Christianity advocates for social justice by supporting the oppressed, both on a group and individual level. By emphasizing the idea of acceptance and standing with marginalized people, Christ stands with those protesting injustice. By having a God that people can see themselves in, those fighting for others to see them can feel recognized. And by having faith in the God that stands with them, people can pursue social justice inside themselves. Christianity helps us to pursue social justice, in the world, and within ourselves.

Jesus’s experiences and messages constantly emphasize the idea of seeing each other as, in the words of Kira Schesinger, “capable, fully human being[s].” Over and over again the Bible details instances of Jesus standing with the oppressed, not as a savior but as one of them, fighting for humanity, for justice. Jesus himself was marginalized due to his status as a Jew, and his homelessness. The message of Christ, and thus a big part of Christianity, is this idea that God is with the oppressed. He hears all voices, the silenced as well as the silencers. In her book, God Is a Black Woman, Christena Cleveland describes “a God who stands not atop the social hierarchy, but at the bottom with the people who have been cast aside, silenced, and forgotten.” This is the God of scripture, whose people were once slaves. This is the God of experience, who provides hope in the darkest of times to those with the heaviest burdens. And this is the God of reason, for His words declare that “by Him all things were created”, and so none should be excluded. The messages of the Bible and the ideas of Christianity support social justice by emphasizing that the oppressed or marginalized are the people of God.

Christianity is powerful when used in a social justice context because social justice is often centered around a core idea of self, and Christianity has a reflective property. People can see themselves in God and in the stories of the struggles and triumphs of Jesus. This allows people to feel connected to each other through God, and unites movements or groups behind a common story. In her book, God Is a Black Woman, Christena Cleveland mentions how some of the things that social justice fights against are also used to cut out other perspectives in a Christian context, writing, “gender binary impoverishes our spiritual imaginations, making it difficult for us to see that God exists within trans and non-binary experiences of gender.” This isn’t only true for the gender binary, it holds true for many other socially imposed systems, which prevent us from seeing things in other contexts. However, when Christianity is used as a tool in the fight for social justice, it encompasses all contexts. God empowers those who have been without representation for so long because He provides a companion, someone who is like them. He says, your experiences are valid. You are seen. You are human. Shannon Kearns, in his video All Theology Has a Context, says “we make art with Jesus looking like the artist because we're trying to make a point: That Jesus can be identified with. That Jesus knew what it was to be human.” The fight for social justice is one of humanity, of being seen. Christianity promotes social justice because it empowers people. It says, God sees you and is standing with you in your fight for others to also see you. Christianity supports social justice because it provides a way to see yourself represented in God.

Just as Christianity supports social justice with its ideals and reflective nature, faith in God gives support to individuals fighting for social justice. Because God is the creator, having faith in God means that, in a way, you have faith in yourself. You’re trusting that God knows you and created you to be who you are. As Austen Hartke writes, “living as a reflection of God's image is possible only when you're living as a whole person— authentically, without certain sections severed or hidden.” Oppressive systems generally seek to sever or hide certain sections of our humanity, and so in fighting for that right to live as a whole person, we’re living in God's image. God sees people for who they are. He doesn't want people to hide themselves: just as a big part of social justice is fighting against the ideas forced upon us for who we should be—the stereotypes or the discrimination that are other’s ideas of us— and stop us from being true to ourselves. Having God see us and know us without the stereotypes, when sometimes that's not even something we can see ourselves, lets us pursue social justice within ourselves. Christena Cleveland writes about having to kill parts of herself—the internalized idea of a harsh white male God that had been forced onto her as a Black woman. She writes also about visiting Our Lady of the Good Death—a God who stands by her, a God who looks like her, a God who helps her accept herself. God is there with us, beyond the ideas of Him that society imposes. He helps us to pursue social justice. Having faith in ourselves is the same thing as having faith in God, because God knows us. He helps us to trust ourselves so that we can know that the world that we're living in is not perfect, so we can know that we are worthy of a better one, and so that we can trust in what we're doing in fighting to build this world.

The ideas behind social justice are ones of equality, of humanity. Social justice emphasizes the idea of treating everyone with respect and understanding. It strives to ensure that all people are treated equally, and to break down social barriers. The ideas and effects of Christianity can have similar influences on people. The messages of Jesus—to stand with the outcasts and the oppressed—are still applicable today in this social justice context. For what was Jesus fighting for in his time, if not social justice? God’s determination that He is indeed the creator and thus all are made in His image also has valuable implications. This makes everyone a reflection of Him, but also makes Him a reflection of everyone. And so all can see themselves in him, and He stands with those fighting to be seen. Having faith in God, and trusting yourself through trusting Him also allows people to reexamine social barriers that have been built inside themselves. Overall, the views and ideas of Christianity advocate for social justice through supporting the oppressed, both internally and externally.

Works Cited

Cleveland, Christena. “In God We Can’t Trust: The Problem with whitemalegod.” In God Is a Black Woman, 22-51. New York, NY: HarperCollins, February 8, 2022.

Crossway Bibles. 2008. The ESV Study Bible: English Standard Version.

Hartke, Austen. “And God Said, Let There be Marshes.” In Transforming: The Bible and the Lives of Transgender Christians, 47-58. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, March 13, 2018.

Schesinger, Kira. “Faith and Fertility in a Changing Culture.” In Pro-Choice and Christian: Reconciling Faith, Politics, and Justice, 41-53. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, October 10, 2017.

Shannon Kearns. 2021. “All Theology Has a Context.” YouTube Video. YouTube. youtube.com/watch?v=RrbOb92hAdE&t=1s.