Here is the first installment of Q&A Week, where we are exploring reader questions submitted to the Christian Libertarian FAQ. Cylons70 (awesome name, btw) has been wondering about churches that hold Christian libertarian positions…
I currently go to a non-denominational church (which is actually a denomination in itself). I was wondering if there is any church that specifically supports libertarian Christian beliefs?
As far as I know, there is no particular denomination that has Christian libertarian positions explicit in their doctrinal statement. However, the common thread of non-violence and anti-statism has been discussed in numerous theological traditions, from Baptists, to Lutherans, all the way to Churches of Christ (the tradition I grew up in). I would actually say that arguably the Churches of Christ and Anabaptist denominations have some of the strongest histories of libertarian leanings. For example, historically the Churches of Christ have held remarkably excellent anti-war positions, especially around the Civil War. Tolbert Fanning, David Lipscomb, and Alexander Campbell were major leaders in the Stone-Campbell Restorationist movements during that time and made great contributions to the anti-war movement. You can even see some of their writings in Tom Wood’s book, We Who Dared to Say No to War.