ON NOV. 21, 2025, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution that Congress’ formal position on socialism is to denounce it “in all its forms.”
Certain sectors of Christian media are also denouncing socialism. Mark Creech, a pastor with the Christian Action League of North Carolina, wrote in The Christian Post that socialism is the political equivalent of “lipstick on a pig” because it preaches deliverance through the economy rather than salvation through Christ. The Federalist ran a piece arguing that pastors supporting socialist politicians automatically disqualify themselves from their ministerial roles. In 2020, conservative leader Charlie Kirk argued American Christianity needed a “new reformation” against socialism to secure the good Christian life for Americans.
Considering the above, a person could be forgiven for believing that socialism, Christianity, and democracy are completely incompatible.
My stand, however, as a Christian and a democratic socialist, is that my discipleship to Christ requires that I critique greed, the accumulation of private wealth, and exploitation of workers, using Matthew 6:24 as my guide: “You cannot serve both God and money.”
Democratic socialism today is a means toward an end. The goal is not the imposition of Christian values, but that our Christian values serve as a means for organizing with a broader struggle of the working class. The democratic socialist agenda promotes the abolition of capitalism by democratic means so that the majority working class can primarily influence government and economic policy rather than the minority wealthy class. Such systems of economic violence must be dismantled through organizing, voting, labor unions, and public ownership to advance the just sharing of resources and possessions generated through labor.
I spoke with Gavin M. Chase, a theology student pursuing a doctorate at Villanova University, who also believes that Christians can embrace democratic socialism as part of faithfully following Jesus in the U.S. today. For Chase, socialism is an economic system that pursues “the welfare and well-being of people in society regardless of economic status,” he told me. It is precisely Chase’s Christian faith that compelled him to become a member of the Democratic Socialists of America and to organize with his local chapter. “Considering ‘the least of these’ is why my Christian faith compels me to socialism. If I look at the social economic system and who is extending their hands to the least of these, it is democratic socialists who are for working class folk,” Chase said.
With Donald Trump’s return to the Oval Office in 2024, the Institute for Christian Socialism reaffirmed its commitment to the “socialism of Jesus’ gospel.” ICS encourages reading the gospel through an anti-capitalist lens. “The gospel entails a commitment not just to resisting or reforming capitalism, but to overturning it, while working toward new forms of political economy that are life-sustaining, egalitarian, and just,” according to the ICS website.
Democratic socialism, as one method for Christian discipleship and mission, has a history rooted in Christianity’s prophetic critique of unjust economic systems. The early Jesus followers did not claim “any of their possessions [as] their own” (Acts 4:32). The Apostle Paul called for redistributing wealth, saying, “At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. The goal is equality” (2 Corinthians 8:14).
Democratic socialism does not betray a Christian economic critique. It can enliven it.
In 1904, George Washington Woodbey, a formerly enslaved Baptist preacher, published The Bible and Socialism as a means to abolish wage slavery. Martin Luther King Jr. said in 1968, “If America does not use her vast resources of wealth to end poverty and make it possible for all of God’s children to have the basic necessities of life, she, too, will go to hell.”
One must always beware of political movements that promise a utopian salvation, but modern democratic socialism does not betray a Christian economic critique and call to wealth redistribution. It can enliven it.
When democratic socialist candidates win elections, what lessons should Christians take away? Zohran Mamdani—a Muslim member of both the Democratic Party and Democratic Socialists of America—took New York City’s mayoralty in November, receiving 43% of Protestant votes (who skew heavily Black there) and one-third of Catholic votes (largely Hispanic). While a multiracial working-class coalition supported Mamdani’s economic platform and his celebration of interfaith cooperation, prominent wealthier and white Christian figures disparaged his approach. On the other hand, many working people continue to embrace Mamdani’s democratic socialist economic agenda.
Christ calls followers of all economic classes to solidarity with and close listening to those most impacted by capitalism’s violence. As Christians, we strive for a society in which the wealthy no longer have exclusive authority, where billionaires and trillionaires no longer determine who gets to live or die. We work toward a truly pluralistic society where Christianity is not ruler, but servant and co-laborer. We follow Jesus, who declared in Luke 6, “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God” (verse 20).
Yanan (or Abdul) is a theologian from the Philippines. He writes about Christian radical politics, and his writing has appeared in BitterSweet Monthly, Interfaith America, the Institute for Christian Socialism, and other outlets.
Did this article have an impact on you? Tell us how! Whether you’re moved to take action, have a question, or want to share a comment (good or bad), we value your feedback!
