Statement on Interfaith Advocacy

Published in the Oklahoman, April 26, 2026

As president of the Oklahoma Faith Network, I had the honor this week of standing alongside people from many different faith traditions at our inaugural Interfaith Advocacy Day at the Capitol. We gathered not because we agree on everything, but because we share a conviction: faith means more than this.

In a time when religion is too often wielded as a political weapon, I am reminded of the recent words of Pope Leo XIV: “Woe to those who manipulate religion and the very name of God for their own military, economic and political gain, dragging that which is sacred into darkness and filth.” Whether spoken centuries ago or echoed in our present moment, that warning feels urgently relevant here in Oklahoma today.

We are living through a rise in Christian nationalism that distorts both faith and democracy. It wraps political ambition in the language of religion, demanding loyalty not to the sacred, but to power. It reduces a living, breathing faith tradition into slogans, memes, and, yes, even AI-generated “truth” blasphemous images shared for clicks and influence. In doing so, it doesn’t strengthen faith - it cheapens it.

But what we saw at the Capitol tells a different story.

There is a quiet, determined majority of people of faith in Oklahoma who are tired of seeing their beliefs misrepresented and exploited. They are tired of watching their sacred traditions turned into political props. They are tired of a version of Christianity - and of religion more broadly - that bears little resemblance to the values they hold dear: compassion, humility, justice, and love of neighbor.

At Interfaith Advocacy Day, clergy and lay leaders, Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, and others stood together to remind our elected officials that faith calls us to something deeper. It calls us to protect the vulnerable, to seek justice, and to build communities rooted in dignity and respect for all people.

This is not about pushing faith out of the public square. It is about refusing to let it be hijacked within it.

If our lawmakers truly wish to honor the role of faith in Oklahoma, they should listen not to the loudest voices seeking power, but to the many faithful Oklahomans who are quietly doing the work of love, service, and justice every day.

Faith means more than this. And the people of faith across our state are ready to reclaim it.

-Tim Atkins

President of the Oklahoma Faith Network

Religious Educator at First Unitarian Church, OKC