Why Calling Systemic Racism The "Original Sin" Of Democracy In America Is Not Just A Metaphor

Much stilted and unimaginative thinking, in Christian circles, limits the deep descriptive power of "corporate sin" to illuminate our shared public life. While the concept of sin contains within itself a cluster of meanings that function internally to those who are Christian, the explanatory power of "corporate sin," used as an interpretive tool, can deepen public conversations about racism in our country, even with and among those who do not have a Christian religious commitment.

Such is the work that accompanies bringing religious concepts into the public square in a pluralistic society: the work of interpretation, of translation.