Sign-on declaration for people of faith addresses democracy, more
Following in the footsteps of Jesus Christ, who came...
...to bring good news to the poor,
to proclaim release to the captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to set free those who are oppressed,
to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor (Luke 4)...
...we cannot be silent.
Reclaiming the Heritage is a call to action from people of faith who reject authoritarianism, nationalism, and the misuse of religion for power. We stand in the tradition of the Confessing Church, the Barmen Declaration, and the prophets who dared to speak truth in challenging times. This is a call to act—grounded in scripture, history, and hope. In the spirit of the Confessing Church, you are invited to read and sign the declaration, Democracy at Risk: A Response from the Faith Community.
This Reclaiming the Heritage project has been developed by pastors (retired and under call), deacons and lay leaders of the church as a helpful tool for addressing the present crisis in democracy in the US. It is centered around a Declaration, Democracy at Risk: A Response of the Faith Community. It has emerged in response to the U.S. administration's growing authoritarianism, the abandonment of commitment to diversity, equity and inclusivity as well as the First Amendment right to free speech and freedom of the press. It is a response to the lack of due process in the treatment of immigrants and to the discontinuation of global programs designed to reduce hunger and poverty. We seek to address the issues that are threatening democracy from a vantage point that is non-partisan, transcending the agenda of any political party.
“Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless.
Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.”
While this effort is independent, that is, not part of the official programs or structures of any church body, it is committed to providing, to the best of its ability, support to the mainline churches, Episcopal, Lutheran, Methodist, Presbyterian, Reformed, Moravian and United Church of Christ, of which we are a part. Thank you for reading and signing the Declaration.
To read the history of the Reclaiming the Heritage movement, to read and sign the declaration and more, visit the website here.
About the document planning team:
Beginning in 2015, the Forgotten Luther Project features the little known but far-reaching effects on society of Martin Luther’s insight into the breadth of the biblical understanding of grace. It moves beyond the strict individualism that has at times proved to be limiting to reclaim the social justice dimension of the reformer’s work. His revolutionary program functioned in collaboration with government to ensure wealth-sharing through the Common Chest (Gemeinsame Kasten) and to provide community healthcare and financial security for the elderly and community-sponsored education for girls as well as boys.
Luther’s sense of the freedom of the Christian as well as his protest of state control of the church would contribute in later years to the principle of the institutional separation of church and state as well as to the development of democracy.
The Forgotten Luther Project has produced three books by Fortress Press and sponsored four symposia to encourage public discussion. The most recent symposium, The Forgotten Luther IV: Discipleship in a Democracy – Responding to the Threat of Christian Nationalism, now continues with a Reclaiming the Heritage website, and this Declaration, which is a call to action.