Political labeling has some relevance to evolution of Christianity

America is divided between liberals and conservatives with middle-of-the-road moderates filling in the between. Weary of the tags, some of my friends want to be called progressives. Liberals are Democrats; conservatives are Republicans; and moderates and progressives call themselves nonpartisans or unaffiliated. Many people would welcome a different way of speaking about one another.

The difficulty with labels was brought to my mind again when I read the most recent research of the Barna Group about Hispanics. Over the years, I have used Barna Group research as a high quality, reliable source of information. This latest research was about Hispanics and the political implications of this fastest growing segment of our population. About 600,000 Hispanics turn 18 each year. That is growth of 2.5 million Hispanic voters from presidential election to presidential election.

When in graduate school, one of the more helpful classes that were required included a section on research and statistics. An important message that was communicated was that all research, especially social research, must be read with a critical eye. Control of social research is held by the person or persons who formulate the questions. The way a question is framed has a heavy influence on the results and conclusions reached. The pool of people who are questioned is very subject to question. At times, the unasked question is more important than those asked. Questioning a researcher’s motives becomes a bit tricky, but it is a part of the research game.

I read the Barna research and asked what was meant by Hispanic. Hispanic is not a nationality or a race. It is not an ethnic category. It is a category that took root when the U.S. Census Bureau began using the term in 1970. The word suggests that it is about people who were in any way connected to Spain. Spain was one of the great colonizers in world history and was very successful in the Caribbean Islands and Central and South America. Spanish became the language of all those areas except Brazil, which was colonized by Portugal. Those areas that were colonized by Spaniards were already populated with indigenous clans and tribes.

In the 21st century, who is Hispanic? How do a Haitian American, a Puerto Rican American, a Cuban American, a Mexican American and a Chilean American fall into a common category called Hispanic? How can the word “Hispanic” be used in responsible social research?

Once our immigrant friends from the Iberian Peninsula, Cuba, Haiti, Venezuela and Mexico arrive in America they become quite Americanized in two generations, forsake the Spanish language and begin marrying Americans with dissimilar backgrounds. They still have Spanish sounding names. Are they still Hispanics? Is Hispanic a meaningful term in a nation of incredible diversity?

The Barna Group research blunders when it concludes that Hispanics are overwhelmingly social conservatives because they have traditional family values, reject abortions and oppose gay marriage. Can those three standards be used to define the meaning of a social conservative? Is the Barna Group suggesting that a person who supports gay marriage and freedom of choice for women should be called liberal?

Hispanic is no longer a useful word in understanding the social, religious and political upheavals that are taking place in America. In the same way, liberal and conservative also have lost their usefulness in describing American life.

I would describe the experience of immigrants into the United States as a process of becoming something other than their past. I would describe what is happening to religion in America in the same way. Notably, Christianity is evolving into forms that better address life in an ever-changing society. New churches unrelated to any historic denomination are popping up constantly like popcorn in a large kettle.

I question whether conservative and liberal have ever been helpful words with which to describe the varieties of Christian groups and organizations. Many of the new churches that are appearing defy description as liberal or conservative.

In today’s America, the words conservative and liberal not only have lost any usefulness that they ever had, they have become barriers to honest and helpful discussions and conversations.

I read the report of the Barna Group’s research on Hispanics with great disappointment. Its use of the word certainly has precedence. The U.S. Census Bureau’s use of the word would suggest that it is a viable category for research. I say it is indefensible and only leads to a shallow understanding of the true diversity of the U.S. population. The use of the words liberal and conservative also has precedence. They are used by political pundits and religious leaders every day. I say their use of the two words indicate shallow understanding and poor communication skills. America is politically, socially and religiously very diverse. Let’s do a better job of word selection. We have a lot to talk about.

The Rev. Howard Bess is a retired American Baptist minister who lives in Palmer. His email address is hdbss@mtaonline.net.

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