Religion & Law

On Facebook, Ann Rice has announced that she continues to follow Christ, but is no longer a Christian. On July 28, she said, ?For those who care, and I understand if you don't: Today I quit being a Christian. I'm out. I remain committed to Christ as always but not to being ?Christian? or to being part of Christianity. It's simply impossible for me to ?belong? to this quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious, and deservedly infamous group. For ten ...years, I've tried. I've failed. I'm an outsider. My conscience will allow nothing else.  

Five minutes later, she elaborated, ?As I said below, I quit being a Christian. I'm out. In the name of Christ, I refuse to be anti-gay. I refuse to be anti-feminist. I refuse to be anti-artificial birth control. I refuse to be anti-Democrat. I refuse to be anti-secular humanism. I refuse to be anti-science. I refuse to be anti-life. In the name of Christ, I quit Christianity and being Christian. Amen."  

The next day she said this: ?My faith in Christ is central to my life. My conversion from a pessimistic atheist lost in a world I didn't understand, to an optimistic believer in a universe created and sustained by a loving God is crucial to me. But following Christ does not mean following His followers. Christ is infinitely more important than Christianity and always will be, no matter what Christianity is, has been, or might become.?  

The response has been enormous. Thousands responded in one way or another on Facebook. The United Church of Christ invited her to become a member, because it believed its understanding of Christianity matches hers. But Rice has arrived at the conclusion that organized religion is not for her.

Joseph Bottums at First Things heaped sarcasm on her decision. In a post that exuded superiority, Bottoms criticized her for exhibiting a sense of superiority. I cannot help but thinking that Bottom?s post exhibits a form of argumentation that is itself not Christian.  

It would be the rare Christian liberal who did not understand the impetus for Rice?s position. Although conservative Christians are a minority of  Christians ? at least in the United States, the media has constructed an image of Christians that is decidedly in the conservative mold. Conservative Christians and the mass media have given Christianity a bad name ? at least from the perspective of progressives. For them, it is necessary to say, ?I am a Christian ? but? Or, as I am often forced to say, ?I am a Catholic ? but.? In the case of Catholicism, the ordinary citizen and the traditional Catholic thinks that what the Vatican says defines Catholicism ? even though the vast majority of American Catholics as a matter of conscience reject many solemn Vatican pronouncements and the ordinary citizen is generally unaware of the Church's many Christian commitment's to social justice or the Church's non-resistance to science.  

In the end, although I admire Rice, in the end, I do not agree. I do not think the term Christianity should be ceded to anti-feminists and anti-gays. Enormous progress has been made in this area within Christian sects in the past few decades (although, if I may resort to euphemism, Rice?s former Catholic home has registered less progress on both fronts). The tide of history runs against conservatives on these issues.  

Even more important, a major strand of Christianity from the progressive perspective is to fight for social justice and in most cases that is best done with others. Moreover, Christianity is all about loving, supporting, and helping others. That is less easy to accomplish in an isolated mode.   Of course, Rice is in a position to do much as a prophet. But I do not think most followers of Christ should take the individualistic road she recommends.

cross-posted at religiousleftlaw.com