In the face of the Ferguson, Missouri, and Baltimore riots, there has been much media coverage on the police, how they do their jobs safely and effectively, and whether they're protecting the people they serve instead of harming them. A number of Christian denominations have weighed in on the issue, and many of them have showcased liberal views.
Here are seven Christian denominations with liberal stances on police:
1. Catholic Church
While the
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops said in 1994 that neighborhood partnerships with police was one way to help subdue a culture of violence, the recent racially-charged clashes with law enforcement led a number of Catholic theologians to release a statement saying that Catholics should "raise [their] voices about the imperative of a just peace in fragmented and violent world."
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2. Lutheran
One way the Lutheran church is advocating on behalf of citizens was to encourage the U.S. Senate to pass the Death in Custody Reporting Act, which would require all law enforcement agencies to record the number of people who died in police custody.
According to the Lutheran website, the church also supported the march in Washington D.C. last December that protested police violence against men of color.
3. Presbyterian
After the killings of Michael Brown and Eric Garner, Rev. Dr. J. Herbert Nelson, II – the director of the
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Office of Public Witness – wrote in a statement, "As Presbyterians, we must stop giving lip service to a new Church while failing to confront the vestiges of racism in our church and society ... it is imperative that local congregations not remain silent and idle amid community strife. Nor can we be out of touch with the realities of racism, which still exist in the United States."
4. Methodist
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After the grand juries failed to indict the police officers involved in the killing of Brown and Garner, the Methodist's General Board of Church and Society urged local communities to advocate by evaluating "law enforcement practices and legal procedures," establishing "citizen review boards when deadly force is used by law enforcement against unarmed individuals," and establishing "economic and social systems that ensure the welfare of all citizens by providing racial justice and equity."
https://umc-gbcs.org/faith-in-action/repent-reconcile-restore
5. Baptist
The Progressive National Baptist Convention condemned the violent riots that occurred in Baltimore, but in a statement, the president of the Convention said, "We also condemn the system that consistently ignores the need to engage in urban revitalization and providing jobs that pay a livable wage. Until the larger underlying issues are addressed, this frustration will erupt again and again."
6. Quakers
Traditionally, the Quakers have, in their words, stood "with marginalized groups and work[ed] on unpopular issues." After the Baltimore riots, the director of a Friend of a Friend program in that city
wrote on the American Friends Service Committee website, "Now is the time to renew the spirit of our activism. Now is the time to stand with those who have had to remind the world that #BlackLivesMatter."
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7. Pentecostals
In late 2014, a number of predominantly black churches wore black to Sunday services in order to honor the memory of those killed at the hands of police. Said Bishop Charles E. Blake, the leader of the largest Pentecostal group in this country,
via CBS News: "Police forces are charged with protecting all our citizens. In a very special way, they are to abide by the laws they are called to enforce. They should not bring fear to our citizens, but rather confidence.”