Politics and faith intertwine at Orange County church

Friday evening at Second Baptist Church, a line formed to enter the sanctuary. It was Good Friday, and congregants and community members alike flocked to the church, not for a Holy Week service — or at least, what might be considered a typical one — but instead to hear a presidential candidate speak.

Santa Ana‘s Second Baptist played host on Friday to Cornel West, a political analyst and third-party presidential candidate. At other places of worship, it might be unusual to find a White House contender — albeit, one with an unlikely chance of success — standing in front of a congregation on a Friday night. But at Second Baptist, faith and politics go hand-in-hand.

The church, both globally and when it comes to Second Baptist, is built as a resource not only to its own parishioners but to the community as well. And that’s a responsibility that Second Baptist Pastor Ivan Pitts shoulders.

Besides caring for the faith needs of his congregants, Pitts sees the role of the church as fitting in with civic engagement, of providing information and education to the flock.

“That was primarily the role of Christ and the role of our faith,” said Pitts. “I’d see Christ as one who was always challenging people to see things differently.”

West was introduced Friday evening as “a man of God and speaker of truth.” Aside from his work as a political activist, West is on faculty at Union Theological Seminary in New York, where he teaches the works of theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer along with other subjects, including philosophy of religion.

In Orange County on Friday, he energetically pirouetted between politics and religion. “There’s a moral and a spiritual issue before it gets to politics,” said West.

He spoke to the plight of those in Gaza as war in the Middle East wages on. “Be not afraid,” he later quoted from scripture.

He humanized incarcerated people, reminding them that they “have the same value, the same dignity, the same sanctity as anyone else.” And he brought the audience back to his time at the historic Shiloh Baptist Church, reviving the lessons he learned at the Sacramento institution.

“We want to wrestle with how to ensure that there’s a presence of truth, justice and love in politics,” West said in an interview about the message he sought to deliver. “So much of politics these days is about lies, revenge and hatred. We’ve got a moral and spiritual message, but it’s got political implications.”

West approaches the intersection of his campaign and his faith not by imposing his religion on others, he said, but by “exhibiting my Christian witness in the larger public square.”

West, 70, isn’t the first political figure to grace the halls of Second Baptist, particularly in recent years. Sen. Raphael Warnock, a Baptist minister from Georgia, visited in April 2023 to deliver a sermon.

Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Oakland, stopped in earlier this year. She was a contender for U.S. Senate at the time, but the invitation wasn’t to the candidate, Pitts said, but rather to someone who could speak about the importance of mental health care.

They aren’t there to pitch their campaigns or peddle their political platforms — at least not fully; they are politicians, after all. And when asked about a litmus test for who gets to address churchgoers, Pitts said he doesn’t particularly care about a politician’s political party. Rather, he said he has opened the church’s doors to candidates or officials who bring stories and messages of faith, love and community.

“That’s the challenge of the church, to help us to raise people’s understanding and tolerance so that we figure out how to be together,” Pitts said.

Faith, said Kelita Gardner, the executive director of operations at the church, is “strong in the Black community.” And so the church can serve as the place to facilitate “diverse views on how the world is going and how we can help it be a better place.”

“It’s incumbent upon us to explore different beliefs — not with religion, but in politics and social (issues),” Gardner said. “We get comfortable talking to people who look like us, believe like us, but there is wisdom in collaborating in all walks of life.”

For church member Dedra Butler, getting the chance to hear from political figures better enables her to pray for them, she said.

“It’s very important to understand the law of the land, to seek and learn from people so you can pray and make a decision,” said Butler. “It’s important to pray for all decisions we make, how they align with our faith, locally, nationally and internationally.”

Friday’s event with West was organized by the National Action Network Orange County, a civil rights organization founded by the Rev. Al Sharpton. The Rev. Jonathan E.D. Moseley, NAN’s western regional director, said he hopes West’s visit will inspire younger people to get more politically engaged.

“The church is the last and able institution where you can get a mass of people listening, whether it be to a pastor or speaker. And they’re looking for hope,” Moseley said.

Despite being tricky waters to navigate — the federal government restricts certain political campaign activity at churches — politics and faith are intimately intertwined. Legislative bodies commonly open their days with prayer. Elected officials are sworn in with Bibles or other religious texts. Pastors, from the pulpit, preach on social justice or social issues.

Still, Second Baptist providing the venue didn’t sit well with every congregant, Pitts noted. He heard them out and sent them recent videos of West’s comments. They planned to attend, Pitts said. Same with Warnock; some congregants expressed concern about his voting record.

“I’ve never asked (Warnock) about his voting record. What I know is he’s a good guy, that he is passionate about helping the plight of all people, especially the marginalized,” said Pitts. “I think that we sometimes forget that these politicians were something else before and are human even afterward.”

It’s less important what political party a person subscribes to, he said, but more so how they can help churchgoers strengthen their faith and be better stewards to the community.

“I do not believe it’s healthy to only bring people around that have dialogue that agrees with you, that cosign your belief system. Everything we believe should be challenged,” Pitts said.

“How do you find common ground on love and unity? I can’t let my voting record or yours stop me from seeing everyone is made in the image and likeness of God.”

Source: Orange County Register