Being Religiously Liberal in an Illiberal Age
Delivered to Manatee Unitarian Universalist Fellowship on February 12, 2023
© Rev Fred L Hammond

In May of 1940, Alfred Van Dien went to his Rabbi — he was quite agitated and expressed his concern to the Rabbi. The Germans had just defeated the Dutch and rolled into the Netherlands. Immediately, Hitler had ordered for Jews to wear yellow stars and fired those who worked for the Netherlands government. Alfred wanted the Rabbi to encourage the synagogue to flee the Netherlands. The Rabbi told Alfred he was over-reacting. Hitler would not cause them harm even as he ordered them out of their homes. The Rabbi told Alfred to go home and pack a few things. The government was simply relocating them for a few weeks, nothing to be worried about.

Alfred and his sister Julia were not able to leave the Netherlands, so they and a few others decided to hide in an underground bunker. His parents were arrested by the Nazis. His mother, Sara, was killed in the concentration camp in Westerbork just outside of Emmen, Netherlands on April 12,1941. His father, Meijer, died in Auschwitz Oct 8, 1942.

When Alfred and Julia came out of hiding from their underground bunker in 1945, their entire family, aunts, uncles, cousins, — dead. The Rabbi was dead. All at the hands of the Third Reich, who believed that they were preserving traditional German Christian Values.

I had the privilege of speaking with Alfred’s son, Han Van Dien, about his father’s harrowing tale of survival. At the time, I thought this could never happen here. But when I talk with Christians who support DeSantis, they too believe Christian Values are being preserved by this vindictive authoritarian state regime.

How did it happen? One event that I hope sounds alarms for us occurred on May 10, 1933, four months after Hitler became Chancellor: Nazi-identified students publicly burned books claimed to be “un-German.” This occurred in 34 universities throughout Germany. Works considered “un-German” were prominent Jewish, Liberal, and Leftist writers. After the book burning, bookstores and libraries were raided to remove these “un-German” books. There is a narrow leap from burning books to throwing people into crematoriums.

In July 2022, the Governor of Florida signed into law House Bill 1467, which mandates books must be approved by a school media specialist otherwise they are banned. The law carries with it a third-degree felony charge — up to five years in prison and $5G fine. Public Libraries are already under scrutiny for the books they have for children. DeSantis has removed school board members that do not agree with his authoritarian agenda.

What are the books that Duval and Manatee counties banned? Books about Muslim, Jewish, Indigenous, Korean and Mexican culture. Books about the Civil Rights Movement, Japanese Internment camps, and LGBTQ families. These books, according to the Governor of Florida, do not represent American values. They are un-American much like the books were un-German in 1933.

One of the actions by DeSantis was the hostile takeover of New College with the firing of their President and removal of the chair of the board. He took aim at New College’s promoting values of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, aka DEI. His newly appointed board and interim president will be removing DEI from this campus.
One student in opposition to the planned removal of DEI values, stated that during President Okker’s brief tenure, Jewish and Muslim students were for the first time able to receive Kosher and Halal foods at the cafeteria in recognition of their religious practice. This is what DEI in practice looks like — people of differing cultures having the ability to practice their religious beliefs publicly instead of hiding them away to assuage the majority faith’s fear of being exposed to alternate cultural and religious views.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion are our religious values. When the governor decries them, he is attacking our religious freedom to practice our faith. When he rails against Black History and Queer History being taught in colleges, he is attacking our faith’s desire to dismantle systemic white supremacy culture. He enforces white supremacy culture by his refusal to acknowledge that Florida is not homogenous in race and ethnicity, class, education, and culture.

DeSantis declared that Florida is where woke comes to die. An attorney for the governor in the Andrew Warren suspension trial was asked what does woke mean? Andrew Warren was an attorney who stated that he did not agree with DeSantis’ Abortion and Transgender health policies. He gave an opinion; he had not broken any law. DeSantis’ attorney defined Woke as “the belief there are systemic injustices in America and the need to address them.” I would agree with this definition of woke. Unitarians and Universalists have a long heritage of seeking to address systemic injustices in America going back hundreds of years. Our fellowship’s mission includes working for social justice — this is foundational of our faith.

The Liberal Religious community of yesteryear’s Germany said and did nothing. They were like Alfred Van Dien’s Rabbi, do not worry, this will pass. This can’t happen here. They were complicit with their silence. We, as part of the liberal religious community must not remain silent. We need to be vocal. We need to let others know that we will not be complicit with this governor’s attack on other’s inherent worth and dignity. Write letters to the editor. Discuss strategies of how we can publicly show support to the groups that DeSantis and company want to silence and erase. Find like minded organizations to join in their activities and actions and do so proudly as Unitarian Universalists. Do not hide your light under a bushel. Let your love for others, your thirst for justice, be visible in your day to day conversations and activities.

Martin Niemöller was one of those Lutheran pastors who remained silent before and during the Third Reich. After the war, he expressed his own guilt and complicity which included this famous quote which I am adapting to reflect today’s Florida:

First, they came for the Blacks and Latins, and I did not speak out — because I was not Black or Latin.
Then they came for the Transgender youth, and I did not speak out — because I was not a transgender youth.
Then they came for the Drag Queens, and I did not speak out — because I was not a Drag Queen.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out — because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me — and there was no one left to speak for me.

Let us be among those who speak up for these groups. Let us become knowledgeable on how this American culture has not lived up to its promise and be among those who act in bringing it to fruition of all it promises to be.
Blessed Be.