protests is due the fact that it was simply not feasible for the small community of Christians at the time to engage in such activities, and not because there is anything inherently problematic with Christians engaging in political protests.
How Should Christians Protest?
If Christians decide that they should in fact engage in political protests, they must then ask where, when, and how they should engage in such protests. If Christians were to attempt to protest every government action that is immoral and unjust by the standards of Christian ethics, they simply would not have the time to do so. Furthermore, if Christians protest every way in which the government’s actions do not conform to Christian ethics and attempt to get the government to leap immediately to the standards of Christian morality and justice, this will be completely unrealistic and completely ineffective. No, the correct model for Christian political engagement is to try to influence the government to move slightly closer to the standards of Christian ethics, one step at a time.
One common Christian option for doing this is to join the world’s political protests that are already taking place in society. This may often be a legitimate option for Christians. For when even non-Christians in our society are already protesting an injustice, it is a sign that our society may soon be ready to move towards greater conformity with justice at this point. However, Christians must exercise due caution about participating in the world’s political protests and agendas. Christians must be careful not to uncritically jump on the bandwagon of a worldly political movement just because it claims to be pursuing “justice”; for sometimes what the world labels as “justice” is actually quite contrary to genuine justice. Even if Christians do determine that a political protest movement is something they should participate in, they must recognize that even at their best worldly political movements will never align fully with genuine Christian morality. As they participate in political protest movements, Christians must make sure to lend a distinctively Christian voice that does not compromise with or surrender to the world’s ways of thinking.
Frequently, the best course of action for Christians engaging in political protests is to find areas where they can join with non-Christian allies to bring about change. However, Christians should not restrict themselves to speaking out on these sorts of issues. Christians should not be content merely with adding their voice and support to the best of what their culture and society has to offer. Christians must also have the courage and moral vision to speak out against injustices in their society that only Christians recognize or care about. Like the Christian abolitionists who launched a political movement against slavery at a time when almost all of society accepted slavery without question, Christians must sometimes act as pioneers in their political action, with the hope that eventually even non-Christians in their society will see that they are right. Determining when and how to do this requires much wisdom, discernment, and the leading of God’s Spirit.
As Christians participate in political protests, they must make sure to do so in a Christian manner. They must do so peacefully, respectfully, and lovingly. They must never display any form of violence, insult, or hatred. Christians have no reason to display anger when protesting the world’s injustices. We have no reason to expect that people outside the church will understand or practice justice. Jesus never displayed anger towards the brutally oppressive Romans. (He did, however, often display anger towards the Pharisees, religious leaders among God’s covenant people who failed to show genuine godliness). As Christians protest the world’s injustices, their message will not be, “You ought to know better.” It will be, “This is the truth, and I hope even you will be able to see that.” And if the society does not see the truth and our efforts to bring about political reform fail, this should be no cause for despair. For our hope is in Christ alone, and not in our own efforts to make the world a little bit less unjust. It is as witnesses to this hope we have that in Christ God is making all things new that we engage in movements of political protest.