The so-called culture wars came home to me recently when the lead singer of a Christian rock band I listen to released a new book. I was disappointed to find that this new book was not a how-to guide on starting a successful Christian rock band. That would be within the author's area of expertise. Instead, it was a political opinion titled "Wimpy, Weak and Woke".
John Cooper, the singer in question, said in an interview about the book that he believed “…we really are on the brink of western civilization; I don’t think that can be exaggerated.” Cooper is not the only commentator in the Christian community to express such an extreme level of concern at the perceived root-cause of Western civilization collapse—the progressive project known as woke or wokeism, which Cooper sees as an existential threat to something he calls a "Christian worldview".
In the mudslinging barrage of the culture wars, woke has become increasingly difficult to define. It was originally conceived as a signifier for those who were aware of (or "awake" to) systematic discrimination of the marginalized in society, particularly racial and sexual discrimination. It has since been weaponized as a buzzword used to mock those who recognize and protest these systematic injustices.
Assuming they are well enough informed, when people use the term, they are referring to this viewpoint and the literature that it proceeds from. Both the "woke" viewpoint and the literature are more accurately known academically as ‘critical theory’ or ‘critical theories’.
Critical theories are concerned with the idea that oppression is organized, permeating political, civil, and judicial structures. Intersectionality, the notion that the intersection of oppressed identities can cause more oppression, is also a part of this. These theories hold that, even unconsciously, people within our society are affected by biases that further propagate the oppression that’s already baked into our institutions. In short, critical theories are theories about how the world works.
Critical theories are theories
There are differences between worldviews and theories about how the world works. Atheism is a worldview. It has answers to questions like ‘Is there a God?’ and ‘Why am I here?’ Alternatively, germ theory (the idea that microorganisms are responsible for disease) is a theory about how the world works. Germ theory is more interested in ‘Why do people get sick?’ and ‘Should I wash my hands after going to the toilet?’ than ‘Is there a God?’ Worldviews and theories operate at totally different levels.
You could turn a theory into a worldview if you wanted to, but it would be difficult to create universal coherence. It would not make a whole lot of sense.
Among Christians, I have frequently heard critical theories, or wokeism, misdescribed as a worldview. But we need to take a hint from the name: they are theories. They do not make statements about why we are here, or whether God exists. Rather, they make statements about how our political systems and culture operate. It is possible to turn them into worldviews, and certainly some extremely zealous advocates of critical theory have done just that. For instance, you could make discrimination into original sin and God into progress. In my experience, advocates of these kinds of views are an extremist minority.
Here, I am talking about people who are sympathetic to the general claims of critical theory, rather than those who want to make a religion out of it. How should we respond to these people and the theories themselves? To answer that, we need to first think about how Christians should respond to theories in general.
What should be clear from the outset is that Christians should not treat theories in the same way we treat other worldviews. Some Christian commentators who oppose critical theories simply outline the claims of these theories and dismiss them under the assumption that the theories’ opposition to Christian belief is self-evident. This kind of approach works for a worldview (like atheism) but it does not apply to a theory.
Does that mean Christians are free to adopt or reject theories as they like? Not quite. As Christians, we can disagree with theories because of our theological convictions. You could disagree with germ theory because you think Satan is directly responsible for all disease. But then again, the Bible doesn’t claim such a thing. In fact, the Bible doesn’t really have much at all to say about where disease comes from at the biological level. So, it would not make sense to disagree with germ theory for theological reasons. The question then becomes: Are critical theories theologically incompatible with Christianity?
Can you be ‘woke’ and Christian?
Critical theories make the claim that injustice is systematic. That unjust treatment of others by those in power, or oppression, based on race, gender and other characteristics permeates our institutions. I have heard some Christians say that this claim is unbiblical because the Bible endorses certain institutions, like churches and the government. However, this is not a valid critique, as critical theories do not necessarily say that institutions are intrinsically bad.
Rather, critical theories highlight the ways institutions can and have been used to exacerbate oppression in society. Sadly, there are numerous examples of this in church history; just think of how some churches supported American slavery. Many will agree, regardless of their opinion on critical theories, that we should be quick in calling out churches that fail to reflect Christ’s love to the world.
The other reason Christians often reject critical theories is because they believe that these theories misdiagnose the so-called "problem". What they mean is that critical theories blame all of the world’s evil on oppression rather than human sin. Certainly, oppression is a primary lens for some politically left-wing thinkers and, again, this is a more extreme version of critical theories. But this does not prove that the central claim of critical theories is incompatible with Christianity.
Christians who use critical theories would see oppression as a sin, but not the only sin. Moreover, there are many instances where the sin of oppression is the problem. Just think about Nazi Germany; oppression was definitely the problem there. Of course, Christians differ from non-Christian supporters of critical theories precisely because we believe that sin and separation from God is the deepest problem.
There need not be any clash between the central claim of critical theories and Christian theology. That does not mean critical theories are true, it just means we cannot disagree with them for theological reasons.
Critical theories and the Bible
There are actually biblical precedents for critical theories’ claims. It would be inappropriate to apply a modern framework of thinking like critical theory as the sole hermeneutic or lens for interpreting biblical texts, ignoring their ancient context. Nevertheless, it could be said that certain biblical narratives demonstrate principles which are in line with critical theories.
Dominque DuBois Gilliard provides a collection of instances of such Biblical narratives in his book "Subversive Witness". Gilliard points out that there are many biblical exhortations for Christians to embody the kind of justice and equality that critical theories ask for (Galatians 3:28, James 2:1-13 and Acts 4:32-35 are just a few New Testament examples).
The story of Zacchaeus is particularly relevant here. Zacchaeus was a chief tax collector and engaged in something like the kind of exploitation that critical theories are concerned with. Like the other tax collectors of his time, Zacchaeus was complicit in a Roman-enforced system of oppression. In this system, the poor and the conquered were forced to pay exorbitant taxes to their Roman oppressors, along with the proverbial "something extra" for the tax collector themselves. While this was not exactly the same as the kind of oppression we are faced with today, it had many similarities. It was systematic and even institutional; it was a key part of how Rome’s administration of its territories functioned.
When Zacchaeus is confronted with Jesus and his teaching, how does he respond? With repentance and reparation. Not only does he turn away from his old ways of oppressing the Jews by extortion, he also attempts to give back what he squeezed out of these people. This looks a lot like the response to systematic racism that the so-called ‘woke left’ is demanding. If systematic racism is a reality, then Christians must face the fact that repentance and reparation, rather than denial and mockery, is a biblical and Christian response.
Towards unity
Where does this leave us? You might think that critical theories fit neatly into the Christian worldview, or you might not. Regardless, I think my definition of critical theories as theories and not worldviews could be helpful in two ways:
- Seeing critical theories as theories will help to improve dialogue between Christians with different opinions as we work to understand our contexts. As somebody sympathetic to critical theories, I have often been disappointed that some Christian critics seem to disagree with critical theories for uninformed or outright irrational reasons, or for no reasons at all other than hearsay. On the other hand, it is definitely the case that some left-leaning Christians can be dismissive of more conservative Christians because they see them as being ‘unloving’ or ‘un-Christlike’ when this is not necessarily the case. If we understand critical theories as theories, then we can have a productive discussion about them based on their merits and good understanding, not just the assumption that our opponents are in some way heretical Christians.
- Secondly, if we keep to the fact that they are theories we can promote unity in the church, even if we fall on different sides of this debate. After all, lots of Christians disagree on different theories without it affecting their ability to fellowship together. Sadly, the issue of critical theories and ‘wokeism’ is dividing Christians who otherwise have a lot in common. We can work this issue out together much better if we started with a basic respect for what believers on the other side of the issues find in their reading of the Bible, and for the other side’s perspective of Christian belief and practice.
Perhaps some will always disagree on issues like this. But Christians who are changed by Jesus should be able to come together as people who treat everybody with love and kindness, regardless of what we think about the exact nature of racism. That is not to say that this issue is not important; I happen to think it is very important. But it will always be secondary to respecting and loving people in the way Christ did. To me, titles like "Wimpy, Weak and Woke" and the rhetoric that accompanies them do not promote that kind of loving unity.
Declan Ellis studied history and international relations at Curtin University. He lives Perth, Western Australia and speaks regularly about faith, science, and philosophy at local churches and Christian organizations. Declan’s other passion is creative writing, and he is the author of several science fiction short stories.
The views expressed in this or any other opinion article do not necessarily reflect the views of Christian Daily International.
