Policing the Borders of Christianity

Brandy Daniels pens an intriguing piece at Religion Dispatches about the particular tradition in American Christianity to guard the borders of the faith.  (I said something similar in Relevant Magazine in 2006, but it’s no longer online, and I doubt anyone would remember anyway.)  Border guards are not what we need.  Border crossers are what we need.

I encourage you to read the whole post at RD, but here’s a taste:

Carter names what he calls a “profound pathology” at the heart of contemporary Christianity, in which Jesus names who belongs, and who does not—in effect “policing” the borders of the faith.

I would argue that this “border logic” that shapes racial-religious discourse (think of the Muslim cultural center in New York, the immigration debate in Arizona, etc.) is the same problematic theo-logic behind the borders that define public discourse on sexuality and religion.

via Stop Policing the Borders of Christianity | Sexuality/Gender | Religion Dispatches.