Dr. Ana Alves speaking to the students, parents, and teachers at Tennessee Christian Preparatory Academy.
Dr. Ana Alves, assistant professor of political science at Lee University, spoke on faith and politics at Tennessee Christian Preparatory School for a special event on the recent presidential election.
Dr. Alves’ lecture, “Thoughts on Christianity and American Politics,” discussed how the Christian faith ought to be the primary source of the identity of the believer. When identities inform preferences, then Christian faith, by forming one’s identity, also informs one’s political preferences. She continued her lecture on how, for believers, being a Christian must take precedence over sources of identity, including national identity.
Dr. Alves also invited the audience to rethink where primary allegiances lie based on primary identity as Christians. Exploring Ephesians 2, she emphasized the importance of unity among Christians across national, ethnic, racial, and other divides, since at the cross Christ “destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility” that had previously existed between people groups.
She ended her talk challenging the audience to consider that, in the light of the New Testament, there is no “Christian nation” or “Christian state.” Instead, the New Testament depicts believers spread across nations.
"I was honored to join Tennessee Christian Preparatory School students, teachers, and parents in celebrating democracy in America and thoughtfully considering the impacts of our faith in Jesus Christ upon American culture and the political system,” said Dr. Alves. “It’s a blessing to be able to live in a country whose political system allows us the freedom to love one another and love our enemies as our Lord taught us to do, not only in our private lives, but in the public sphere as well. I really appreciated the opportunity offered by TCPS to reflect with them on what Jesus’ radical commandment to love looks like in the context of our political institutions.”
Students, parents, and teachers filled the cafeteria for Dr. Alves’ presentation.
“We could not pass up this election as a chance to teach the election process in all of our classes,” said Rachel Campbell, teacher at TCPS. “All of their learning and projects culminated into our election night on Nov. 7. We were truly honored to have Dr. Alves speak to our school body about the true balance between our special nation and our unique responsibility as Christians within it.”
For more information about Lee’s political science program, contact Dr. Alves at aalves@leeuniversity.edu.