The Public Role of Churches<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I came across this article from The Christian Century by Charles Mathewes. It\u2019s a review of Public Pulpits: Methodists and Mainline Churches in the Moral\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2008\/12\/the-public-role-of-churches.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Public Role of Churches\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I came across this article from The Christian Century by Charles Mathewes. It\u2019s a review of Public Pulpits: Methodists and Mainline Churches in the Moral\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2008\/12\/the-public-role-of-churches.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"John Beckett\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2008-12-02T12:28:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"John Beckett\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"John Beckett\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2008\/12\/the-public-role-of-churches.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2008\/12\/the-public-role-of-churches.html\",\"name\":\"The Public Role of Churches\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2008-12-02T12:28:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2008-12-02T12:28:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/#\/schema\/person\/b4c8980dc36f971434424c304ca429ad\"},\"description\":\"I came across this article from The Christian Century by Charles Mathewes. It\u2019s a review of Public Pulpits: Methodists and Mainline Churches in the Moral\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2008\/12\/the-public-role-of-churches.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2008\/12\/the-public-role-of-churches.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2008\/12\/the-public-role-of-churches.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Public Role of Churches\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/\",\"name\":\"John Beckett\",\"description\":\"Musings of a Druid, Pagan, and Unitarian Universalist.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/#\/schema\/person\/b4c8980dc36f971434424c304ca429ad\",\"name\":\"John Beckett\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0f50bfa2a79f70103847fe75540bb29c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0f50bfa2a79f70103847fe75540bb29c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"John Beckett\"},\"description\":\"I grew up in Tennessee with the woods right outside my back door. Wandering through them gave me a sense of connection to Nature and to a certain Forest God. I\u2019m a Druid graduate of the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids, the Coordinating Officer of the Denton Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans and a former Vice President of CUUPS Continental. I\u2019ve been writing, speaking, teaching, and leading public rituals for the past eleven years. I live in the Dallas \u2013 Fort Worth area and I earn my keep as an engineer.\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/author\/johnbeckett\"}]}<\/script>\n","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Public Role of Churches","description":"I came across this article from The Christian Century by Charles Mathewes. It\u2019s a review of Public Pulpits: Methodists and Mainline Churches in the Moral","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2008\/12\/the-public-role-of-churches.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Public Role of Churches","og_description":"I came across this article from The Christian Century by Charles Mathewes. It\u2019s a review of Public Pulpits: Methodists and Mainline Churches in the Moral","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2008\/12\/the-public-role-of-churches.html","og_site_name":"John Beckett","article_published_time":"2008-12-02T12:28:00+00:00","author":"John Beckett","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"John Beckett","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2008\/12\/the-public-role-of-churches.html","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2008\/12\/the-public-role-of-churches.html","name":"The Public Role of Churches","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/#website"},"datePublished":"2008-12-02T12:28:00+00:00","dateModified":"2008-12-02T12:28:00+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/#\/schema\/person\/b4c8980dc36f971434424c304ca429ad"},"description":"I came across this article from The Christian Century by Charles Mathewes. It\u2019s a review of Public Pulpits: Methodists and Mainline Churches in the Moral","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2008\/12\/the-public-role-of-churches.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2008\/12\/the-public-role-of-churches.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2008\/12\/the-public-role-of-churches.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Public Role of Churches"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/","name":"John Beckett","description":"Musings of a Druid, Pagan, and Unitarian Universalist.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/#\/schema\/person\/b4c8980dc36f971434424c304ca429ad","name":"John Beckett","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0f50bfa2a79f70103847fe75540bb29c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0f50bfa2a79f70103847fe75540bb29c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"John Beckett"},"description":"I grew up in Tennessee with the woods right outside my back door. Wandering through them gave me a sense of connection to Nature and to a certain Forest God. I\u2019m a Druid graduate of the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids, the Coordinating Officer of the Denton Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans and a former Vice President of CUUPS Continental. I\u2019ve been writing, speaking, teaching, and leading public rituals for the past eleven years. I live in the Dallas \u2013 Fort Worth area and I earn my keep as an engineer.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/author\/johnbeckett"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/614","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1129"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=614"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/614\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=614"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=614"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=614"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}

{"id":614,"date":"2008-12-02T12:28:00","date_gmt":"2008-12-02T12:28:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2008\/12\/the-public-role-of-churches\/"},"modified":"2008-12-02T12:28:00","modified_gmt":"2008-12-02T12:28:00","slug":"the-public-role-of-churches","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2008\/12\/the-public-role-of-churches.html","title":{"rendered":"The Public Role of Churches"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

I came across this article <\/a>from The Christian Century<\/em> by Charles Mathewes. It\u2019s a review of Public Pulpits: Methodists and Mainline Churches in the Moral Argument of Public Life<\/em> by Steven M. Tipton. It\u2019s more of an essay than a book review, but it makes for good reading.<\/p>\n

Tipton\u2019s book is a sociological look at the efforts by mainstream Protestant denominations to influence politics and public policy, an effort that has achieved \u201cspotty results\u201d despite \u201cpersistent efforts.\u201d You can read the review yourself if you\u2019re interested in the details (and I do think it\u2019s worth reading, even though it\u2019s rather long for a book review), but what struck me most was Mathewes\u2019 conclusion: \u201cChurches are mistaken if they think their main public job is anything other than teaching their laity.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

He is speaking of the mainline Protestant churches, but he just as easily could be talking about (and to) the conservative churches, Catholics, Unitarian Universalists, and just about everyone else whose fascination with politics and political influence has made them forget why their churches were formed in the first place.<\/p>\n

As religious people in religious organizations, it\u2019s not our job to change politics. It\u2019s our job to change people\u2019s hearts, to show them (through our words and our deeds) that justice, compassion, and celebration of diversity are a better way to live, that we really do live in an interdependent world and that things go better for all of us when we work with others respectfully rather than attempting to control them with our wealth and power.<\/p>\n

If we want to change the world, perhaps we should try spreading our values instead of spreading our politics.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"