Beatnik Christianity Refuses to Participate in Conservatism vs. Progressivism

2 minute read

N.T. Wright once observed, “From where many of us in the UK sit, American politics is hopelessly polarized. All kinds of issues get bundled up into two great heaps. The rest of the world, today and across the centuries, simply doesn’t see things in this horribly oversimplified way.” Totally agree, but it’s worse than that. It’s this all-encompassing hodgepodge of politics, religion, culture, hobbies, industries, etc. I cannot figure out what biblical inerrancy has to do with a low corporate tax rate, but in many American churches such positions are interwoven. What in the world?1

The problem isn’t merely this bundling of eclectic issues into the two great piles, though. It’s that virtually every issue is seen that way. For instance, take the Holy Post Podcast with Phil Vischer and Skye Jethani. They consistently produce curious, irenic, and nuanced content. Unfortunately, they also depend upon the binary framework of conservatism vs. progressivism for almost every topic. It’s rather glaring that even as they critique its overly simplistic nature they nevertheless continue leaning heavily into this cultural script as their primary way of framing most issues.

If you’re an American and a Christian, pause for a moment of reflection. What I observe is that Christians often lament the ideological divide between us yet are oblivious to the fact that the very nature of their discourse about faith, politics, and most everything continually reinforces the very reality they’re lamenting. If you want everyone to stop framing everything in black and white, then stop talking about everything as conservative vs. progressive.2 Not to sound like a motivational speaker with a van down by the river but, seriously, be the change you want to see.

If your Christian faith is indistinguishable from conservativism, sorry, but you’re doing it wrong. If your faith is indistinguishable from progressivism, sorry, but you’re doing it wrong. If you’re loyal to any such ideology, you’re doing it wrong. The Way of Jesus is always countercultural, so nobody else offers the roadmap.3 Conservativism vs. progressivism can occasionally be helpful as a window for observation and evaluation, but it’s unhelpful as a weight-bearing structure. No kidding. There are numerous other ways of perceiving these matters that are more productive.

The original beatniks are perhaps best described as overall having been left-leaning libertarians, but 60+ years later it’s anachronistic to place them anywhere on the present ideological-political spectrum. Of the big three, Jack Kerouac was communist before growing increasingly politically apathetic as alcoholism overtook his life, Allen Ginsberg became an elder statesman in the anti-war movement, and William S. Burroughs so distrusted the government that he eventually moved to Mexico. There was room for ideological flexibility, but they never agreed to disagree.