The tendency to push religion away from the public arena technically deprives a true Christian of his/ her right to express themselves fully. Contrary to what many people may think, Christianity is supposed to be a way of life and not a religious practice which you can activate or deactivate depending on your environment or location. Therefore, asking a Christian to practice his religion away from the public arena is akin to telling him to live one version of his life in private and a different version when in public. Any compromises in the expression and application of these beliefs and practices negatively affect a Christian’s life (Hindson, 2003).
While responding to what area of my life depicts the sacred/ secular divide, many things come to mind. At the place of work, for instance, any traces of religion are being phased away with people being discouraged from even having group devotions in the morning before work since work is considered a secular space that should not be affected by sacred activities. My freedom of speech has also been affected to depict this sacred/ secular divide since I’m not able to actively speak out against particular ills in the society that are against bible teachings e.g. homosexuality, same-sex marriages among others. Christians are being forced to view these things as happening in the secular area of their lives such as work and they should only react against them in their private lives despite the bible asking them to speak out against these ills.
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The first method of eliminating the sacred/ secular divide in my sphere of influence is to overcome the fear of publicly proclaiming God’s word in public and actively living my Christian beliefs. Another method would be to locate other groups of Christians within my locality with whom we can encourage and support each other to do away with the divide. Living a Christian life is a life-long process and like-minded individuals play a great role in encouraging a Christian during down and trying moments (Hindson, 2003). Fellow Christians may even join and form a group that is able to fight for their right to practice their beliefs openly in the public without persecution.
References
Hindson, E. (2003). Courageous Faith: Life Lessons from Old Testament Heroes, AMG Publishers, Chattanooga, Tennessee.
