Reconciliation Across Social Class

1
Reconciliation Across Social Class

• Andrew Sears

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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

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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

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Defining Class IdentityFour Factors of Class
Identity
Class Background
Class Access
Class Identity
Class Consciousness
Class Identification
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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)

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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

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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

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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)

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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?

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Race, Class and Gender
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Understanding Urban White Poverty
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Invisibility of Urban White Poverty
Urban Poverty by Race/Hispanic Origin (metro area)
From USDA, 1996 data, http//www.ers.usda.gov/publ
ications/rcat/rcat92/rcat92n.pdf
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Rural Poverty is Mostly Non-White
Rural Poverty by Race/Hispanic Origin
From USDA, 1996 data, http//www.ers.usda.gov/publ
ications/rcat/rcat92/rcat92n.pdf
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Understanding White Poverty Poverty Rates
Source US Census Data 2003
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Understanding White Poverty Geographic Poverty
Concentration
Source NARPAC http//www.narpac.org/RCA.HTM
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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

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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

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Understanding and Addressing Classism
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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

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Addressing Oppression with the Whole Gospel
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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?

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Classism in the Church

• Cultural
• Consumerism of members becomes class barrier
• Promoting class blindness
• Promoting class assimilation
• Upper/middle class-centric values

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Opposing/Contrasting Class Values

• 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

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Opposing/Contrasting Class Values

• 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

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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)

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Classism in Differences in Class Needs
Middle/Upper Class Needs
Lower Class Needs
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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.
  1428-29 2612)
• 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)

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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

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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

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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.

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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

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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

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Growing in Class Identity
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Appendix
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Recommended Materials

• Where We Stand Class Matters by bell hooks
• The Corporation (DVD)
• Peoples 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/cl
  ass/

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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 4Holiness
• 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.

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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 4Holiness
• 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
Race, Class and Gender Reconciliation in Churches
Race
Class
Gender
Many churches fall short by only attempting one
of the three (if any)
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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

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Americans Favor both Affirmative Action and
Affirmative Access
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Biblical Guideline on Cultural Issues

• Romans 1413-16
• 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.

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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