Rev. Dr. Charlie E. Dates calls Church to reconnect faith and justice

Chicago pastor and theologian Rev. Dr. Charlie E. Dates is using a new book to argue that the Church should restore the link between prayer, protest and public responsibility. The message lands as debates over Christian nationalism, civic engagement and racial justice continue to shape American faith and politics.

Why it matters: - Dates is pushing a national conversation about whether Christianity can stay spiritually rooted while still confronting injustice in public life. - The book argues that faith without social responsibility leaves the Church ill-equipped to respond to inequality, polarization and racial injustice. - The message speaks to churches across denominations, not only the Black Church.

What happened: - Rev. Dr. Charlie E. Dates released a new book, What Hath Justice to Do with Righteousness? Reclaiming the Intersection of Protest and Prayer, published in August by InterVarsity Press. - Dates is the senior pastor of Salem Baptist Church of Chicago and Progressive Baptist Church of Chicago. - The book challenges the Church to reclaim the historic connection between personal faith and public responsibility. - Dates is framing the book as a response to current national debates about faith, justice and Christianity’s role in American society.

The details: - Dates draws on the Black Church’s role in the civil rights movement to show how prayer, moral conviction and collective action worked together to confront injustice. - He writes, “Justice is God's righteousness in action,” and argues that personal faith and public responsibility cannot be separated. - Dates said the Black Church has long understood that justice requires more than protest alone and also requires moral conviction, spiritual strength and a commitment to human dignity. - The book examines divisions within American Christianity that separate personal morality from social responsibility. - Dates also looks at how political divisions and nationalism can overshadow the Church’s spiritual mission. - In a conversation with theologian and author Russell Moore, Dates warned about American Christianity becoming “more American than Christian.” - The book points to younger generations’ civic engagement as evidence that the call to justice still resonates. - Students from North Carolina A&T State University, UNC Greensboro and Bennett College recently marched to an off-campus early-voting site after election officials declined to restore campus voting locations used in the 2024 election. - Dates said those students show that a new generation understands the importance of standing up for justice. - He also said prayer exalts God over difficult circumstances and helps people fight injustice without being overcome by it. - Dates says the Church should consider how belief shapes responses to human dignity, educational opportunity, economic inequality and community well-being. - Beyond preaching, Dates has helped lead work on mental health counseling, legal advocacy, literacy among Black boys and economic empowerment. - He co-leads Chicago’s “Spend in the Black Commerce Corridor,” which encourages support for Black-owned businesses on the South Side.

Between the lines: - Dates is not only making a theological argument. He is also pressing churches to treat civic engagement as part of spiritual fidelity. - The emphasis on Christian nationalism suggests the book is aimed at a wider cultural fight over who gets to define Christian identity in America. - By linking the civil rights era to current student activism, Dates is arguing that the protest-and-prayer model is still relevant.

What's next: - What Hath Justice to Do with Righteousness? is available through major booksellers. - Dates is available for television, radio, print, podcast and digital interviews on faith and justice, Christian nationalism, the civil rights movement and protest and prayer. - Dates will likely continue taking the book’s message to churches, conferences and universities in the U.S. and abroad.

The bottom line: - Dates is urging Christians to see justice work and spiritual devotion as inseparable, and to recover a civil rights-era model of faith in public life.