Is this a Bonhoeffer moment?

Following the second election of US President Donald Trump, churches in America find themselves in a time where they have an important role to play.

Ahead of President Donald Trump’s second inauguration, the incoming President attended a church service at the Washington Cathedral. Along with First Lady Milania Trump, the Vice President J.D. Vance, and Second Lady Usha Vance, Mr Trump was in attendance for a sermon from the Episcopal Bishop of Washington, Rev. Dr Mariann Edgar Budde.

In a now famous and wide-ranging sermon, Bishop Budde called for the incoming President to practice his faith and extend mercy to marginal groups concerned about the implications of his return to the Oval Office. Bishop Budde reminded Trump about God’s concern for the poor and marginalised and expressed concern for migrants whom the Trump campaign promised to deport.

“I ask you to have mercy, Mr. President, on those in our communities whose children fear that their parents will be taken away,” she said.

“And that you help those who are fleeing war zones and persecution in their own lands to find compassion and welcome here. Our God teaches us that we are to be merciful to the stranger, for we were all once strangers in this land.”

Response to Bishop Budde’s sermon was polarised. While many Americans online expressed admiration for the Bishop of Washington, one Congressman drafted a motion to censure her. Another suggested she should be deported. Trump himself wasunmoved by the service, suggesting it was “boring.” The President later claimed that Bishop Budde owed him an apology.

“She brought her church into the World of politics in a very ungracious way. She was nasty in tone, and not compelling or smart,” he said.

The Budde sermon was far from the only religious response to Trump’s agenda that was not welcomed by the Trump Administration. In an interview with Fox News, Vice President J.D. Vance suggested there was a Christian impetus to prioritise family and immediate neighbours over those in other countries.

“There’s this old-school [concept] — and I think a very Christian concept, by the way — that you love your family, and then you love your neighbour, and then you love your community, and then you love your fellow citizens in your own country, and then after that you can focus and prioritise the rest of the world,” Mr Vance said.

“A lot of the far left has completely inverted that. They seem to hate the citizens of their own country and care more about people outside their own borders. That is no way to run a society.”

In response, Pope Francis issued a response decrying Vance’s theology as being misguided.

“The true ‘ordo amoris’ that must be promoted is that which we discover by meditating constantly on the parable of the Good Samaritan, that is, by meditating on the love that builds a fraternity open to all,” wrote Francis.

Since Trump’s second term began, the incoming regime has frozen the United States’ federal budget, shutting down federal agencies and programs, including USAid and Medicare. The White House suggested Mr Trump was ensuring that all money that flowed from Washington must first align with his agenda. Multiple judges have ordered programs to resume, citing the constitution’s separation of powers. At the time of writing, there is speculation President Trump may simply ignore this.

President Trump has also ordered US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to arrest people suspected of being undocumented migrants. Some reports indicate that these raids have also arrested American citizens. In one incident, ICE arrested a Native American war veteran.

The Trump Administration has also cut the US’ Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) policies, cancelling celebrations for Black History Month, Pride, and placing federal employees hired under DEI programs on leave, with the intent to eventually end their employment. President Trump has described DEI programs as, “dangerous, demeaning, and immoral.” He has asserted that they are against the law and constitute a form of discrimination.

Comparisons have been made to another time when churches had to be brave in standing up to the state when minorities were being persecuted, and there are questions over whether the United States finds itself facing a ‘Bonhoeffer moment.’

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a Lutheran theologian and pastor who worked as part of the movement to resist Hitler, helping Jews escape Nazi Germany. For his alleged involvement in a plot to take the Fuhrer’s life, Bonhoeffer was imprisoned and executed in Flossenbürg concentration camp.

Bonhoeffer’s work, especially his books The Cost of Discipleship and Letters and Papers from Prison, is widely regarded as significant to the life of the church today, especially as it regards how the church should engage national crises.

Bonhoeffer’s contribution to theology is admired by a wide range of readers, including the Bonhoeffer Society, which considers how the martyred pastor’s work may speak to modern day issues like climate change and racial injustice. In 2017, the Society expressed concern over what it said was divisive rhetoric that had taken hold in America. In 2020, the Society publicly called for Trump to step down after his impeachment trial.

“In both statements, we offered theological and ethical insight from Bonhoeffer on discerning responsible actions in times of crisis,” said the Society in a 2021 statement.

“On the day of the baptism of his godson, in May of 1944, Bonhoeffer speaks into a context much like our own, where the dominant church, consumed by the pursuit of its own power and preservation, has not only tolerated but supported authoritarian leadership,” the society wrote.

“Bonhoeffer argues that given this troubling reality, Christians have lost their ability to proclaim a life-giving word to the world. Because ‘the words we used before must lose their power … we can be Christians today in only two ways, through prayer and in doing justice among human beings.’”

“The situation does not have to be exactly the same”

Dr James McGrath is Clarence L. Goodwin Chair in New Testament Language and Literature at Butler University in Indianapolis.

Dr McGrath told Insights he was pragmatic as to whether the current situation in the US constitutes a Bonhoeffer moment.

Whenever we talk about a, “Bonhoeffer moment,” some will immediately push back and say that it is an exaggeration to characterise Trump as like Hitler and the Republicans of today as Nazis,”

“The situation does not have to be exactly the same as Nazi Germany for resistance to be appropriate. Bonhoeffer responded to what he encountered in Harlem and not only what he encountered in Germany.  Those who share Bonhoeffer’s faith and values will refuse to go along with unjust and discriminatory things that are mandated and will accept the consequences when non-compliance with legislation brings a penalty. For the moment, we have judges and lawmakers on the front lines of resistance, in the case of the former putting a stop when the president or legislating bodies overstep their constitutional authority, the latter by voting against unjust new legislation.”

“From my perspective, the role of churches may vary depending on which church one is talking about. My own American Baptist denomination has historically stood for the separation of church and state, which does not mean that there is any obligation for clergy or other members to refrain from commentary or activism.”
“What it means is that we commit to the democratic process. We use our freedom of speech and of expression, and if challenged for non-compliance with laws that stand contrary to our religious values, we go to court to insist that the freedom of religion enshrined in the Bill of Rights applies. There is a history of permitting Christians who are strict pacifists to be exempted from military service. We can appeal to that precedent.”

Dr McGrath pointed out that Bonhoeffer’s example showed that there would be consequences for those who stood up to powerful leaders, and that nonviolent action stood as the best model for resistance.
“We may nonetheless face fines, imprisonment, loss of employment, and other consequences,” he said.

“It is important in this context to note that, despite what you will sometimes hear, there is no evidence that Bonhoeffer worked directly to attempt assassination of Adolf Hitler. The charges against him were related to various actions that subverted Nazi laws and plans, evading conscription and helping Jews escape. That sort of nonviolent civil disobedience is the best way to resist an oppressive government or society as Christians. It is crucial to remember that efforts to overcome hatred and violence through reciprocal hatred and violence tend to merely replace one oppressive regime with another.”

“There is plenty of room for legitimate debate about how many legal immigrants ought to be allowed into a country each year,” Dr McGrath said.

“That isn’t the key issue so many Christians are concerned about when it comes to the current administration’s policies and actions. They are attacking constitutional rights. They are trying to deport people irrespective of whether they fled persecution and might deserve asylum. They are ignoring other kinds of refugees.”

“These are just some examples. The main thing we need to do is to speak out boldly, to proclaim our stance openly so that those who are most directly the focus of attacks and injustice know where we stand. And of course, whenever there is a moment in which we can act, to intervene to prevent injustice and discrimination, we must do so.”

“It doesn’t matter whether one defines this as a “Bonhoeffer moment” or how broadly or narrowly one understands that label,” he said.

“We need modern day equivalents of the courageous faith of Bonhoeffer in this moment, resisting precisely what is going on today.”

What role should theology play?

Rev. Dr John Squires is a retired Uniting Church minister who has lived and worked in the United States. He told Insights he was alarmed that Trump’s ascension took place at a time when a lot of quality theology is being written in the United States. In 2024, six of the top twelve university theology departments were American schools, including at Harvard, Notre Dame, Chicago, Duke, Boston, and Yale.

“How can it be that the USA has six of the top twelve university theology departments globally  and scores of eminent biblical scholars and yet (as recent responses to and commentary on the bishop’s Inauguration Sermon attest) such a dearth of understanding, insight, compassion, and awareness about the Bible?” Rev. Dr Squires said.

Rev. Dr Squires told Insights the current situation, was an indicator theology was not making its way out of theological colleges and into wider American society.

“Unfortunately, for every theology department that offers thoughtful, critical, faithful training, there is a “school” devoted to a sausage-line production of “pastors” who these days are simply repeating the hate-based rhetoric of “truth” and “purity” that, along with a host of retrograde matters, has been given the Trump stamp-of-approval,” he said.

Solidarity across the world

Meanwhile, Uniting Church President Rev. Charissa Suli has written to Bishop Budde on behalf of the Uniting Church to express solidarity following the heated response to her sermon.

“As Christians we follow the Jesus of the Gospels, who was anointed by the Spirit for a radical ministry to the poor, the oppressed and the excluded,” Rev. Suli wrote.

“His life and teaching challenged systems of power and privilege. He modelled a new vision of God’s kingdom where the last would be first and the least would be greatest. As followers of Christ, we are called to embody this same vision as we stand with the most vulnerable and uphold the dignity of all people.”

“Your sermon was a profound call to action, not just for those with great power but for all of us who live in a deeply conflicted and divided world. They challenge us to live out our faith by prioritising our shared humanity over division, compassion over fear, and justice over complacency or complicity.”

The full letter is available to read online.

Jonathan Foye