The idea that Mennonites could
chuck the church, let alone should,
would alarm many in the American Mennonist tradition, yet, perhaps it is time for them to consider the unthinkable.
The Mennonite or Mennonist church in the United States seems caught in
an ideological vise between a liberal Protestantism and a conservative
Fundamentalism. While many still
reference their Mennonite cultural heritage, fewer and fewer Mennonites from either side still embrace traditional
norms of Mennonist religious belief.
Many Russian Mennonites voice an ethnic rather than religious Mennonite
identity. Russländer often distinguish
between Mennonite Anabaptism or Mennonism and Evangelical or Russian Pietist Mennonite
faith. A few Mennonites even identify as
Mormon, Roman Catholic or even Buddhist.
A sense of confusion is thus created when groups such as the Mennonite
Central Committee (MCC) claim to represent the Mennonite faith. Does MCC represent all Mennonites or merely
Mennonist Mennonites? Who is “in” and
who is “out”? Is it more important to be
Mennonist or Mennonite? Does the fact
that both the Mennonite Brethren (MB) and the Mennonite Church – USA support
MCC mean that they maintain similar religious beliefs or church
structures? Ummmm. No. They
do not.
