Reconciliation Across Social Class

1. Reconciliation Across Social Class Andrew Sears

2. Objective Subjective What is Class? • Class is a combination of: • Family income, assets and job type • Education • Access to social capital • Level of exposure to group trauma and oppression • Culture (lifestyle, language, dress, food, values, etc.) • Status level in community and society • Class identity of those closest to you that you identify with (friends, neighborhood, community, family) • It is important to recognize that many people will have very complex class backgrounds and avoid oversimplifying class into objective definitions

3. Problems with Academic Perspectives of Class • Class definitions were based on value system and understanding of the middle/upper class • Definitions of class were constructed primarily to define class in objective measurable terms • Creates an overemphasis on perspectives of more objective fields like economics and sociology • Deemphasizes the subjective and practical • Each field has its own definitions of class • Compartmentalized: Economics, Sociology, Psychology, Cultural Studies, Political Science, History, Literature, Anthropology • Proposed definition of class emphasizes lower class values • Proposed definition is a postmodern/premodern view of class whereas academic perspective is a modern view

4. Defining Class Identity:Four Factors of Class Identity Class Background Class Access Class Identity Class Consciousness Class Identification

5. Class Background • Class background is your class history as a combination of: • Family income, assets and job type • Education and access to social capital • Level of exposure to group trauma and oppression • Class culture (lifestyle, language, dress, food, values, etc.) • Status level in community and society • Class identity of those closest to you that you identify with (friends, neighborhood, community, family)

6. Current Class Access • Current access to class community, resources and power based on: • Income, job type and assets • Education • Appearance and speech • Access to social capital • Godly goal: increase class access to all groups to be able to bring class reconciliation

7. Class Consciousness • Ability to perceive, understand and consciously address: • Systems of classism • Your class role culturally and in systems • Class as culture and cultural class conflicts • Your own class identity • All other aspects of class • Godly goal: to increase class consciousness

8. Class Identification • Class identification is based on: • Primarily the class identity of those closest to you that you identify with (friends, community, family) • Allocation of resources toward class groups (money, work, time) • Your accessibility to a class group based on your culture, appearance, language, location, etc. • Your role in addressing (or perpetuating) classism • Godly goal: to identify with the lower classes (“the least of these”)

9. Race, Class and Gender • Which is Your Primary Lens? • Dominant culture lens (blind to most oppression) • Racial lens • Class lens • Gender lens • Can you put on other lenses?

10. Race, Class and Gender

11. Understanding Urban White Poverty

12. Invisibility of Urban White Poverty Urban Poverty by Race/Hispanic Origin (metro area) From USDA, 1996 data, http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/rcat/rcat92/rcat92n.pdf

13. Rural Poverty is Mostly Non-White Rural Poverty by Race/Hispanic Origin From USDA, 1996 data, http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/rcat/rcat92/rcat92n.pdf

14. Understanding White Poverty: Poverty Rates Source: US Census Data 2003

15. Understanding White Poverty: Geographic Poverty Concentration Source: NARPAC http://www.narpac.org/RCA.HTM

16. White Poverty Is Complex • White poverty makes up the majority of urban poverty • Rural stereotypes of White poverty are wrong • Difference in poverty rates is significant • White people often are assumed to be middle class based on their race • Differences in poverty concentration is significant • Effects of poverty are much more intense than for dispersed poverty

17. The Invisibility of White Poverty: Denying Legitimate Trauma • The primary feelings of oppression from white poverty are anger and pain that has no identifiable source • Much of poor white music (heavy metal, punk, etc.) is expressions of deep anger and pain with no identifiable source • Anger of experiencing classism often gets displaced into racism because the actual source cannot be identified because it suppressed by society

18. Understanding and Addressing Classism

19. What is Classism? • Classism is the oppression of the lower classes • Culturally • Educationally • Economically • Politically • Socially • Interpersonally • Religiously • Or other ways systemically • Oppression is the mistreatment of one group of people by another group of people, in which there is an imbalance of institutionalized power

20. Addressing Oppression with the Whole Gospel

21. The Bible and Classism in the Church James 2: 1-5 My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don't show favoritism. Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in. If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, "Here's a good seat for you," but say to the poor man, "You stand there" or "Sit on the floor by my feet," have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?  Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him?

22. Classism in the Church • Cultural • Consumerism of members becomes class barrier • Promoting class blindness • Promoting class assimilation • Upper/middle class-centric values

23. Non-Dominant Class Value Relating to Others Spontaneous Relational Intense Community/Family Reliance Friendliness Cooperation Relating to the World Respect for Authority/Hierarchy Patience Trauma is common Work is a Means Sharing Contentment Negative Addictions Dominant Class Value Relating to Others Structured order & planning Objectively Detached Reserved Self Reliance/Independence Privacy Competition Relating to the World Egalitarian Efficiency Trauma is avoided Work is an End/Identity Strong Property Rights Active Problem Solving “Positive” Addictions Opposing/Contrasting Class Values

24. Non-Dominant Class Value Thinking/Perception Subjective Qualitative Holistic Practical Community Communication Honesty and Directness Oral Tradition and Storytelling Simplified/Slang Vocabulary Dominant Class Value Thinking/Perception Objective Quantitative Analytical/Compartmentalized Theoretical Individual Communication Politeness and Tact Written Tradition Larger/Standardized Vocabulary Opposing/Contrasting Class Values

25. Classism in the Church • Social • Isolation from social capital from class and racial segregation • Exclusion from social groups and close friendships based on class • Being unsafe to be open about experiences of group trauma: extreme violence, physical/sexual abuse, communities of addiction • Programmatic and Pastoral • Programs focused on middle/upper class needs • Leadership selection disproportionately upper/middle class • Leadership development requires individuals who can quickly become leaders (middle/upper class)

26. Classism in Differences in Class Needs Middle/Upper Class Needs Lower Class Needs

27. Classism in the Church • Teaching/Preaching • Focus on middle/upper class needs • Publishing focused on middle/upper class • Distorted Biblical Perspective of Dominant Culture • Individualistic resulting in apolitical or blame the victim politics • Ignore the role of the Body of Christ as a reconciling agent in the world • Downplay Old Testament, Prophetic Books, and teachings on justice • Ignore Biblical teaching of sharing 1/3 of tithe of the wealthy with those serving poor (Deut. 14:28-29 & 26:12) • Separate spiritual from physical to prioritize spiritual needs (upper/middle class needs) from physical needs (lower class needs) • Overemphasize rational/objective understanding of God vs. subjective experience of God (Holy Spirit)

28. Classism in the Church • Political • Promoting being apolitical on social/economic issues • Alignment of Christians with upper/middle class political interests • Syncretistic of Middle/Upper Class Sins • Materialism/Consumerism • Continued benefit from generational sins (racism) and continued exploitation • Avoidance of significant exposure to social problems (perpetuation of de facto segregation) • Class-centric values/culture

29. Classism in the Church • Institutional • Class-based standards for ministry or being a pastor (i.e. college degree) • Class-based denominational structures and rules • “Homogeneous unit principle” targeting middle/upper class • Economics • Disproportionate resources in upper class churches • Individual focused funding schemes • Giving only to missions that match class/culture of church • “Cream skimming” middle/upper class leadership from lower class churches

30. Tithe and Resource Distribution Deuteronomy 14: 28-29 At the end of every three years, bring all the tithes of that year's produce and store it in your towns, so that the Levites (who have no allotment or inheritance of their own) and the aliens, the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns may come and eat and be satisfied, and so that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.

31. Middle/Upper Class Churches Not Giving 1/3 • Most middle/upper class churches do not give 1/3 of their tithe to churches/parachurches serving the poor • Lack of resources to churches/parachurches serving the poor is the result • Local churches monopolizing income into the Body of Christ is classist • Unless local churches give 1/3 of their tithe to other churches/parachurches serving the poor • Unless local churches are significantly multiclass

32. Three Options Biblically for Churches in Class Reconciliation • Be a lower-class dominant church • Be a multi-class church • Must work toward genuine class reconciliation within the church • Only possible if church can develop a critical mass of the poor and if the pastors will use their power to offset natural class tendencies in society • Be a Middle/Upper Class Giving Church • Give one-third of tithe to churches and ministries that primarily serve the poor and oppressed

33. Growing in Class Identity

34. Appendix

35. Recommended Materials • Where We Stand: Class Matters by bell hooks • The Corporation (DVD) • People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn • Wealth and Democracy: A Political History of the American Rich by Kevin Phillips • Limbo: Blue Collar Roots, White Collar Dreams by Alfred Lubrano • The Psychology of Social Class by Michael Argyle • All Souls, Michael Macdonald • This presentation at http://www.techmisison.org/class/

36. Class Identity Development (non-dominant class background) • Stage 1: Unawareness • Unaware of class identity and classism. • Stage 2: Awareness (immersion in middle/upper classes) • Gain access to and become immersed in middle/upper class world (often through college). Become aware of class background but develops upwardly mobile class identification that rejects class background • Stage 3: Immersion (with lower classes) • Becomes actively class conscious and embraces class background as class identification and “moves back to the hood” through immersion in a community in poverty. • Stage 4:Holiness • Embraces unique class identity while integrating strengths from all class backgrounds and working to address classism and economic oppression while continuing to identify with the “poor.”

37. Class Identity Development (dominant class background) • Stage 1: Unawareness • Unaware of class identity and role in classism. • Stage 2: Awareness • Growing awareness of economic oppression and classism but most processing is on a head-level • Stage 3: Immersion (with lower classes) • Embraces a downwardly mobile class identity and becomes actively class conscious, choosing to identify with the “poor” through immersion in a community in poverty. • Stage 4:Holiness • Embraces unique class identity while integrating strengths from all class backgrounds and working to address classism and economic oppression while continuing to identify with the “poor.”

38. Falling Short in non-White Ethnic Churches Falling Short in Lower Class White Churches Falling Short in Upper Class White Churches Race, Class and Gender Reconciliation in Churches Race Class Gender Many churches fall short by only attempting one of the three (if any)

39. Class and Affirmative Action • Upper classes have often played class and race against each other • Implications in Current Affirmative Action Debate • Currently many conservatives have used class-based arguments as a tool to reverse affirmative action and not address racism • This has caused some individuals in racial groups to be hostile to discussions on class and to not address classism • A just system would have both affirmative action (race-based) to address racism and affirmative access (class-based) to address classism

40. Americans Favor both Affirmative Action and Affirmative Access

41. Biblical Guideline on Cultural Issues Roman’s 14:13-16 Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother's way. As one who is in the Lord Jesus, I am fully convinced that no food is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for him it is unclean. If your brother is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy your brother for whom Christ died. Do not allow what you consider good to be spoken of as evil.

42. Principles of Tolerance from a Race, Class and Gender Perspective • Need to consider race, class and gender • Communities which intolerant of those without sophisticated language for race and gender will be classist in that they will ostracize people based on class values • Class should not be an excuse to be offensive • Need to find a balance • Where that balance is will depend on your mission • People need to be challenged and stretched to continue to grow • Need to have grace and be willing to sacrifice