Multiculturalism as a central part of the gospel

No. 21, 7 February 2006

by Brian Edgar

In the light of the community tensions exposed by the Cronulla experience late last year, there is one simple reason for re-affirming multiculturalism: it is an essential part of the gospel.

Broadly speaking, ‘culture’ refers to the social relationships, institutions, arts, habits, beliefs and other human endeavours, which together are considered characteristic of a particular community, people or nation.

‘Multiculturalism’ likewise refers to a positive and open attitude towards different peoples and cultures and a willingness to share in a society which works towards enhancing life for all people. It is primarily a statement about an attitude rejecting the notion of the inherent superiority of one culture and celebrating the value found in all cultures.

This understanding of multiculturalism comes with four provisos. First, it must be understood as consistent with respect for the basic structures and principles underwriting our democratic society including the Constitution, parliamentary democracy, freedom of speech and religion, English as the national language, the rule of law, acceptance and equality.

Second, multiculturalism is not a detailed social or political formula of what is involved, and although the Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs definition of multiculturalism includes reference to ‘strategies, policies and programs’ used to encourage it, support for multiculturalism in the sense used in this article does not imply the automatic acceptance of all strategies and programs.

Third, multiculturalism does not preclude fair criticism of cultures, or of various aspects of cultures, including religious beliefs or the way that religious beliefs and culture are, or should be, related. It is necessary to indicate this to ensure that an endorsement of multiculturalism is not taken as an indication that these aspects of cultures are exempt from vigorous criticism.

Fourth, a broad definition of multiculturalism which allows for robust criticism of aspects of culture at the same time as affirming that which is good, also prevents those who define multiculturalism in very tight, ideological, political or religious terms, from using such definitions to reject the concept by insisting that multiculturalism will necessarily involve such things as enforcing the acceptance of what is considered unacceptable behaviour or social pressure on people to behave in particular ways.

Some people support multiculturalism for pragmatic reasons, because it produces benefits for Australia and is a great source of social wealth and dynamism. Others support it on the basis of history, because Australia has continually added to the indigenous community successive waves of migrants from many ethnic, cultural and racial backgrounds. Some support multiculturalism for philosophical reasons, arguing for the principle of tolerance as an essential dimension of community life.

Christians may wish to engage in the debate about the pragmatic, historical and philosophical issues associated with multiculturalism. But if these grounds alone are considered, a society might decide that multiculturalism is more trouble than it is worth. The real reason for supporting multiculturalism is simply because it is right. It is:

• a calling for the church and the world
• an affirmation of the creative nature of God the Father
• an implication of being united in the cross of Jesus Christ
• a part of the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit
• a foretaste of the heavenly kingdom of God

If there is a lesson for Christians from the recent disturbances, it is not so much that certain people need rebuke for their racism, but rather that the church should look to its own life and ask whether it has sufficiently modelled the life that is the calling of God. Clearly, it is of vital importance for churches to re-affirm the place of people of different cultures in God’s kingdom and for those responsible for the teaching ministry of the church to relate these fundamental theological principles concerning culture to the life of the church and wider society.

The call is for more than tolerance, it is for active love for others. The practical difficulties involved in this are real and significant. Cultures are complex mixes of ethnicity, culture and religion and Christians face a particular challenge when they declare that Jesus Christ is Lord of all. No culture is beyond criticism, but any attempt at critique is likely to lead to tensions. The Christian vision of multiculturalism, however, cannot be for the wholesale toleration of anything and everything, for all cultures stand under the judgment of God.

Can there be such a thing as ‘a mono-cultural church’? Fundamentally, ‘no’, for there is only one church of Jesus Christ which is made up of people from all cultures. In practice the answer is, ‘yes, many local expressions of the church exist which have only one culture and which have little or no connection with other cultures at all.’ Sometimes this is because of the geographic separation of the church from people of other cultures. At other times local congregations have been deliberately stratified in different ways to relate to specific age groups, sub-cultures, vocational groups, language groups and particular cultures.

The present situation is that globalisation – including communication, travel and migration – is producing a new and different situation in our world. The church must be a sign and a vision for the community and in the present Australian context it would now be as inappropriate to maintain completely separate developing cultures as it was to maintain completely separate racial development under apartheid.

The danger of persistently mono-cultural situations is that this leads people to believe that a particular culture is superior and perhaps closer to God’s heart than others. Christians are responsible for critiquing their own culture before doing that to others. The claim that Jesus Christ is Lord is likely to be seen as particularly difficult, challenging and even offensive in some contexts. No coercion, however, is appropriate in this regard. Religious freedom is an important feature of multiculturalism, defended by the gospel itself.

The greatest thing the church can do to change the world is to change the church, and adopting a multicultural mind-set is an important step in achieving this.

Rev Dr Brian Edgar is Director of Public Theology for the Australian Evangelical Alliance. A longer version of this article, including an extended discussion of related theological issues, is available at http://www.evangelicalalliance.org.au/pdf/Christ%20and%20multiculturalism.pdf

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Soundings is a publication of the Centre for Christian Ethics, edited by Rod Benson. Soundings welcomes submissions of 750 to 1000 words that seek to facilitate debate and explore issues of religion, ethics and public policy in Australia and internationally. Previous columns give a good indication of the topical range and tone for acceptable essays. Columns may be quoted or republished in full, with attribution to the author of the column, Soundings, and the Centre for Christian Ethics, Morling College, Sydney Australia. Views expressed in Soundings articles are not necessarily those of the Centre for Christian Ethics, Morling College or the Baptist Churches of NSW & ACT.