I’m a leftist Christian. Sarcastically, I refer to myself as a Democratic Socialist American Christian, or DSAC: Because being a left-wing Christian sucks balls. For most of my life, the Christians I’ve been surrounded by have been conservative or conservative-leaning. This shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone; most major religions have conservative biases. However, what was fairly notable to me is how these folks spoke about people who held left-wing political views. The opinions of leftist ideology ranged from being compared to a lifelong struggle to booking my trip straight to hell (without passing go). Or, my favorite, “if you go left far enough you find yourself at Nazism.” Needless to say, it’s not exactly surprising that a subsection of white Christians might not exactly understand why a black man might prefer the government to have some amount of control over the economy.

Are the politics really the problem? While I won’t pretend I don’t hold reservations about certain political positions (and certainly I would expect others to have issues with some of mine), I do think that the foundational problem is quite different. Imagine this: your power is out and you have to go a bar to watch the University of Michigan play Ohio State. You walk into the bar with your maize and blue attire and you see absolutely nothing except scarlet and grey. If sports aren’t your thing, I’ll give you one that hits even closer to home. You get added to a group chat with your brand new friends. Except later on, you discover that they have their own iPhone-only chat because they don’t like the missing features your plebeian Android phone doesn’t have. If you haven’t figured out what I’m getting at, being a leftist Christian can be isolating or odd.

The Influence of Narrative on Confidence

Narratives influence so much of our daily lives. It should come as no surprise that narratives would also influence what we think about ourselves. When reflecting on our lives, we create a story. Our self-perception – that internal narrative – has an immense impact on our worldview. What we opt to believe about ourselves impacts our confidence. This is the quintessential battle of the minority. Internalized narratives are not protected; they are susceptible to outside influences. As you hear more frequent, consistent opinions regarding your identity, you begin to internalize that as truth. That is why there are those who have always believed that you should be among your people. While this typically refers to characteristics of ethnicity and religion, it also can extend to hobbies, politics, and profession.

Intentionally or otherwise, I’ve traditionally tended to eschew such thinking. From when I was conscious of stereotypes (maybe even before that), I’ve inherently felt the need to defy them. In my teenage years, we weren’t seeking to be “one of the good ones” but we often joked about “not feeding the stereotype. This perspective led to regrettable actions in which we perpetuated stereotypes about others through jokes. In particular, there is one racist stereotype that I personally perpetuated: I took the often quoted statement that “80% of tithes are provided by 20% of the congregation” and applied it to noise and my black, female classmates.

Communion and the Minority

Upon reflection, much of my life has existed in the minority. While I started writing this post solely from the perspective of the intersection between religion and politics, I began to recognize that the religious community wasn’t the only area in which I had felt the isolation that can be associated with a minority. It’s a clearly an issue that has impacted my perception of belonging and confidence. However, I am quite thankful that my parents gave me the autonomy to make these decisions even though the long-term impact of these choices may have been deleterious. “Popular people,” those who find the way to the top of the various social hierarchies in which they exist, still have a variety of insecurities; that’s our human nature at work. If even popular people struggle with their insecurities, then imagine the multiplicative factor of those insecurities on those in a community without the benefit of being a member of the majority.

This is not to blame anyone for the personal issues that have been the subject of my self-reflection. I think that this is simply the realization of the minority experience and the questions of identity and self that come with it. Is there a group of people at school that will like me regardless of my ethnicity? Will my own people like me even though I’m a nerd? Will my MIT friends love me if I’m a defective jock (as my love of sports far exceeds my ability)? Is being a liberal minority in a white church okay? Is being black in a Korean/Korean-American church okay? Do my efforts at assimilation and understanding go unacknowledged? The proof is in the friendships you have multiple years from now but at the time this doubt can destroy you. The lack of faith in the Lord being able to overcome stereotypes – among other issues – becomes the impedance to true community.

On Responsible Seizure

Finding a solution to this issue is more difficult than expected because of the delicate balance that needs to be struck. “Carpe diem” is a particularly cliche phrase but the underlying premise is correct: you must have confidence to attack each day to achieve the objectives you desire. There will be obstacles in your way. There will be bias. Conflicts, incidents, and controversies will all exist in this messy organization we call community. However, confidence, self-belief, arrogance, and selfishness are closely-related attributes. If one strays too far, you can find yourself immersed in self-delusion about who you are and what you should mean to a community. Avoid thinking about the positions you believe you can hold and your effectiveness in an unstable social hierarchy. Instead, look to how you can introduce warmth to the spaces in which you exist. Be unbothered by side doors of convenience; ensure the main door to your spaces feel like home.

What initially started as some ramblings about leftism, religion, and my place in both worlds ended up becoming a discussion about the navigating the minority experience in a variety of communities. I realized that I didn’t want to address the intersection between politics and Christianity in this post; it’s important but that wasn’t the source of my motivation to write this piece. What I am motivated about is ensuring that young ones know that they are loved. Every person, no matter the age, race, or creed should feel like they have a community they belong to that loves them. I hope my experiences and thoughts are helpful to others navigating the communities in which they reside.

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