Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep.
–Romans 12:15
One statistic did it.
I’ve been trying to make sense of the mess humanity has made of things, and I think I found the culprit.
This is according to a PRRI report released Tuesday (Oct. 20):
While two-thirds of Americans —including 84% of Democrats and 70% of independents — agree that “empathy is a foundational moral value that helps build a healthy society” (68%), only 54% of Republicans and 42% of white evangelical Protestants agree. Notably, a majority of white evangelical Protestants (54%) believe the opposite: that “empathy can become dangerous when it leads people away from building a society guided by God’s truth.”
I never knew people could believe that empathy wasn’t an essential component of God’s truth. I thought we were just born with that as foundational to being human.
There are a great many people, not just evangelicals or Republicans, who believe Truth and empathy can be mutually exclusive.
It explains some things. In the past couple years, I’ve watched attacks on immigrants, trans and other LGBTQIA+ people, Haitians, Muslims, Jews, Palestinians, Democrats, Republicans, women and poor people.
Now it makes more sense. Some people have learned to distrust or deny the gift of feeling another’s pain.
I should know this, because I, too, feel that way from time to time. I am especially intolerant of intolerant people.
It doesn’t have to be this way.
Empathy is a quality that is lifted up by nearly every major world religion, and by non-religious people, too.
The Bible is literally soaking with empathy. Remember Jesus and the woman caught in adultery? Remember Jesus weeping over Jerusalem?
If you’ve heard a prayer of confession in a mainline Protestant church, you may have heard this phrase at the end of it: Hear the Good News: Christ died for us while we were sinners. That proves God’s love for us.
That is a pretty standard “assurance of pardon,” but I’d like to rename that statement: Assurance of Empathy.
Why did Christ come to Earth? Because God felt empathy for God’s children. We’re instructed to love God with our whole hearts, minds, and strength, and our neighbors as ourselves. That’s not just an idea — it’s a way of life, modeled for us by Jesus, God’s gift to the world.
Personally, I can’t separate empathy from God’s truth.
It’s not too late to instill it in others. Solid research shows that it can be learned. (PubMed) All we need are some very dedicated and patient teachers. That includes you!
It only works if we practice what we teach. It’s something we all need to be working on with our children, friends, co-workers, and strangers.
There’s hope for all of us. But if you fall into occasional despair that empathy isn’t universal,
all I can say is,
I feel you.
Have a great week,
Mitch
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