As a public justice faith-based advocacy charity, Citizens for Public Justice (CPJ) often finds itself engaged in diverse coalitions.
Sometimes, CPJ is the only faith-based advocacy organization in the conversation. With over 60 years of experience in the advocacy field, CPJ has garnered deep trust and respect from many secular partners – a position of favour that must be stewarded well.
In the public realm, there is an increasing debate regarding the value of faith-based organizations. Some view organizations with a faith perspective as too narrow and exclusionary in their work.
CPJ is clearly compelled by its Christian faith roots. In fact, the definition CPJ developed for ‘public justice’ is “the political dimension of loving one’s neighbour, caring for creation, and achieving the common good.” As such, it seeks to encourage a society where all people and creation can experience the fullness desired by God.
But rather than debating whether a faith-informed perspective on public justice is viable, I’d like to propose that faith contributes three concrete benefits to the work of advocacy.
Sometimes, advocacy can seem daunting. Feelings of helplessness abound, and the threat of despair is ever-present. Faith places the possibility of success on the divine attributes of God rather than on the effectiveness of human endeavour. Thus, faith brings hopefulness to advocacy efforts. What may seem impossible for our attempts is very conceivable for a God who has a passion for everyone to experience life in all its fullness.
Advocacy concerns can also be viewed as critical, demanding immediate response or impact. Maintaining the right to safety can be at risk. Irreversible damage can be imminent. A common counterpart of despair is panic. Anxiety looms large.
Because faith places its hope on the divine power and passion of God, it can soothe panic and replace it with calm assurance. People of faith know that the end is never the end – even death can be challenged with resurrection.
One of the greatest challenges for advocacy is the fight against apathy. Apathy immobilizes good intentions and paralyzes convictions. This is a common result of despair and panic.
But faith helps people function in the context of God’s character and passion. This results in an atmosphere of hope and calm. Rather than producing apathy, it mobilizes people for bold action. Advocacy actions can be bold in demanding change because they are assured of representing the passion and aspirations of the divine. Advocacy can be bold in expectation because it is rooted in the knowledge of God’s power and passion.
Faith is more than a competitive equal to efforts of advocacy. Faith provides a tangible benefit and strategic advantage to bold efforts of advocacy. Policies that defend greed and prevent the disadvantaged from experiencing their rightful claim to the fullness of life are no match for those mobilized by faith to seek the equitable welfare of all those created by God’s passion and love.