Curtis Chang, David French, and Russell Moore have launched The After Party, a six-part program developed for individuals and churches to “separate[e] our Christian identity from our political one.” The program urges participants to shift from a focus on ideology, party, and policy toward spiritual values, relationships, and relational practices. A key audience is Christian college students, evidenced by the program’s Ambassador Program partnership with the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities.

The After Party purports to bridge political gaps by grounding political engagement in spiritual values rather than ideology. However, critics have pointed out that while the program claims to be nonpartisan, it has received heavy funding from partisan donors who support abortion and LGBT causes.

Apart from the program’s funding, its curriculum, designed to lower the importance of politics in a Christian’s mind, is led by three men who have been quite active in politically charged issues. Each of these men relies on The After Party’s definition of humility as “I’m doing my best but I’m not sure” as his guiding principle in discerning politics. This definition of humility could lead Christian voters to lack the confidence that they can engage in politics with biblical principles. The program calls Christians to move beyond being a Democrat or Republican. Yet while party stances can change over time, Christians should recognize that some clearly biblically defined moral issues transcend routine politics. Although the program reminds Christians to put their identity in Christ first, the overall effect might persuade believers to step away from the political arena.

*As seen in the 2/23/2024 edition of The Washington Flyer