|
This week, the Presbyterian Church (USA) is holding its General Assembly in Milwaukee, where delegates from across the denomination are considering position statements on a number of policy issues. But this week on Substack, we cover a statement PCUSA adopted more than 40 years ago.
In 1983, the 195th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA) adopted a statement called Reformed Faith and Politics. Reformed Faith and Politics is not a statement about a specific policy issue, but rather a deep dive into why people of faith should be involved in politics. While it is a specifically Christian document, it lays out three foundational concepts that have points of attachment across many religions.
Forty-three years after Ronald Reagan’s Year of the Bible and PCUSA’s year of reunification, Reformed Faith and Politics provides an excellent foundation for considering how people of faith—reformed and otherwise—are called to live out their faith in community, including by participating in electoral politics and by advocating for just public policies. As the authors say:
We know that the sovereignty of God and the service of God are of utmost importance in our lives. We also know that the practical exercise of politics, the process by which we govern human life, interpenetrates most areas of our lives. ...Both God and Caesar are involved. There will be no peace without politics.
Our post on PCUSA's 1983 statement is part of a series on religious social statements leading up to the adoption of Texas Impact's 2027-2028 policy agenda.
Read more on Substack
Also this week, Texas Impact and our coalition partners BJC, RAC-TX, and TFN held a "funeral" for religious freedom at the State Board of Education. Religion News Service has a great story about the SBOE's hearing on social studies standards. |
