By Not Acting to Stop the Genocide in Palestine, Many U.S. Christian Churches Are Choosing Whiteness and Colonization Over Faith
Essay Synopsis
This essay explores how Christians and Christian churches have largely abandoned our faith’s social teachings by failing to use their power and privilege in the United States (U.S.) to advocate for an immediate ceasefire and for a U.S. embargo on arms to Israel to end the genocide in Palestine.
This essay builds on my December 2023 essay — “A Call for an Immediate Humanitarian Ceasefire in Gaza From a Public Health and Disability Advocacy Perspective” — which may be useful reading before this essay. I published this essay in September 2024 after articulating how my faith as a catholic informs my views on human dignity and freedom for Palestinians in July. It reflects a collection of thoughts and learnings over the last year.
Short link to this essay: https://medium.com/p/db5b932ce22d
Where Do U.S. Christians Stand on Palestine?
The golden rule of Christianity is to treat and love other humans the way that you wish to be treated and loved, even when it is not reciprocated.
Since October 7, 2023, the U.S. has shipped over 50,000 tons of bombs and other arms and military equipment to Israel. I do not think I am going out on a limb here when I say that nearly every human on earth would prefer not to have a bomb dropped on them and their neighborhood. For this reason, it follows logically that the vast majority of Christians should not only support an immediate ceasefire in Gaza but a U.S. arms embargo to Israel. Treat others the way we want to be treated, right?
In reality, however, Christian views on the genocide in Palestine are largely pro-genocide. According to a March 2024 survey of more than 2000 U.S. Christians about the “Israel-Hamas conflict”, 40% of Christians reported that they support Israel’s offensive and only 8% sided with Palestinians.
There are numerous responses Christians may use to explain their church’s complicity in the genocide in Gaza. Here are three common ones:
- “Israel has a right to defend itself from terrorism, and the Palestinian death toll that has occurred is fully justified as self-defense.”
- “The death toll and human suffering in Gaza is over-stated.”
- “It is not the role of faith leaders or individual believers to connect their faith to a geopolitical issue like the ‘Israel-Hamas’ War.”
Is the “Israel-Hamas War” Actually a Genocide?
All three of the above responses that Christians and Christian churches have offered in response to the genocide in Gaza can be readily debunked.
First, regarding “Israel’s right to self-defense”, the principle of proportionality in international humanitarian law “provides that the legality of an action is determined by the respect of the balance between the objective and the means and methods used as well as the consequences of the action.” Approximately 1200 Israelis died tragically on October 7. In the 11 months since then, more than 40,000 Palestinians have died — most from bombings but increasingly from starvation, lack of health care, and disease. These numbers are also almost certainly under-estimates. More than 9 out of 10 Palestinians in Gaza have been forcibly displaced, and more than 370,000 buildings in Gaza have been destroyed in attacks. It does not take a legal analysis to make clear that there is no proportionality here, particularly since many Israeli hostages have also died in these attacks.
Second, regarding the claim that “human suffering in Palestine is over-stated,” this is contradicted by countless humanitarian organizations, prominent international organizations like the United Nations and Doctors Without Borders who operate in this region, and Palestinian journalists who have documented much of the genocide on social media.
Third, regarding the position of “not mixing faith with politics,” this has simply not been the case of most any Christian church in the last several decades in the U.S. Homelessness, “family values”, reproductive rights, queer and trans rights, and war are all political issues churches have engaged with. Given the fact many of the Biblical stories are also set in this region of the world, one could argue this issue is of particular relevance.
How U.S. Christian Beliefs on the Genocide in Palestine Reflect Ongoing Investment in Whiteness, White Supremacy Culture, and Colonization
Much has been written previously about how christian fundamentalist and christian zionist leaders have aligned with Jewish zionist leaders under a unified political agenda. As others have also remarked, this alliance is largely about advancing christian nationalism and not the Jewish faith.
One description of christian nationalism is that it refers to “the belief that the American nation is, and has always been, defined by and identified with christianity, and the government should take an active role to hold on to that truth.” A substantial body of literature has also explored how christian nationalism is aligned closely with whiteness (e.g., white colonial jesus), settler-colonialism (e.g., entitlement to indigenous lands), and white supremacy culture (e.g., centering white spirituality and ways of being).
In short, many christians are looking away from the genocide in Palestine because speaking up about this issue brings to light other injustices that have occurred as a result of centering white christian nationalist beliefs.
Lifting this veil, however, presents an opportunity to re-examine how the genocide in Palestine may connect to christian social teachings.
Catholic Social Teachings and the Genocide in Palestine
I identify as a catholic (lowercase). I do not support the institution of the Catholic Church and in fact strongly oppose it. I do however find that my faith resonates strongly with christian and catholic liberation theology, which spans a long tradition of believers including some Irish people, who were Britain’s first colony and where I trace some of my ancestry.
The catholic social teachings were once very important to my worldview. While I do not agree with the Catholic Church on every application of these teachings many years later (i.e. abortion), I still believe in their value because they stem from and connect to this tradition of liberation theology.
Life and Dignity of the Human Person and an Option for the Poor and Vulnerable
Two of the seven Catholic social teachings refer to the dignity of every human life, especially those who are made vulnerable and poor in society:
The Catholic (faith) proclaims that human life is sacred and that the dignity of the human person is the foundation of a moral vision for society… Catholic teaching also calls on us to work to avoid war. Nations must protect the right to life by finding increasingly effective ways to prevent conflicts and resolve them by peaceful means. We believe that every person is precious, that people are more important than things, and that the measure of every institution is whether it threatens or enhances the life and dignity of the human person.
These first two social teachings very explicitly apply to the genocide in Gaza, calling us to work to avoid war and resolve conflict by peaceful means. More than that, however, it implicates society’s institutions in this endeavor, noting that the moral measure of any institution is the extent to which it is threatening or enhancing the dignity of humans everywhere.
These teachings connect directly to a call for a ceasefire.
Rights and Responsibilities and the Call to Family, Community, and Participation
Another two Catholic social teachings refer to the responsibility we have as individuals and communities to ensure all humans are treated with dignity:
The Catholic tradition teaches that human dignity can be protected and a healthy community can be achieved only if human rights are protected and responsibilities are met. Every person has a fundamental right to life and a right to those things required for human decency. Corresponding to these rights are duties and responsibilities — to one another, to our families, and to the larger society… The person is not only sacred but also social. How we organize our society — in economics and politics, in law and policy — directly affects human dignity and the capacity of individuals to grow in community.
These two social teachings are often used to invite individuals to reflect on their own rights and privileges and then on those whose rights are not being observed (e.g., Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank). It calls on us to bring together our communities and families to not only defend the rights of those experiencing dignity violations but to strive to create more ethical systems of living together that lead to rights being upheld.
These teachings connect directly to a U.S. embargo of arms to Israel, noting the responsibility of those with more rights (i.e., not being bombed daily) to defend those harmed through our tax dollars (i.e., bombs sent to Israel).
Solidarity and Care for God’s Creation
Two final Catholic social teachings I will discuss refer to the togetherness of all humans and the need to care for one another and the environment:
We are one human family whatever our national, racial, ethnic, economic, and ideological differences. We are our brothers and sisters keepers, wherever they may be. Loving our neighbor has global dimensions in a shrinking world. At the core of the virtue of solidarity is the pursuit of justice and peace… We show our respect for the Creator by our stewardship of creation. Care for the earth is not just an Earth Day slogan, it is a requirement of our faith. We are called to protect people and the planet, living our faith in relationship with all of Gods creation.
In addition to the immense human suffering in Gaza and the West Bank, on an environmental level, Israel’s bombing campaign in Gaza has created “unprecedented soil, water and air pollution in the region.” A study also found that weapons used in the early months generated more greenhouse gasses “than 20 climate-vulnerable nations do in a year.”
These teachings provide an invitation to us all to build a more peaceful and healthy earth where we can live in solidarity, without war and genocide.
To Evolve in One’s Beliefs and Actions is Not Hypocrisy; Christ Died So Humans Could Be Forgiven for Their Pasts and Turn Back to God
Faith is based in tradition, and for this reason, many people feel that they are failing in their faith if they change their views. However, this dismisses an important reality, which is that the world is changing — and that even in the bible, the teachings of people following Christ also evolved over time.
When I was first learning about catholic social teachings, I was taught the catholic perspective on abortion. However, over time, I learned from people who have been harmed by reproductive injustice. I also then met catholics and other spiritual people who had found ways to make sense of their values around reproductive freedom and justice within their faiths.
In many ways, I think our faith dies when we cease to examine our views, and I believe our faith deepens when we dialogue across communities.
If you are U.S. catholic or christian and do not currently support both a call for a ceasefire and an arms embargo to Israel, I invite you to reflect further on why. If you already do and you belong to a church, has your church spoken up publicly on this issue? If no, I invite you to reflect on that.
We need to speak up on the genocide in Palestine.
And let us allow solidarity with the Palestinian people to be just one step that people of all faiths take to interrupt injustice around the world.
Footnotes
Disclaimer
The essay below reflect my views in my personal capacity and does not reflect the views of any institutions, funding agencies, organizations, or other projects, entities, or individuals that I am affiliated with or connected to — presently, in the past, or in the future. Similar disclaimers are provided on my website and on my Instagram and Twitter / X social platforms.
Essay Intention
My attempt here is to write from a perspective of my faith and catholic social teaching. I remain open to respectful, constructive and nuanced feedback that is oriented toward collective healing of anyone impacted by structural and historical violence.
