We are living through a time of great divisions, war, and strife. It is sometimes difficult and even risky to speak up for our understanding of justice in times like these. How can we speak for justice while also cultivating beloved community?

When attempts are being made to silence dissent, it is precisely the time when the voices of dissent are most needed. When states are passing anti-woke laws, whitewashing history, and devaluing the lives and experiences of LGBTQ2S+ persons, this is precisely the time when silence, especially silence from allies, is unacceptable.

We are witnessing in the world today that one of the most effective ways to turn a democratic republic into an autocratic state is to appeal to religious nationalism and the concomitant beliefs that the promotion of one’s religion is more important than the values and ideals of participatory democracy. Appeals to religious nationalism are even more effective when religious interests correspond with the ethnocultural interests of a large percentage of persons living in the society.

It is no accident that so many autocrats around the world like Putin, Trump, Modi, Orbán, Bolsonaro, Le Pen, Meloni, Netanyahu, Erdogan, and others appeal to religious nationalism to garner support in order to gain, maintain, and expand their power. It is the moral responsibility of all religious leaders to relentlessly speak out against and resist this manipulation and misuse of religion.

White moderates are still too hesitant to speak up and speak out against systemic injustice within our society. Perhaps this is because they are in many ways beneficiaries of its continuation. White Christian nationalists in the United States would have far less power if white moderates were not complicit through their relative silence in the face of such religious distortion for the perpetuation of white supremacy.

Part of being a mature and responsible person is to be okay with persons not liking you or working against you when you speak out against systemic injustice. Keep in mind that MLK had a 75% disapproval rating in the last year of his life because he spoke out against the war in Vietnam. It is not possible to create positive social change without some sacrifice and without willing to experience some social rejection and even suffering.

The only way to build the critical mass of persons needed to transform systemic injustices in society is for persons to speak out when it is not easy to speak out, thus making it easier for more and more people to speak out and participate in the work for social change.

It was not easy in a country built on genocide and the dehumanizing institution of slavery for the first abolitionists to speak out against and resist the systemic injustice of slavery, but the freedom of millions of persons depended on it.

It was not easy for suffragists and feminists to speak out against and resist the perpetuation of patriarchal power in politics and society, but the movement towards gender equality depended on it.

It was not easy to speak out against and resist Jim Crow and segregation, but the movement towards civil rights and racial justice depended on it.

It was not easy to speak out against and resist the homophobia and transphobia that has existed for so long in churches and society, but the movement towards equality for all depended on it.

It is not easy to speak out against and resist the power of fossil fuel companies as they are hurling us all towards climate chaos, but climate justice and a livable climate for all life depend on it.

It is not easy to speak out against and resist the false white and patriarchal gospel of white Christian nationalism, voter suppression, and patriarchal control over women’s bodies; but a non-patriarchal, participatory, and multicultural democracy depends on it.

Religious communities that respect truth and freedom and that value all persons equally will work to make it easier for persons to speak out against and resist all systemic injustices within our society, even if we may not always agree on exactly what that means or about how it ought to be accomplished. When members of our community take the risk of speaking out against injustice, they need our support, and when it is possible they need us to join them to create a chorus of voices against injustice in our world. The only viable path toward beloved community depends on it!