Written by Lynn Buske, JONAH Organizer, and edited by Jen Barnet, JONAH President
It is high time I addressed the giant whale in the room.
During my eight years of organizing with JONAH, I have heard one concern more consistently than almost any other:
“JONAH is too political.”
Those words often end a conversation before it begins. They create a boundary—a firm “no”—without giving us an opportunity to explore what “political” means, what JONAH actually does, or why people of faith might have a responsibility to participate in public life.
I understand some of what may be behind that reaction. Many people are exhausted by partisan conflict. They do not want their faith manipulated to promote a candidate or political party. They may have seen religious language used to divide people, claim moral superiority, or demand unquestioning loyalty.
Those concerns are valid. In fact, JONAH shares them.
But “JONAH is too political” should not be the end of the conversation. It should be the beginning of one.
Reflection and evaluation are core to JONAH’s organizing method. We ask questions. We listen to people’s stories. We examine our assumptions. We learn from one another. That work is too important—and collaboration is too necessary to the health of our community—for us to avoid the conversation altogether.
What Do We Mean by “Political”?
The word political relates to the life and affairs of a community: how we make decisions, establish policies, distribute resources, and determine how people will be treated.
By that definition, politics is not limited to elections, candidates, or political parties. It includes the many ways we participate in shaping our shared life.
When we feed people who are hungry, we are responding to a public need.
When we volunteer at a homeless shelter, we are acting on a belief about how people deserve to be treated.
When we donate money, support a local organization, attend a school-board meeting, speak with a legislator, or get to know our neighbors, we are helping shape the kind of community in which we live.
These actions are political because they concern the well-being of people and the life of our community. That does not make them partisan.
Even choosing not to participate has political consequences. When we remain silent, current policies and systems continue without our input. When we avoid speaking with elected officials, other voices fill that space. When we do not publicly embody our values, those values have less influence on our shared life.
Democracy depends upon participation. We are meant to be participants, not merely bystanders.
This raises an important question:
Why have we come to believe that being political is necessarily bad?
Political Is Not the Same as Partisan
Partisanship promotes or opposes a particular candidate or political party. It can also appear as unquestioning loyalty to one side and the assumption that everyone on the other side must be wrong.
That is not JONAH’s work.
JONAH is a nonpartisan organization. We do not endorse candidates or political parties. We do not tell people how to vote. We do not expect our members to agree about every issue or identify with the same party.
We unite around shared faith values and community concerns. We listen to the experiences of people who are directly affected by an issue. We research possible solutions. We build relationships with decision-makers. We advocate for policies that reflect the values our members have discerned together.
Sometimes those values have been claimed or rejected by political parties. Compassion, human dignity, justice, safety, opportunity, and care for our neighbors have all been pulled into partisan conflict. But these values do not belong to any party.
When JONAH advocates for affordable housing, treatment rather than incarceration, immigrant families, accessible transportation, or the dignity of LGBTQIA+ people, we are not promoting a Democratic or Republican agenda. We are acting from values our members have chosen together and responding to the stories and needs of our neighbors.
People of different political affiliations may disagree about how those values should be put into practice. That disagreement is not a reason to stop talking. It is a reason to listen more carefully, examine the evidence, and remain in relationship.
What About Separation of Church and State?
The separation of church and state is an essential protection. It prevents the government from establishing a religion or controlling what people must believe, while protecting the right of people to practice—or not practice—religion freely.
It does not mean people of faith must leave their values behind when entering public life. It does not prohibit religious communities from discussing public issues, encouraging civic participation, or advocating for policies rooted in their moral convictions.
It does mean that religious institutions should not use the power of government to impose their theology upon everyone else. It also means that government should not dictate religious belief or favor one religion over another.
People of faith are still citizens, neighbors, teachers, parents, workers, voters, and community members. Our experiences and values belong in public conversations alongside everyone else’s. The challenge is to bring those values into public life with humility—not as a demand that everyone share our theology, but as a contribution to the common good.
What Can JONAH Do as a 501(c)(3)?
As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, JONAH is prohibited from supporting or opposing candidates for public office.
We cannot:
- Endorse or oppose a candidate.
- Contribute to a candidate’s campaign.
- Tell people which candidate or political party should receive their vote.
- Conduct voter education or election activities in a way that favors one candidate or party.
We can:
- Take positions on public-policy issues, including controversial ones.
- Educate the public about issues affecting our communities.
- Advocate for or against proposed policies and legislation within the limits that apply to charitable organizations.
- Meet with elected officials and hold them accountable for their public decisions.
- Conduct neutral, nonpartisan voter-registration and get-out-the-vote efforts.
- Offer carefully designed, nonpartisan voter education that does not favor or oppose candidates.
- Encourage people to participate in civic life and make their own informed decisions.
Being nonpartisan does not require us to be silent. It requires us to remain focused on issues, values, policies, and community needs rather than becoming an arm of a candidate or political party.
We can—and should—evaluate the actions and decisions of elected officials according to our shared values. Accountability is part of democracy. But our purpose is to advance the well-being of our community, not to help one candidate win or another candidate lose.
Values Must Be Lived
Faith values mean very little if they remain only words spoken inside our sanctuaries.
Compassion must become care.
Justice must become action.
Human dignity must shape how people are treated.
Love of neighbor must extend beyond people who already look, believe, vote, worship, or live like us.
If living those values publicly is political—and it is—then JONAH will continue to be political. We will continue helping people find their voices, build relationships across differences, advocate for their neighbors, and participate in the decisions affecting our shared life.
What we will not become is partisan.
My greatest concern is not that someone might question JONAH’s approach. Questions are welcome. Disagreement is welcome. Honest examination can make our organization stronger.
My concern is when “JONAH is too political” becomes a full stop—a reason not to ask questions, learn more, or enter into relationship with people whose experiences may be different from our own.
So, if you have thought JONAH is too political, I invite you not to abandon the concern, but to explore it. Talk with someone you trust. Ask what JONAH has actually done. Ask how priorities are chosen. Ask how nonpartisanship is maintained. Ask where your own boundaries are and why.
My hope as a community organizer—and, I believe, the hope of JONAH’s leadership—is to help people clarify their values, gain confidence in living those values publicly, advocate when those values are not being upheld, remain respectful of differing perspectives, and become more willing to learn from their neighbors.
That work is political.
It is also faithful, democratic, and necessary.