Pastors, You Cannot Stay Silent on Civil Rights
Voting rights are under attack. Many pastors are acting like nothing is happening.
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I posted a poll on my social media earlier this week asking people if their pastor had mentioned civil rights the previous Sunday.
The results were even more disappointing than I imagined.
On Instagram, 86 percent of respondents said there was no mention of voting rights this past Sunday. On Threads, 65 percent said there was no mention of it.
Shout out to all the faith leaders who recognize this moment for what it is and are telling their congregations about it.
But for the rest of you…
It’s been two Sundays since the Supreme Court’s catastrophic ruling on the Voting Rights Act.
You’re telling me the topic of civil rights hasn’t come up at all?
AT ALL?
Why not? What are you waiting for?
I’m saying this as a former pastor. I’ve preached weekly sermons, planned series, agonized over exegesis.
The job is a lot harder than most people realize. But c’mon. It’s time to step up.
Silence Is Complicity
There is no other way to say it: Silence is complicity.
We are living through the Civil Rights movement of our day.
At this point, what possible reason do you have for not talking about civil rights?
Do you imagine that you’d be one of the prophetic preachers who stood up for racial justice in the 1950s and 1960s? Then now is your time to prove it.
Do you want to be remembered as a faith leader who was silent about injustice or one who stood with the marginalized and oppressed even at great cost?
What does it matter if you silently support civil rights if no one knows it?
“It doesn’t matter how strong your opinions are. If you don’t use your power for positive change, you are, indeed, part of the problem. “ -Coretta Scott King
If you retreat from naming the reality of anti-Black racism, don’t call yourself an ally or a prophetic preacher.
If you refuse to speak up for civil rights now, then don’t say you support racial reconciliation.
If you have a “fear of man” in this moment, then how can you preach “fear not”?
This is not a matter merely of politics or current events. Civil rights is a matter of justice.
It’s about honoring the image of God in all people. It’s about affording everyone the dignity of having a say in how they are governed.
It is about justice.
But Can’t Preach About Justice Every Week
But some pastors will say, “I can’t just preach about justice every week. The Bible addresses many topics.”
True.
But in times of social crisis, the pastor must speak to the burdens, concerns, and anxieties of their people.
And here’s the truth…
You don’t have to shoehorn justice into your sermon. It’s already there in the text.
Anytime Scripture talks about injustice, oppression, greed, exploitation, power, the Kingdom of God, or true love of neighbor—you’ve got an open road to preach about justice and human dignity.
It’s not about inserting civil rights into your sermon, it’s simply about faithfully preaching the Bible.
Detestable vs. Acceptable Worship
The Lord actually does not want our worship if it is not rooted in justice.
Don’t take my word for it. It’s right there in Amos.
“I hate, I despise your religious festivals;
your assemblies are a stench to me.
Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings,
I will not accept them.
Though you bring choice fellowship offerings,
I will have no regard for them.
Away with the noise of your songs!
I will not listen to the music of your harps.” ~ Amos 5:21-23
You can have the best worship and praise music, the most riveting preaching style, the best lights and A/V system, a packed house every Sunday—if you’re not doing justice, God hates it.
Instead of powerless preaching, God demands that we name reality and proclaim righteousness.
But let justice roll on like a river,
righteousness like a never-failing stream!
What do those words mean when civil rights are being rolled back? How do they apply to the systematic stripping of Black political power? How will you show up as a faith leader on Sunday when your people are suffering injustice every day of the week?
What People Need from Their Pastors
Pastor, shepherd the sheep.
Your people do not need both-sidesing. They don’t need, “Let’s wait for more information.” They don’t need your avoidance of “controversial” topics. They don’t need your attempts at peacekeeping rather than peacemaking.
Now is the time for civic discipleship from a faith-centered lens.
Now is the time for prophetic preaching and teaching.
Now is the time for grief and lament.
Now is the time for faith and hope.
Now is the time for leadership.
Will You Be a Moderate or Morally Clear?
You may be familiar with Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” Far fewer people know what prompted it.
A group of clergy in Alabama wrote to MLK urging him to slow down and trust local efforts for racial progress.
When rights are consistently denied, a cause should be pressed in the courts and in negotiations among local leaders, and not in the streets. We appeal to both our white and Negro citizenry to observe the principles of law and order and common sense.
These were the “good” clergy—Christian pastors and one rabbi. Those who believed race relations should be improved, and Black people should be treated better.
They weren’t opposing civil rights. They merely urged restraint.
So reasonable of them.
Their letter to King came a few months after they had published a public letter titled, “An Appeal for Law and Order and Common Sense.”
They prioritized a kind of false peace that preserved the semblance of calm rather than the disruptive but necessary confrontation that would bring about swift justice.
King called these clergy the “moderates.”
He criticized them for preferring “a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice.”
He expressed frustration that “shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will.”
He rejected the idea that those who sat in comfort could “set the timetable for another man’s freedom.”
Would you be among those sitting in prison like King did for the sake of civil rights and fidelity to Christian teachings about the dignity of all people.
Or would you be among those writing a calm, moderate letter advising an oppressed people to work within the confines of a system bent against them?
Would you be numbered with the nameless pastors who neither dripped words of hate nor publicly advocated for civil rights?
“Shout it aloud, do not hold back. Raise your voice like a trumpet” (Isaiah 58:11).
What the Civil Rights movement of our day calls for is not muted moderation but moral clarity.
Why do you think many pastors avoid speaking directly about voting rights and civil rights?
The Civil Rights movement was sustained by ordinary people who found each other and acted together. We need that same spirit now. The Justice Journey is a space for learning, encouragement, and collective action in a time of democratic crisis. Join the waitlist today.
Thank you. I am working on my sermon for Sunday. Voting rights were already in there but I will expand. Grateful for your prophetic word.
The “progressive “ mainline Episcopal church I attend in Manhattan has not mentioned the Supreme Court’s decision nor have they mentioned the war in Iran, the bombing and devastation in Gaza and Lebanon. James Baldwin said silence is more evil than the evil.