When four year-old Abigail Evans burst into tears for no apparent reason, her mother asked what was making her so sad.  “I’m tired of Bronco Bama and Mitt Romney,” Abigail wailed between sniffles.  Mamma Evans didn’t switch off NPR, but she assured her daughter that the election would soon be over.  And so it will.  But the intense polarization generated by a particularly nasty election cycle is sure to linger on.

For strongly liberal or conservative churches, culture war politics isn’t a huge problem.  Virtually every member of the congregation votes for the same party.  But churches in the moderate middle have a hard time negotiating the minefield of American politics.  Preachers know that the slightest hint of political partisanship could alienate a significant swath of the congregation.  Sunday school etiquette places political references off limits.  Sunday school is supposed to be therapeutic, not traumatic.  So we make nice and stick to safe topics. (more…)