Let's not be performative Christians
Christians, it’s time to stop performing badly and begin practicing Christlike.
Writing about my faith is difficult as a lifelong Christian active in my faith until my mid-fifties. I drifted away from the Church but did not lose my faith and spirituality. I lost my religion. I am not alone.
Church attendance declined steadily over the past decades. According to Gallup, 30% of Americans attend services weekly or nearly weekly, declining from 42% in 2000. 21% of Americans are religiously unaffiliated and less likely to participate in services, growing from 9% in 2000.
Church attendance declined due to many factors. Secularization shifted the role of religion in daily life. Doctrines and teachings perceived as outdated or judgmental led many to question their faith. Busy lifestyles and changing priorities gave in-person worship a low priority.
As a spiritual person, I am tired of performative Christians. The actions of some of these Christians are disheartening. They focus on outward appearances without internal reflection and miss the core message of love and acceptance. True faith goes beyond selective interpretation. It embodies the teachings in our daily lives.
I was raised Lutheran and taught to respect people of different faiths. The Christian teachings that made me a person of faith were about love, grace, forgiveness, and being nonjudgemental. These attributes are absent or severely lacking in many Christians. The weight of that judgment burdens me.
I came across performative Christianity in my reading this week. That pairing of words was unfamiliar, spoke to me, and led me to dig into its meaning. The more I read, the more I understood how performative Christians changed my perception of Christianity and how it factors into the declining numbers in the pews.
A performative Christian prioritizes outward expressions of faith, such as church attendance, quoting scripture, and visibility living their faith on their sleeve. However, their actions often do not reflect their religion's core values, such as love, forgiveness, and acceptance. They may focus on interpreting religious texts in a way that aligns with their personal views, overlooking teachings that challenge their perspectives.
Most Christians are performative to some extent. I can step to the front of that line being a far-from-perfect person and Christian. The key here is the impact of our actions. For most, their performances feed their sense of worth and purpose, not harming others. True harm is done by bad actors who cloak their misdeeds in Christianity.
Some use performative Christianity to justify their discriminatory actions as practicing freedom of religion. Freedom of religion protects your right to practice your faith, but it doesn't extend to using your faith to justify discrimination. Religious freedom allows everyone to live by their beliefs while respecting the beliefs of others. It's about all faiths coexisting peacefully, not a justification for intolerance.
I feel the weight of performative Christianity as a gay man. Some performative Christians can be very hurtful to those in the queer community. The core message of Christianity is love, and that includes loving your neighbor, whoever they are. It's disheartening to see teachings of acceptance ignored by religious leaders and communities. Christ's message of loving your neighbor as yourself shouldn't exclude those who identify as queer.
Performative Christianity is on full display in our elections. People proclaim they are Christians while ignoring many of the lessons in the Bible when they cast a ballot. It's frustrating when those who once held others to lofty standards are now selective about what Christian principles they apply. Their actions make it difficult for me to see them as faithful Christians. I lament being a person who does that.
Live out your faith, not just perform it. Love your neighbor as yourself, forgive freely, show humility, and work to create a more just world. Christians are human and make mistakes. True Christianity is not about being perfect but about continually striving to live a more faithful life.
Thanks for the insightful thoughts about performative Christians. I see this as well and I wonder if it is intentional or just completely misguided. In either case I do not see the clergy challenging their churchgoers about this behavior. And don't stress over making judgements. Look at Matthew Chapter 25 and you'll see Jesus was just as troubled by this too, and didn't hesitate to get in the faces of the "performatives" of his time.