This article is part of the Religious Freedom Reframed series, which is exploring perspectives on religious freedom that have historically been left out of public discourse, as well as implications for individuals, institutions, and society overall. In this series, authors will use a public justice framework to explore narratives that are traditionally left out of the conversation on religious freedom. This series is designed to introduce fresh perspectives, feature new voices, and examine historical and present injustices in the application of religious freedom. The Center for Public Justice, a Christian faith-based organization with a strong commitment to religious freedom, has intentionally invited authors from diverse faith traditions and perspectives on religious freedom to share their insights and experiences of religious freedom in the United States.
Editor’s Note: This article includes excerpts from Rev. Dr. Denise Strother’s recently published book Christian Men Speak Up: For Sexually Exploited Women and Children. Excerpts have been edited and arranged for brevity and clarity.
BY REV. DR. DENISE STROTHERS
Emily (name has been changed) was born in a prison hospital. She was adopted by a single woman two days later who worked three jobs to provide for her. After being molested by a family friend and raped at the age of nine, Emily’s life began to spiral out of control. Even though she reported the crimes, her abusers were never charged. Emily did not receive the necessary counseling to heal. Her adopted mother did not know how to provide the emotional care needed to deal with the insecurity, guilt, shame, and dirtiness that victims of molestation and rape often suffer.
Emily’s relationship with her mother became incredibly strained over the next several years. At the age of 12, Emily ran away from home to meet up with a friend she met online who lived in another city. Emily’s friend introduced her to drugs, took her to a house where strangers were also doing drugs, and left her, saying she’d be right back. Emily found herself sitting next to a man who simply asked if she was okay. For the first time since she was nine years old, someone wanted to know if she was okay. Within minutes, the man knew everything about her victimization, broken relationships, and running away from home. This was the beginning of Emily being targeted and groomed by a human trafficker.
The Department of Homeland Security defines human trafficking as “modern-day slavery that involves the use of force, fraud, or coercion to obtain some type of labor or commercial sex act.” Human trafficking is a pervasive and challenging social issue in our world today. In Emily’s story, this young woman was so vulnerable that her trafficker had gained control over her within seconds with little effort, which unfortunately happens to young women who run away from home everyday. Emily’s trafficker gave her everything that she asked for to ensure her dependence upon him. Once this stage of the process has taken root, traffickers bein the next phase of grooming, which involves coercing or forcing their victims to have sex with men for money. When Emily strongly objected, the trafficker called her names, and reminded her that no one wanted her except him. Her cries of wanting to go home did not stop him.
ENDING HUMAN TRAFFICKING - A PUBLIC JUSTICE APPROACH
Christian thought has, for hundreds of years, been heavily involved in the shaping of laws and policies surrounding the exploitation of women and children. Although an increasing number of faith-based organizations and congregations are responding to issues of human trafficking, the response cannot be limited to acts of service. Christian individuals and institutions also must seriously consider how they can take an active part in the shaping of political communities and governments towards the upholding of public justice. This type of response to human trafficking necessarily involves the embodiment of the central animating tenets of the Christian faith — love your neighbor as yourself.
“It is essential that faith-based providers, community organizations and government all work together to address this complex social challenge.”
Public justice requires us, as Christian citizens, to ask: How can we love our neighbors as ourselves in our pluralistic political community? What are God's good purposes for government? And what are God's good purposes for groups — like families, churches and nonprofits — in which their primary purposes are not political?
A public justice approach recognizes that human trafficking cannot be stopped by government alone. Diverse civil society organizations, including families, worship communities, schools and local businesses, all must draw on their own distinct assets and capacities to contribute to a holistic solution. Therefore, it is essential that faith-based providers, community organizations and government all work together to address this complex social challenge. It is essential for Christian citizens, as well as their churches and leaders, to examine the underlying cultural drivers that impact human trafficking, and consider how public justice calls them, with their own unique God-given gifts capacities, to address not just the devastating results of human trafficking, but to address the deep-seated roots of this issue. A holistic, loving approach to addressing this issue will take up questions of education, service, and citizenship.
AN ETHIC OF LOVE TO END HUMAN TRAFFICKING
The Christian concept of neighborly love is central to addressing human trafficking. In this context, love of neighbor must extend beyond those with whom we share geographic proximity or other affinities or cultural commonalities to all members of the human family who are oppressed by trafficking. The Parable of the Good Samaritan encapsulates this ethos: “Christ asked ‘Which of these...do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?’ The expert in the law replied, ‘The one who had mercy on him.’ Jesus told him, ‘Go and do likewise’” (Luke 10:36-37).
Dr. Jaqueline Rivers, borrowing from Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, calls the kind of human care expressed in the Parable of the Good Samaritan an ‘ethic of love.’ She states in a recent law review article: “King developed his own synthesis: an ethic of love at the interpersonal level combined with the use of political power to overcome opposition to social justice at the societal level. King opined: ‘The balanced Christian must be both loving and realistic...love seeks out the needs of others.’”
What can we learn about how love is taught and lived in congregations and faith-based organizations through the lens of standing up to end human trafficking? Recently, I conducted a research study, for my dissertation, of over 300 men, over the age of 18, attending church regularly, and living in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area. This study led me to write a book, called Christian Men Speak Up: For Sexually Exploited Women and Children. The goal of the book was to raise awareness, particularly for leaders of many churches and faith-based organizations, of their crucial role in embodying an ethic of love in ending human trafficking.
THE POWER OF ENACTED RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
Congregational communities, and Black churches in particular, have the capacity to enact their spiritual and religious precepts not only for their own benefit, but for the well-being of their communities. The ability to live out one’s sincerely held faith tenets is an essential prerequisite for them to engage in acts of service and advocacy based on those sacred beliefs. This freedom to enact sacred values, individually and communally, privately and in the public square, through explicitly religious actions like prayer and worship and through innately religious acts of service and citizenship, is the heart of religious freedom. Enacted religious freedom is simply the embodiment of one’s faith in the service/advocacy of others. When religious freedom is denied to individuals and to organizations, they are unable to fulfill not only their rights, but they are unable to fulfill what they believe are their divinely ordained responsibilities to their neighbors. In this way, without religious freedom as a necessary precondition, faith-based and spiritually based organizations would not be able to live out their sacred missions to advance justice and human flourishing in social issues to which they have a sacred calling, like human trafficking.
Religious freedom is a central precondition to catalyzing humans to reach the fullness of their God-given capacities and image-bearing potentiality. I emphasize the theological basis for the centrality of freedom in the Christian tradition because Christ came to set all members of the human family free to seek and find what is sacred for themselves.
The gospel is a proclamation of liberty, like that to Israel in Egypt. Sins may be loosed from the bonds of guilt, and by His Spirit and grace, set free from the bondage of corruption. A gospel-centered mission always includes calling individuals to place their faith and trust in Jesus. The gospel is activated in the gracious work of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. When anyone repents of their sins and confesses Jesus as their Lord, their relationship with God is restored. Christ is central to a biblically informed view of the church’s calling to the world.
“The trafficking of women and children is an affront to all that Christianity represents, the redeeming God who sets the captives free. ”
Emphasizing deliverance highlights a critical biblical theme: when God redeems people, he brings physical, emotional, psychological, relational and societal healing and freedom to the brokenness of our world. Since this is true, it is right for God’s people to embrace acts of mercy and justice as part of their participation in God’s mission. The gospel of Jesus Christ is the saving and gracious work of God to redeem people. At its core, the gospel is God's work to set those held in captivity free from their bondage. The church declares what God has done and will do in Christ because of God’s work. The gospel comes in power and affects people and the world. Individuals are resurrected from death to life, from slavery to freedom through God’s redeeming work.
My book explores how churches and ministries are vital players in the effort to end human trafficking and advance justice for the survivors of human trafficking. It is widely recognized in many studies that congregations and faith-based organizations play an important role in cultivating economic health, building social capital, providing social services, and advancing positive civic actions. However, the research specifically on the social impact of the Black Church is disproportionately lacking, and what little research does exist is outdated. Dr. Rivers suggests in a recent paper that; “[congregational] studies...found that the content of sermons was relevant to social action: the frequency of sermons about the love of God was related to the number of [social] services [congregations provided the community].” Rev. Rivers writes, “At this moment in history, the church must once again engage in the spiritual [work of love] that will transform society and renew culture.” Christian churches have the capacity to effectively engage not only in serving survivors of human trafficking, but also in enacting religious freedom to advocate for public justice to be advanced to end human trafficking.
HOW THE BODY OF CHRIST CAN EMBODY THEIR FREEDOM TO RESPOND TO HUMAN TRAFFICKING
The church and society are confronted with the injustice and cruelty of sex trafficking, understanding that it is incompatible with the love of God. Any serious followers of Christ must be open to transformation in their own hearts and seek to raise the awareness and sensitivity of those in their sphere of influence. Christian leaders and institutions are being called to protect and become advocates for women, children, and victims. Those who oppress the poor insult their Maker, but helping the poor honors Him. Scripture supports the view that Christians should work towards the eradication of human trafficking, but without condemning the survivors of human trafficking themselves. For example, Tamar and Rahab became more righteous than those who adhered to cultural and religious norms. The taboos and prejudices that often accompany the discussion of the topic and the ambivalence that has been characteristic of the church’s approach to tackling the problem, are mostly the product of human fear rather than being congruent with the love of God.
What forever remains true, all laws and instructions must be measured against all moral requirements encapsulated in the law of love. Equally true is that disciples of Christ must declare the Bible’s central message of God’s redeeming love for humanity and that slavery is incompatible with that message. Christians are not called to condemn human trafficking, but the Bible informs the redeemed people of God, to no longer be held captive to the ambitions and power struggles of the world. Christians are free to work for justice, dignity, and freedom that are at the heart of God’s vision for his people. Christians are free to answer the call to identify with the most vulnerable in society. The trafficking of women and children is an affront to all that Christianity represents, the redeeming God who sets the captives free.
If you are interested in getting your own faith community engaged in enacting love in the public square by advocating for the survivors of human trafficking, consider taking the following steps:
Consider becoming part of Healing Communities USA, a network of congregational communities and ministries committed to making their communities ‘Stations of Hope’ for those on the margins, particularly returning citizens and survivors of human trafficking, who are often one and the same.
Consider engaging in the Department of Homeland Security's Blue Campaign Faith-Based and Community Toolkit to fight human trafficking. This toolkit “offers public awareness messaging and resources to engage your religious community on human trafficking. It also includes content that can be displayed in houses of worship, during community events, and in public places.”
Consider forming a Political Discipleship Group to address human trafficking with a public official in your local community. The Center for Public Justice’s Political Discipleship is a guide for active Christian citizenship, designed to empower people with skills and tools to shape policy and address inequality and injustice in their communities. It is designed to help small groups explore faithful, Christian citizenship by practicing citizenship together. Political Discipleship meets for 11 sessions, culminating in a face-to-face meeting with a public official.
Rev. Dr. Denise Strothers recently received her Doctor of Ministry (DMin) at Howard University School of Divinity. Denise recently published her first book Christian Men Speak Up: For Sexually Exploited Women and Children, which centers on the sexual exploitation of women and children, and how the Church can speak up on their behalf. Denise also serves as the national director of operations for Healing Communities, a non-profit prison reentry organization. Healing Communities challenges congregations to become Stations of Hope: communities that help returning citizens connect to their faith, and equip them with political understanding and advocacy. She coordinates a Station of Hope in the Washington D.C. area. Denise was a 2018 Sacred Sector Fellow with the Center for Public Justice (CPJ) and now serves as a trustee with CPJ.
READ MORE FROM THIS SERIES
Introducing Religious Freedom Reframed by Joshua Seiersen and Chelsea Langston Bombino
The Paradox of the Black Church and Religious Freedom by Jacqueline C. Rivers, Ph.D.
Religious Freedom Reframed: A Conversation with the Next Generation by Minister Kerwin Webb
Correcting Blindness in the Religious Freedom Landscape by Joshua Seiersen
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