Why They Marched

Hundreds of thousands of women and their allies participated in the Women’s March on Washington, and Princeton Theological Seminary students and faculty were among them. They reflect on how their Christian faith informs their participation in political action.

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In Their Own Words

Do justice, love kindness, walk humbly.

“As a Christian, my faith absolutely informs my politics. The political life and the life of faith need not be disparate things. If we live to serve God by serving others, and we are committed to doing justice on their behalf, we will be working toward the very things Jesus spent his life teaching. Political action should always be faith in action—whether that is a demonstration of mercy, a fight for justice, or a willingness to relinquish power and move over so that there is room at the table for all people. Our faith informs, grounds, and guides us toward the action that seeks to reflect the kingdom of heaven here on earth.”
—Lindsay Clark ’18 MDiv

Political action should always be faith in action—whether that is a demonstration of mercy, a fight for justice, or a willingness to relinquish power and move over so that there is room at the table for all people.

“I marched because our Christian faith affirms that every human being possesses an inherent, God-given dignity, and we are called to uphold that dignity at all times and in all places—especially where it is threatened. We are all called to witness to the world that sexism, racism, and every other form of power in which the privileged oppress those with less privilege, is counter to the gospel itself. I was energized to march with and for our students, women and men, and with and for my own daughter. Their faith and their resilience buoys me in the struggle for justice for all.”
—Jacqueline Lapsley, associate professor of Old Testament, and director of the Center for Theology, Women, and Gender

We are all called to witness to the world that sexism, racism, and every other form of power in which the privileged oppress those with less privilege, is counter to the gospel itself.

“The Women’s March was a show of force—not the kind that burns buildings and destroys property, but the kind that kindles a renewed sense of purpose and resistance. I am encouraged by the responses of my colleagues, professors, and public figures in light of the marches that occurred around the world. All of them said with one voice: ‘We’re here, and we’re loud.’”
—Walker Weatherly ’17 MDiv