So I've had some thoughts rattling around my head about how I as a person of faith can better integrate my spiritual side and my activist side, and I thought I would try and arrange them in order on the page in case they're helpful to anyone else.
With that in mind, let's talk about privilege. First and foremost, I acknowledge that as a cisgender white male, I am probably the least qualified to point out where I benefit from societal privilege and racism. But because I believe it is especially important for those of us "on top" (so to speak) to acknowledge our complicity, I'm going to try anyway.
Privilege, as many know, is something most white people have to some degree (some obviously more than others). I have privilege by being white in a country where people of color continue to be subject to injustices and prejudice. I have privilege by being male in a culture that gives better opportunities and the benefit of the doubt to men. I have privilege as a cisgender person in a society that hyper-regulates necessary resources for trans people and only consistently upholds the identities of cis people. Common wisdom says that privilege is a reality we as people who benefit from systems of oppression need to acknowledge and work to dismantle where we can. At the same time, we need to recognize that until we reach a perfect society, we will always in some ways be privileged and profit from other people's pain, whether we want to or not.
To a certain extent, everyone has to simply grapple with their privilege and make the conscious decision to accept it, push aside any feelings of guilt and figure out what to do next. But it occurs to me that for those of us who identify with a faith tradition, there may be resources to help us come to terms with the process.
In the Orthodox Christian tradition, there's a strong emphasis on the concept of metanoia ("meh-TAH-nee-ah"). This word is frequently translated as "repentance", but it has a deeper meaning that that word doesn't quite encapsulate. At its core, metanoia is a change of the nous, the mind/heart perceptive part of the self that deals with self-image and understanding of human and divine identities. We are encouraged to change our hearts and minds, not just by apologizing for sin, but also by making steps towards a greater change in our lives.
It occurs to me that this may be a useful way of looking at privilege and the process of dismantling privilege. Metanoia is a never-ending process, a process which leads us into theosis ("The-OH-sis"), or divinization. By transforming our hearts, we become more and more like God until we are charged with God's Energy and light, becoming both our truest selves and in a small way, gods ourselves. Like metanoia, theosis is a never-ending process. Perfection is not static, but dynamic. As such, there is no "end point" where we will be perfect and unable to change, but rather a pattern of growth and movement towards greater goodness.
To that end, when we as privileged activists are at times discouraged by how we play into unjust systems, I think it may be helpful for us to think of growth as an ongoing process. We can never completely "get rid of" our privilege, just as we can never become perfect people with no room for change. But as we engage in our own transformation and lift each other up, we can begin to break down our biases and shortcomings, our flaws and the things that keep us from participating in the process of justice.
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