Working Class Evangelicalism

By Rev. Darren Cushman Wood, who is the senior minister at Speedway United Methodist in Indianapolis and the author of Blue Collar Jesus: How Christianity Supports Workers Rights.

About fifteen years ago I met Woody at a black lung association meeting. Woody (Woodrow, as in the President) Wilson was a retired coal miner and Baptist preacher who had spent as many decades underground as he had behind the pulpit. Even though he did not have black lung, his calling was to be an advocate for these disabled miners. As he put it, being a member of the union was an expression of the Golden Rule because he wanted his fellow miners and their families to be treated with the same dignity and fairness that he wanted for himself.

Woody was undoubtedly evangelical—if not fundamentalist—in his theology. But he was a far cry from the professional evangelical leaders who are the driving force behind the right wing ideology that is controlling America today. The Pat Robertsons and James Dobsons of the world assume that there is an inevitable connection between evangelicalism and capitalism. They see no contradiction between the Bible and the global exploitation of the environment and workers at the hands of multinational corporations. In Terry Gilliam’s film Brazil, a Salvation Army-like band marches through the street at Christmas time holding a banner which reads, “Consumers for Christ” with a dollar sign on the cross. It would be humorous if it weren’t so deadly. Over the past several years Pat Robertson has actively supported African dictators for personal gain.

Jesus called these kinds of religious leaders hypocrites because they “have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith (Matthew 23:23).” A hypocrite is not the same as a cynic. The cynic knows the truth but doesn’t do it. The hypocrite is a true believer who has a huge blind spot and cannot see the devastating inconsistencies in his or her beliefs. On that score, Cheney may be a cynic but Bush is a hypocrite. He’s a true believer is the War on Terrorism and the virtues of the free market.

It is the evangelicalism of people like Woody that exposes the blind guides of the Religious Right. There is another evangelicalism in America—a working class evangelicalism—that may be conservative on moral issues but is progressive on economic issues. There has always been a progressive evangelicalism that opposed slavery, advocated for women’s rights, and supported justice for workers. If evangelicalism is the proclamation of the good news of Jesus, who died at the hands of the political and economic oppressors of his day, then true evangelicalism will be a voice of justice for workers today.

The workers at Peabody Energy need to hear this voice. As the largest private sector coal company in the world, Peabody posted $3.4 billion in revenues for the first 9 months of 2005—a 30 percent increase over the previous year. They had a net income of $260.5 million for the first 9 months of 2005, which is up from $107.5 million for the same period in 2004 – an increase of 142 percent. As a reward, their out-going CEO Irl Engelhardt made over $7 million in 2004 – 90 percent increase from his compensation in 2003.

Yet, the folks who are not getting rewarded for all this hard work are the miners. Over the past several years the company has undercut its union workforce by opening non-union mines. It is a cheap tactic to drive down the cost of wages and benefits, leaving workers’ families and their communities struggling to keep their heads above water.

The United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) is launching a campaign to organize these workers. They are forming alliances with religious and community leaders because they recognize that what happens at Peabody affects the entire community. This is not about “big union bosses” lining their pockets with union dues. This is a struggle to overcome the vast and growing gulf between the haves and have-nots. Labor unions have been and continue to be one of the most effective tools for creating a just and equitable economy. They have been the most effective anti-poverty strategy in American history.

As a follower of Jesus, I am taking my stand with the miners. As a preacher of the gospel I am taking my cues from Woody’s theology rather than the blind guides of the Religious Right.

Comments

[James Love]

Bless you, Rev.Wood for your comments. The hypocrisy of those ministers who side with greed and ignore injustice can't be ignored any longer.

[Shakoor Aljuwani]

Right on, Rev. Wood! We will be stocking your book in the Common Ground Library down here in New Orleans. As we battle Bush,Dick and FEMA to rebuild New Orleans in a just way, it's good to know that there are ministers like you who stand up for the needy against the greedy!

[Slim Kadish]

Thank you, Reverend Wood! Too many evangelists make it easy to forget that Jesus sided with the poor and powerless.

[Al Doyle]

Don't confuse true capitalism with fascism (definition: big business and big government collusion).

America isn't a free market system. It's thoroughly fascist.