The Revd Guy Hewitt is Director of the Racial Justice Unit at the Church of England. In this article, he shares perspectives on racial justice and human dignity.
The theological rationale for racial justice stems from our being created in the image of God (Gen. 1:27), affirming the intrinsic value in each person while recognising that the image of God is disfigured by sin. From a Christian perspective, sin is not the ultimate definer of human experience but that our Lord Jesus Christ offers full restoration to the image of God through his life, death and resurrection. To follow Christ, as the body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:27) implies a commitment to this quest for wholeness in humanity at personal and collective levels.
The Church’s commitment to racial justice isn’t to reflect demographic trends, or to be socially responsive pursuing equality, diversity and inclusion, both of which are commendable, or to engage in a culture war, but rather we choose to stand against the evil and pernicious sin of racism. The racial justice mandate flows not from identity politics but from our primary identity in Christ.
It is in the character and being of Christ that we find the reason and motivation to combat racism. Furthermore, the Gospel calls Christians to confront the evils in our society, proclaim the good news of justice and live according to the social order modelled by Christ, which specifically honours those who are marginalised (Lk 4:16-21).
Addressing institutional racism and racial sin is not a theological addendum but a missional imperative as set out in the fourth Mark of Mission, ‘to transform unjust structures of society to challenge violence of every kind and to pursue peace and reconciliation.’ Ultimately, our approach to racial justice reflects Gal. 3:28, that our unity in Christ erodes social distinctions and levels social barriers.
However, this work is impacted by a prevailing zero-sum mentality, which considers gains made by one group as a loss for another. Further, the issue remains disputed, and approaches are contested as notions of neutrality of racial blindness are conditions that allow equity and equality to be realised. Too often, the intersection of racial injustice with other issues of social exclusion are overlooked.
Our journey of faith towards racial justice is guided by the imperative to love (Mt 22:27-30, Jn 13:35, 1 Jn 4:16). At the Last Supper our Lord proclaims: “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love one for another” (Jn 13:35). He calls us to become “the household of God” (Eph 2:19) but not just a household, but ‘one body’ united in ‘one Spirit’ (1 Cor 12:13). The bonds of love that unite this body are essential to our following of Christ, for “those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also” (1 Jn 4:20-21) and “If one member suffers, all suffer together” (1 Cor 12:26).
We are called to respond to that suffering together. When there are persistent and widespread cries from brothers and sisters in Christ, telling us that their voices are not being heard, their contributions not recognised, and their full participation not welcomed, we are called by Christ, to respond to those cries. The work of racial justice is the response to such cries.
The Christian narrative of reconciliation offers us an invitation to confess the sin of racism, and to acknowledge our past and present complicity in various forms of ethnic discrimination and racial prejudice, so that we may truthfully and honestly work together to build the kingdom of God here and now. There should be no losers in this journey of reconciliation.
This is not a secondary task, a deviation from the Church’s worship or its mission. It is not a task that is foreign to the Church’s identity and purpose, imposed upon it from without. Rather, it is essential to our identity as those who have been baptised, who have drunk of the Spirit, and who are being built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as our cornerstone.