Brethren Identity

From the COB Newsline, a report on a talk by Steward Hoover at the academic conference celebrating 300 years of Church of the Brethren history at Elizabethtown College, PA:

Brethren today face difficult challenges in maintaining identity and community, particularly in the media culture, said Stewart Hoover in the keynote address. Hoover is professor of media studies at the University of Colorado at Boulder, a professor adjoint of Religious Studies and American Studies, and a former staff member of the Church of the Brethren General Board. He spoke on "Brethren Heritage and Modern Culture: Vision and Challenge."

The Brethren must continue to search for a unique identity and voice, Stewart advised. He spoke of the 21st century cultural context as a time of great change in institutions and religion. Christian identity is no longer denominational, rather it is found at the congregational level, he said. In this context, it is a problem that 20th century Brethren "cast their lot" in two directions--evangelical Christianity, and the mainline Protestant churches--Stewart said, characterizing the two directions as contradictory, and neither particularly Brethren.

As he advised Brethren to seek a stronger voice in the culture, Stewart warned that "we Brethren know that ascendancy comes at a cost...at the expense of the rights of others." However, he added that Brethren may be particularly well placed to play a constructive role in the current debate or "clash of civilizations" between Western society and radical Islam.

Brethren "know that both sides of this conflict are wrong" in advocating a strong role for religion in the state, Stewart said. Brethren know that involvement of religion in the state will lead to coercion, violence, and the antithesis of religion's claims, he said. At the same time, Brethren may help shed light and reduce heat in these debates. "We Brethren would argue that to work toward coexistence (of Western society and radical Islam) would not be a denial of our theology but a fulfillment of it," Stewart said. At a time when other forces seem to want to enhance this clash of cultures, he asserted that Brethren "can see how un- Christian such a movement is."

Yes, both sides of the conflict are wrong. And yes, congregational identity is much more important today than denominational identity.