On Faithful Citizenship
in a Global Context

Russel Botman

A question I face concerns the link between the two texts that most govern my life: the Bible and the constitution. How do I live authentically as a faithful disciple and a responsible citizen? I grew up and learnt theology in a context where the church/state dilemma was central. Now I think that we need to place the church/state debate within the framework of the broader economic question. The reality of the global economy places the church in a marginal position. The World Council of Churches (WCC), along with many others, has observed that globalisation is not merely economic but also cultural and environmental in its reach. How do we live our faith in the context of globalisation? Among other things, it is incumbent upon us to examine the framework of the neo-liberal ideology which undergirds the current global economy, and look at ways religious communities are impacted by this ideology.

The neo-liberal ideology strongly pushes for the "autonomy of the market." Irrevocably linked to this is the notion of the "individuality of human beings," by which human beings are essentially defined as isolated egos. Our necessary relationship in the market is "competition": people enter the market as individuals and they must compete as individuals. There is no place—ideologically or legally (corporations, for example, are treated as "individuals" before the law)—for groups or communities in the market.

The ruling principle of this global gospel is that of the triage, a military term referring to the question in battle of whether one can afford to carry a wounded person. The principle requires that one acts in terms of the possibility of winning the battle. In the marketplace this principle is called "economic exclusion": The question is, economically, how many people does one simply have to accept one must 'leave behind' while still being able to maintain (through persuasion and coercion) a society stable enough to keep going? At the heart of it is the idea that of the kind of economy that will not allow for external intervention of any kind—the laws of the market must rule. Here there is no consideration of, or place for, "abstract" values of justice, equality etc. These things are the function and the supposed outcome of the market with which one should not interfere.

This, of course, as many have noted in the past under other conditions and in other contexts, is a challenge to faith affirmations. Firstly, the whole question of belief in God entails belief in One who has the ability to intervene in history, and not merely in the form of the "hidden hand" behind the market. The neo-liberal ideal challenges the very notion of God. Secondly, we must consider the old struggle between God and Mammon. At the moment we are somehow managing to serve both, but as the contradictions become more serious a choice must be made.

The World Alliance of Reformed Churches has, in this light, not only raised the question of whether we are doing the right thing in our economic affairs and models, but whether we are believing in the right God. Believing that the global economy as currently constructed raises this question acutely, it is embarking on a Processus Confesionis in the search for alternatives to the dominant, ruling paradigm. The WCC have been unable to take this step to date, deciding instead to embark on process which explores only how the economy affects church.

The fundamental ethical issue has to do with how one opposes the notion, and practices attached to this notion, of a value-free economy. How do religious communities get involved in discussion with business sector, banks, and other economic organizations to introduce questions of justice, for example. How does one replace the flawed concept of a value free economy with questions of human values? How does one counter the prevalent idea that "I am because I have" instead of "I am because I belong"? Materialism has great power over minds and hearts of people.

The central pastoral question concerns the way in which globalisation reduces the space for mercy. Churches are heralds of mercy, grace and justice. Their support base is being reduced in the globalization process. This must be resisted. The more one becomes a competitive person, the less one cares about others and the consequences of one's own decisions upon others. This is reflected in the idea of 'private care', which has become important to health policy. The religious movement follows suit by spiritualising, and thereby privatizing, biblical texts on justice, etc. As our faculties for caring are reduced in this process, there follows an attack on all people who benefit from social security and other mechanisms of dealing with those who are hurt and disadvantaged by the nature of our current society.

Let me leave you with these questions, then. As citizens our most precious possession is the constitution of our country: We must ask whether globalisation is compatible with this? If not and yet government feels obliged to obey these impersonal market forces, who will be the guardian of social justice? For religious people, the most precious possession are the sacred texts: Is globalisation compatible with our divine inspirations, our ethics and our commitment to the poor? If religious bodies feel obliged to buy into an impersonal market force, who will call the nation to a jubilee?

Russel Botman is Professor of Theology
at the University of the Western Cape

• (Article in JTSA)
• (Concept paper)
• UWC Faculty of Theology and Religion