The head of the World Council of Churches, Heinrich Bedford-Strohm, has issued a stark warning, asserting that Christianity faces an increasing threat from political manipulation and exploitation. In an interview with Funke-Mediengruppe newspapers, Bedford-Strohm, a former chairman of the Evangelical Church in Germany, voiced deep concerns over the instrumentalization of Christian values for political gain, citing examples spanning the globe.
A particular focus of his criticism was the actions of US President Donald Trump. Bedford-Strohm condemned Trump’s initiative to publish a personal edition of the Bible, arguing that it rings hollow given the president’s often-contradictory behavior, including dehumanizing language towards individuals and harsh policies towards refugees. “We must fight, particularly at Christmas time, to end this complete instrumentalization of Christianity for political purposes” Bedford-Strohm urged, asserting that such actions undermine the core tenets of Christian belief. He highlighted observations within American evangelical circles of political figures purposefully leveraging church services to propagate ideological agendas.
The abuse of religion also extends beyond US borders, Bedford-Strohm argued, condemning Russian President Vladimir Putin’s use of a supposed “Christian culture” to justify the brutal invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent targeting of civilian populations. He emphatically stated that such actions represent the antithesis of Christian principles, demanding a critical examination of these manipulations during the Christmas season.
Within Germany itself, Bedford-Strohm expressed alarm regarding the increasingly prevalent appropriation of Christianity by the far-right AfD party. He characterized the AfD’s claims of protecting Christianity, particularly against Muslim refugees, as fundamentally incompatible with the teachings of Jesus Christ. While emphasizing the importance of engaging with individual AfD voters on a human level, he maintained a clear stance: “The politics of the AfD are in clear contradiction to what Christianity stands for.
The World Council of Churches, a coalition of over 350 churches encompassing 600 million members, has long served as a platform for interfaith dialogue and advocacy. Bedford-Strohm’s statements underscore a growing apprehension within these communities about the potential for political agendas to distort and damage the integrity of Christian faith and its values worldwide, demanding a renewed commitment to upholding its core principles against instrumentalization.
