{"id":6773,"date":"2022-12-19T16:34:43","date_gmt":"2022-12-19T22:34:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/advocacy\/?p=6773"},"modified":"2022-12-19T17:02:34","modified_gmt":"2022-12-19T23:02:34","slug":"hard-and-holy-work-of-depolarization","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/advocacy\/hard-and-holy-work-of-depolarization\/","title":{"rendered":"Hard and holy work of depolarization"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Kayla Zopfi, ELCA Hunger Advocacy Fellow[about the author]<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we talk to someone who shares the same Christian faith, but has a different set of political beliefs or convictions, it can be uncomfortable, or frustrating, and sometimes even scary. As members of the ELCA, we believe that we can have different political opinions but be of the same faith,\u201d asserts Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton in her November 2, 2022 <\/span>video<\/span><\/a> addressing Christian Nationalism.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Bringing people together because of, rather than despite, political differences has been a successful value nurtured in many congregations and synods, as well as by us as individuals. \u201cIt feels like progress is being made, like seeds are being planted,\u201d said Marilyn Berberich, a leader with the Interfaith Center of Greater Philadelphia, after trying Braver Angels tools that help facilitate depolarizing conversations.<\/span> \u201cIt made me realize how much I assumed about others,\u201d she reflected, which prompted her to volunteer as a \u201cRed leader\u201d in the parlance of the organization.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As the United States continues to grapple with accelerating polarization, and the ELCA navigates being a multipartisan denomination, we can play a role in coming together to create spaces that center us in our common identity as followers of Christ, and build up our resistance to that which may divide us.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Sharing stories based on important themes and experiences from within our faith communities, an ELCA Advocacy Cafe took on the question, \u201c<\/span>Can Talking Politics Be Healthy<\/span>\u201d. Silas Kulkarni, ELCA Director of Strategy and Advocacy and former Senior Fellow and Chief of Staff for the Braver Angels Debate and Public Discourse Program, brought together diverse presenters to help envision the role that every individual can play in the work of depolarization.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe need reconcilers,\u201d stated the Rt. Rev. Mark Beckwith, Episcopal Diocese of Newark bishop, during Advocacy Cafe. Centered in Matthew 5, Bishop Beckwith said healthy conversations across divides are important “not to move people from one side to another, but to find common ground” and “honor the differences we have.<\/span><\/p>\n

Local, faith-centered approaches to having healthy conversations across divides were described by participants. Some tools from Braver Angels include:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n