Whom Do We Serve? Dismantling the Church Industrial Complex in North American Mainline Protestant Churches
Social justice is often identified as a central commitment in mainline Protestant churches in North America. However, it is often approached as a public-facing issue that engages broader society, rather than as a comprehensive value that also informs internal practices in those same North American P...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-02-01
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| Series: | Religions |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/14/2/245 |
| _version_ | 1797618411254054912 |
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| author | Sheryl Johnson |
| author_facet | Sheryl Johnson |
| author_sort | Sheryl Johnson |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Social justice is often identified as a central commitment in mainline Protestant churches in North America. However, it is often approached as a public-facing issue that engages broader society, rather than as a comprehensive value that also informs internal practices in those same North American Protestant congregations/denominations, particularly in the area of finance. This reality means that a profit orientation often informs and shapes practices, undermining the mission; this reality can be understood as part of an industrial complex. To counter this tendency, I present two themes that are rooted in a liberation-based critical understanding of inequality found in the World Council of Churches’ AGAPE (Alternative Globalization Affecting People and the Earth) statement. These two themes are as follows: that one’s personal financial resources (or lack thereof) are deeply connected to oppressive systemic factors, and that churches are called to exist in economic solidarity and communion with one another. I conclude by asserting that church finance must be rendered more coherent with churches’ own values and commitments to liberating justice as a matter of faith. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T08:12:30Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1508e73d09f34674b55be750d0161f36 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2077-1444 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T08:12:30Z |
| publishDate | 2023-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Religions |
| spelling | doaj.art-1508e73d09f34674b55be750d0161f362023-11-16T23:00:04ZengMDPI AGReligions2077-14442023-02-0114224510.3390/rel14020245Whom Do We Serve? Dismantling the Church Industrial Complex in North American Mainline Protestant ChurchesSheryl Johnson0Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary, Berkeley, CA 94704, USASocial justice is often identified as a central commitment in mainline Protestant churches in North America. However, it is often approached as a public-facing issue that engages broader society, rather than as a comprehensive value that also informs internal practices in those same North American Protestant congregations/denominations, particularly in the area of finance. This reality means that a profit orientation often informs and shapes practices, undermining the mission; this reality can be understood as part of an industrial complex. To counter this tendency, I present two themes that are rooted in a liberation-based critical understanding of inequality found in the World Council of Churches’ AGAPE (Alternative Globalization Affecting People and the Earth) statement. These two themes are as follows: that one’s personal financial resources (or lack thereof) are deeply connected to oppressive systemic factors, and that churches are called to exist in economic solidarity and communion with one another. I conclude by asserting that church finance must be rendered more coherent with churches’ own values and commitments to liberating justice as a matter of faith.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/14/2/245ProtestantNorth Americamainline churchfinancechurchbudget |
| spellingShingle | Sheryl Johnson Whom Do We Serve? Dismantling the Church Industrial Complex in North American Mainline Protestant Churches Religions Protestant North America mainline church finance church budget |
| title | Whom Do We Serve? Dismantling the Church Industrial Complex in North American Mainline Protestant Churches |
| title_full | Whom Do We Serve? Dismantling the Church Industrial Complex in North American Mainline Protestant Churches |
| title_fullStr | Whom Do We Serve? Dismantling the Church Industrial Complex in North American Mainline Protestant Churches |
| title_full_unstemmed | Whom Do We Serve? Dismantling the Church Industrial Complex in North American Mainline Protestant Churches |
| title_short | Whom Do We Serve? Dismantling the Church Industrial Complex in North American Mainline Protestant Churches |
| title_sort | whom do we serve dismantling the church industrial complex in north american mainline protestant churches |
| topic | Protestant North America mainline church finance church budget |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/14/2/245 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT sheryljohnson whomdoweservedismantlingthechurchindustrialcomplexinnorthamericanmainlineprotestantchurches |