Trump Is Destructive, But People of Faith Are Pushing Back

If you walk to the Sojourners office from Union Station in Washington, D.C., you’ll pass the headquarters of the Heritage Foundation, the conservative think tank that created Project 2025. This week, to celebrate the first 100 days of President Donald Trump’s second term, they put up a giant poster on the side of the building featuring Trump’s official portrait and a list of his “accomplishments.” I use air quotes because the list employs political doublespeak, including things like “dismantling the administrative state” and “removing government waste” — despite estimates from the Partnership for Public Service that firings, re-hirings, lost productivity, and paid leave of thousands of workers will cost upward of $135 billion this fiscal year, roughly equal to the $150 billion the Department of Government Efficiency has promised to find in “savings.”

There’s been plenty of coverage of what Trump and his administration have done in their first 100 days. In the conservative media ecosystem, this coverage appears as disinformation-riddled praise for how Trump has restored America’s greatness and created renewed prosperity. In mainstream media outlets, this coverage is often focused on cataloguing the harms of policies that often felt chaotic or cruel. And while I’m grateful for those who ensure the public has an accurate understanding of the impact of Trump’s decisions, there’s another set of stories beneath those headlines that rarely get as much attention: how people have consistently been taking courageous action to counter these harms.

These stories are important because there are growing signs that those of us who have met these first 100 days with lament and anger are in no way alone. Earlier this week, a PRRI poll found that “Americans remain strongly committed to our system of checks and balances, strongly disagreeing that the president should ignore the actions of Congress or the Supreme Court,” with a majority expressing disapproval for Trump, including his slashing of the federal workforce and handling of economic issues. Other polling shows that Trump’s approval rating has dropped steadily since inauguration and that the public is becoming increasingly concerned about Trump’s handling of immigration issues, especially his handling of student visas or high-profile cases like Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland man who was deported by mistake. Expressing concern in a poll isn’t the same as taking action, of course, but it’s an important first step; people who feel concerned may be spurred to greater opposition and moral action if they were presented with examples of how to do so.

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And the good news is that there are plenty of examples of how people have already taken collective action, including visible demonstrations like Hands Off protests and the #50501 movements. But there are more subtle examples, too. Building and strengthening a big-tent pro-democracy movement will require many kinds of efforts. Pro-democracy organizers, like those at The Horizons Project, identify three main categories of work that help prevent a slide into authoritarianism: blocking anti-democratic practices, bridging across difference, and building strong and resilient democracies. It is important to note that these components are often overlapping and mutually reinforcing and that we shouldn’t rely upon or get stuck in just one category. For example, while we desperately need a lot more courageous resistance (blocking) against harmful policies and actions, we don’t want to be defined only around what we are against; we must push forward a positive vision of a future that is rooted in our shared values and aspirations. As a Christian, the block, bridge, build framework reminds me of the Apostle Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 12: one body, many parts. As we look for stories of courageous action, we must remember that not everyone has the same role — nor can any of us accomplish our work alone.

Block

Organizers define blocking as resisting threats to our freedoms and democratic values and protecting those who could be harmed. It’s the kind of action Jesus talked about in Matthew 25 when he said that whatever we do to help — or hurt — the least of the these is considered action done unto Jesus himself. Our faith tells us we have an obligation to offer aid and protection to those who are in harm’s way.

In the first 100 days of Trump’s second term, people of faith and conscience have often played a major role in efforts to block harm: SojoAction, our advocacy team here at Sojourners, has helped lead weekly vigils outside the U.S. Capitol building every Wednesday, calling on Congress to take action to stop the abuse of power by the new administration. Rev. William Barber II, founder of the Moral Mondays movement in North Carolina, was arrested this week along with two other faith leaders as he prayed in the Capitol rotunda after holding a rally to “sound the alarm on the immoral budget cuts [...] being pursued in Washington, D.C. at the expense of the poor, working people, children, women, and families.” A large coalition of denominations and faith-based organizations are planning a big march and lobby day at the Capitol on June 10, just after Pentecost Sunday.

Houses of worship have learned practical ways their congregation can take action to protect migrants, including supporting those being targeted for deportation. Faith-based groups have also sued the administration over its policy allowing ICE raids in houses of worship and other sensitive locations — just one of several lawsuits filed by religious groups challenging Trump’s actions and policies. Many people of faith have participated in the Tesla Takedown movement, aimed at applying economic pressure on Elon Musk to back off from his attacks on the federal workforce. Faith leaders are also at the forefront of making both practical and moral arguments against Trump’s attempt to revoke birthright citizenship.

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Bridge

Bridging involves building relationships and engaging in brave dialogue across cultural, educational and ideological differences, including with people with whom we may fiercely disagree. This is the kind of work, which is often rooted in curiosity and deep listening, is akin to what the Apostle Paul speaks of in 2 Corinthians 5: 11 when he says, “Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade others.”

This is challenging work, especially at a time when toxic polarization is impacting every aspect of our society, including the church. While we must always prioritize our own safety, bridgebuilding recognizes that our ultimate aim is liberation and justice for all, work that requires us to build relationships and invite everyone into God’s transformative work—and resist the urge to demonize our opponents. Many of these bridgebuilding efforts are time consuming and extend well beyond the scope of the past 100 days (or the next). For example, the One America Movement has several initiatives focused on reducing polarization, including the Matthew 5:9 Fellowship, which focuses on equipping evangelical Christian leaders to be peacemakers in their communities and connecting them with others doing the same. The After Party is a collection of resources created by the nonprofit Redeeming Babel designed to help Christians find a healthier relationship between faith and politics that recenters Jesus.

Here at Sojourners, we helped create “A Call to Civic Discipleship,” which brought together Christian leaders from across the political spectrum to articulate common principles of a faithful approach to Christian engagement in politics and civic life. My SojoAction colleagues have also been hosting a regular webinar series aimed at helping equip faith leaders for bridge building.

Even as we prophetically expose hypocrisy and the harms that so many of the administration’s policies are causing to vulnerable communities, we must always resist the temptation to hold contempt for other Americans and Christians who continue to support the president or his agenda.

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Build

Building is both about casting an alternative vision for the future we are seeking to co-create and taking day-to-day actions that help us live into that vision. When we build, we boldly take steps to enact a moral vision that is rooted in God’s reign of righteousness, justice, and steadfast love. It’s the kind of work talked about in Romans 12:2, which instructs us not to conform to the patterns of the world, but instead, allow ourselves to be transformed in alignment with God’s will.

Everywhere you look, you can find people of faith working to envision a better, stronger, and more resilient democracy that enables everyone to thrive. Writers have published many excellent articles to help provide both spiritual sustenance and practical advice to keep building the future we want to see. Protect Democracy created a toolkit for faith organizations and houses of worship on how to organize and train faith communities for collective action. Women Building Peace is organizing quilting events around the country, including at the U.S. Capitol, to stitch messages to Congressional leaders about the kind of democracy they want to protect and build. Amazing women leaders are shaping the church in the United States and around the world in profound ways that will reverberate for generations to come. 

As Julia Roig of The Horizons Project explains, the point of using the block, bridge, build framework isn’t to convince others that our preferred way of taking action is the best or only one; some people will be more naturally drawn or equipped to do blocking work while others feel called to do the slow work of bridging or the future-oriented work of building. Roig likens this work to a jazz band in which everyone plays a different instrument, not necessarily harmonizing or following set music, but listening deeply to each other as we advance toward a shared future.

Ultimately, I continue to believe that it is the hopeful and unifying moral vision of the Beloved Community that best captures the world that people of faith and conscience around the country want to see. Even in fearful times when political leaders and the dominant culture can make us feel overwhelmed, fatigued, or powerless, the difficult but often joyful work to create a society where everyone is equally valued and able to thrive remains imperative. We can take heart not just that such a mighty cloud of witnesses has gone before us, but co-laborers in this sacred work of blocking, bridging, and building can be found all around us if we know where to look. Let us join together to magnify and strengthen this sacred work.