RELIGION AND THE LAW: WHERE ADVENTISM AND POLITICS INTERSECT

By Catusha Desjardins

Forthepasttwoyears,HonorsCollegestudentshavehadtheopportunitytoenrollinanAndrewsUniversitySeminarycoursethatistaughtatWAU.Thecourse,ReligionandtheLaw,istaughtatWAUinpartbecauseoftheuniversity’slocationneartheGeneralConference,theNorthAmericanDivisionandtheheartoftheUnitedStatesgovernment.NicholasMiller,whoteachesthecourse,arrangesforguestspeakersfromanumberofchurchorganizations andalsoplansanumberoftripswherestudentsengagewithchurchandpoliticalleaders.Belowisareflection paperhandedinaspartofthecoursefromCatushaDesjardins.CatushaisajuniorBiologymajorfromFloridaand oneofthreesiblingscurrentlyenrolledintheHonorsCollege.

In the final week of the Religion and the Law class, we visited several important places in Washington, D.C., and talked to influential people. Among these meetings, there were three that were the most memorable. We first had a class with Bill Knott, the representative of the Seventh-day Adventist Church for the US Congress and White House and the associate director of the Public Affairs and Religious Liberty Department of the Adventist Church. Then, we visited the National Museum of African American History and Culture in D.C., where we observed the ties between religious and social engagement through the history of the African American race. Lastly, we visited a congressional building, the Rayburn building, and had the privilege of having a conversation with Congressman Jamie Raskin.

We met with Bill Knott at the United Methodist building, which is right next to the US Supreme Court in D.C. He spoke about the history of moral and social advocacy in the Adventist Church and the history of Adventist engagement with public issues. For example, when John Nevins Andrews published in the Advent Review and Sabbath Herald on April 3, 1855, “If ‘all men are created equal,’ why then does this power hold three millions of human beings in the bondage of slavery? Why is it that the Negro race is reduced to the rank of chattels person and bought and sold like brute beasts?” Or when Uriah Smith published in the Advent Review and Sabbath Herald on March 19, 1857, “Says the Declaration of Independence, ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness;’ and yet the same government that utters this sentiment, in the very face of this declaration, will hold in abject servitude over 3, 200, 000 of human beings.”

Knott’s presentation emphasized that during the early history of the church, Adventists were not afraid to speak out against injustice, specifically slavery. When Ellen G. White was only 27 years old, she spoke about the Fugitive Slave Act in her book, SpiritualGifts . In it, she says, “the laws of our land require us to deliver a slave to his master, we are not to obey, and we must abide by the consequences of the violation of this law. This slave is not the property of any man. God is his rightful master, and man has no right to take God’s workmanship into his hands and claim his as his own.” I completely agree with Ellen G. White’s statement and sentiment.

Then, we went to the African American History Museum in Washington, D.C., to learn about how religion and social engagement met throughout the history of the African American people. There were several exhibits that featured profound topics. One exhibit spoke about how in every heart of each human being, there is a longing for freedom and deliverance and a hate for oppression. In other words, that oppression (i.e. slavery) is unjustifiable by the very morality by which we were created. There was even mention of what happened during the Revolutionary War Era. As war broke out, many African Americans acted out for justice. It was very inspiring to see the different ways they demanded the recognition of their rights from the government.

We also saw the hymnal of Harriet Tubman, which showed the undeniable faith of the enslaved and how they looked to God for guidance and help, and the Emmett Till memorial, where his mother, Mamie Till, said, “the murder of my son has shown me that what happens to any of us, anywhere in the world, had better be the business of all of us.” There are countless examples of injustice against African Americans in US history. In truth, I was actually so touched by this that I started to get emotional because I could feel the pain of my people. I’m glad we as a nation have made progress, but there is so much more to be done. The enslaved petitioning for their rights, speaking out against injustice and the nonviolent marches are just some of the many examples of religion and social engagement I observed from the museum.

Last but not least, we visited the Rayburn Congressional building to meet briefly with Congressman Jamie Raskin, who represents the district where WAU is located and lives just a few miles from our campus. One of the things we discussed was that we should observe how we adhere to religion and its impact, and how many rules try to burden religion. He talked about how in the past, there were rules to only worship on Sunday and how it wasn’t made with the mutual understanding of the people governed at that time.

We also talked about when and how religion should help out the ethos of the community. I then made a supportive comment after Professor Reid mentioned the Fairness for All Act. It was a blessing to be able to contribute to a conversation with a US Congressman.

I have learned a lot from our class trips. This class overall has really helped me understand how religion and politics intersect, and I now have a new understanding of how Christians, especially Seventh-day Adventists, should engage with politics.