We, The People

Introduction

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The United States is in a moment where the promises of democracy are being challenged, the rule of law is being regularly violated, and the state is actively targeting communities in ways that deepen inequality and harm, violating our shared faith values. Across the country, people of faith are responding through organizing, pastoral care, prophetic witness, mutual aid, and moral leadership. This project is an effort to meet this moment with clarity and a collective voice. In 1985 an anonymous group of South African Christian leaders drafted the Kairos Document to call out the moral failures of apartheid and to challenge religious institutions to take a clear stand for racial justice. The South African Kairos Document became an influential statement within the anti-apartheid movement, challenging churches to take a clear stand and contributing to broader resistance to the regime. Inspired by this document, a group of leaders is coming together to develop a contemporary, multifaith vision for the United States – a call to consciousness. Like the South African effort, we will name the moral stakes of this moment, grounded in theology. Our effort will expand beyond Christianity, articulating shared values across faith traditions, and engage up to 25,000 people of faith across the country into a shared democratic process to shape a public response and call to action for all faith traditions in the USA.

 

What is a “Kairos” Moment?

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“Kairos” is a Greek word that refers to a decisive moment—a time when conditions align in such a way that action is both urgent and possible. It is not simply about crisis, but about clarity: a recognition that the moment demands a moral response. Christianity often explains Kairos as “God's time” -- a recognition that God has created an opportunity for momentous transformation. Dharmic faiths remind us that auspicious moments for right action reveal themselves when conditions are right. In that spirit, our project understands the current moment in the United States as such a moment—one that calls for moral clarity, collective discernment, and public action grounded in shared values.

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What We Are Building

 

We the People is a multi-pronged effort that will culminate in a unified body of work:

 

1. A multifaith theological call to consciousness developed by a group of theologians and faith leaders representing a wide range of traditions. This will articulate core values, moral commitments, and a shared understanding of the current moment and serve as a prompt for public response.

2. A national participatory document in response to that call to consciousness will be shaped by up to 25,000 people of faith across the country. Using Synanim, a platform designed to enable thousands of people to collaboratively generate and refine ideas, participants will engage the theologians’ framework and respond to it—helping define what action, responsibility, and public witness look like in this moment. In other words, theologians will offer a shared moral vision and grounding, and the broader public will respond and give voice to how that vision is lived out. Together, these pieces are intended not only to name the moment, but also to point toward a pathway for building a more pluralistic, inclusive, and equitable society, with the broader participatory process testing and giving shape to how that vision is taken up in practice. The output of this process will be a single, unified body of work: (1) the theologian-authored call to consciousness as a preamble (2) a document created by up to 25,000 participants in response to that call and (3) closing theological reflections that bring the full work together.

3. A short video that brings the core themes of the documents to life, featuring voices that reflect the diversity of people of faith in the United States and designed for broad public engagement. The documents and video will be released in early July, timed around July 4th, as part of a coordinated national moment.

4. Ongoing training provided by Faith and Public Life and Faith Out Loud for faith leaders about how to use the document and video in public discourse and in leading their faith communities, throughout the fall.

5. Resources for engagement from faith organizing efforts already underway by partners across the country so people can see themselves in this call to consciousness and feel inspired to take action.

 

A Collective Voice

 

Rather than a traditionally branded or signed statement, the call to consciousness will stand simply as We the People, inviting a broad public to see themselves reflected in its language and vision. We are grounded in the belief that the power of this call comes from its collective voice, shaped through an interfaith vision. We are harnessing humility to develop something that speaks for the masses. As a result, we are not foregrounding organizations or prominent voices in its launch, but centering the collective.

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How the Process Works

 

The project will unfold in several stages:

• Theologians will develop a shared framework and working draft.

• That draft will serve as “common ground” for a large-scale participatory writing process using Synanim, which will take place over several days in May, with engagement from across the country.

• 25,000 people of faith will engage in a structured, multi-round process that surfaces shared language and priorities across diverse perspectives.

• The final participatory document will reflect the collective voice of those involved, in response to the framework developed by the theologians.

• The process will also identify one community representative from within the entire pool of 25,000 participants. The representative will be someone who was not campaigning to represent others; rather, they are effectively chosen because their peers repeatedly recognize in them an ability to hold and express group values.

• Faith in Public Life and Faith Out Loud will create a video advertisement promoting the key ideas in the document and the depth of communities that came together to conceive it. This will be promoted via digital ads and select streaming services, motivating voters to exercise their rights of participation and values in the lead-up to the election.

 

Who Is Involved

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This effort is being convened by Faith in Public Life and Faith Out Loud.

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Participants will include:

• A core group of theologians and faith leaders from multiple traditions

• National and local faith-rooted organizations and networks serving as co-sponsors to recruit participants

• 25,000 people of faith engaging in the participatory process

• Communications and media partners supporting distribution and amplification

 

Intended Impact

 

This project aims to provide clear, multifaith moral guidance at a time when the boundaries of public discourse have shifted in ways that normalize harm, while engaging people of faith across the country in shaping a shared vision for our country. It will equip clergy and leaders for public engagement, help reset the terms of public debate, and offer a visible counter-narrative about how people of faith are showing up to build a more inclusive and thriving society ahead of the 2026 elections.