The major western liberal Protestant denominations have difficulty mustering an equal expression of the courage of their convictions when it comes to major wars and genocides happening in our world. Of the 44 denominations that are the focus of this research, ten have published explicit language accusing Israel of committing genocide in Gaza. Yet, only three of those same denominations are willing to label what is happening in the Congo and Sudan as a genocide.
In Sudan, genocide and mass-atrocity risks have emerged repeatedly, most notably in Darfur in the early 2000s and again since the outbreak of full-scale civil war in 2023 between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Violence has disproportionately targeted civilian populations, especially ethnic African communities in Darfur, through mass killings, sexual violence, village destruction, and forced displacement. These atrocities are rooted in a combination of militarized struggles for state power, long-standing ethnic marginalization, and the normalization of violence through decades of impunity for earlier crimes. The collapse of governance, the proliferation of militias with weak command structures, and severe restrictions on humanitarian access have intensified civilian suffering, producing millions of refugees and internally displaced people and renewing international warnings of ethnic cleansing and genocidal patterns.
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, genocide-related violence has taken a different but equally devastating form, unfolding through decades of persistent conflict in the eastern provinces, particularly North Kivu, South Kivu, and Ituri. The violence is driven by a complex web of armed groups, regional interference, and competition over valuable natural resources such as gold, coltan, and cobalt, which finance ongoing warfare. Civilians have endured massacres, widespread sexual violence, forced recruitment of child soldiers, and repeated ethnic targeting, often with little protection from the state. Chronic institutional weakness, porous borders, and cycles of revenge killings have allowed atrocities to continue largely unchecked, resulting in one of the world’s longest-running humanitarian crises, with millions of deaths over time and deep, enduring social trauma.
In October 2025, the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights published a report called, A War on Children, that documented the extent of suffering and violence in Sudan. The Report concluded that “it is difficult, if not numbing, to absorb the scale of the suffering. Over ten million children have been exposed to violence. Four million are malnourished. Nearly 800,000 under the age of five face imminent risk of death. 17 million are out of School”. This investigation highlighted how children face widespread atrocities including killings, sexual violence, forced military recruitment, and the destruction of essential infrastructure such as hospitals and schools.
The magnitude of the suffering is immeasurable but the response from the liberal Christian world has been muted, perfunctory, and mealy-mouthed. For example, the United Church of Christ (UCC) has grouped together the War in Gaza with far more obvious and egregious cases of genocide in Sudan, Congo, and Ukraine. However, seems incapable or unwilling to see the imbalance in its appeal for action. It fails to even mention the Oct 7 2023 massacre as a catalyst for the war. Conversely, it does try to explain the causes of the other genocides. None of the mainline Christian denominations have called out and condemned the disappearance of thousands of Christians in South Sudan.
Statements from the Church of England, the Methodist Church in Britain and the Episcopal Church (USA) offer an overview of the situation in the Sudan and call for peace and delivery of humanitarian aid. Yet, they refrain from assigning primary blame for the violence. There is a decidedly pastoral and humanitarian tone to the statements.
In regards to genocide in the Congo, seven of the main liberal Protestant denominations have made public statements. Again, the tone and force of the statements is quite muted. In fact, four of the statements are just suggestions for prayer and three are group statements. None are stand-alone calls for attention and action.
What a contrast to the public statements coming from many of these same liberal Protestant denominations on the war in Gaza. The United Church of Canada, Anglican Church of Canada, Presbyterian Church in Canada, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada all were very quick to call for immediate ceasefire and; thereby, deny Israel its right to defend itself and try to rescue the hostages. In the United States, the United Church of Christ advanced a series of policy statements that expressly condemned the State of Israel for committing genocide against Palestinians. Again, these policies did not even acknowledge the precipitating pogrom that began the death and destruction.Not to be outdone, the Church of England also added its voice against the State of Israel demanding that it end all military action.
Similarly, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and United Methodist Church signed a declaration in October 2025 along with a number of other advocacy groups calling for the United States administration and President to intervene in the genocide in Sudan and “demand that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) stop sending weapons to and otherwise supporting the Rapid Support Force (RSF).
Astonishingly, none of the 44 denominations expressly call on Iran, Turkey, Qatar, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, China, or Russia to stop sending weapons to Hamas, Hezbollah, or Palestinian Islamic Jihad in an official denominational statement/prayer/policy. Yet, five of the larger western liberal denominations do advocate for an arms embargo against Israel. United Church of Canada, Anglican Church of Canada, Presbyterian Church in Canada, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Apparently, these Christian groups prefer to see Israel defenseless.
The major western liberal Protestant denominations have difficulty mustering an equal expression of the courage of their convictions when it comes to major wars and genocides happening in our world. Of the 44 denominations that are the focus of this research, ten have published explicit language accusing Israel of committing genocide in Gaza. Yet, only three of those same denominations are willing to label what is happening in the Congo and Sudan as a genocide.
In Sudan, genocide and mass-atrocity risks have emerged repeatedly, most notably in Darfur in the early 2000s and again since the outbreak of full-scale civil war in 2023 between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Violence has disproportionately targeted civilian populations, especially ethnic African communities in Darfur, through mass killings, sexual violence, village destruction, and forced displacement. These atrocities are rooted in a combination of militarized struggles for state power, long-standing ethnic marginalization, and the normalization of violence through decades of impunity for earlier crimes. The collapse of governance, the proliferation of militias with weak command structures, and severe restrictions on humanitarian access have intensified civilian suffering, producing millions of refugees and internally displaced people and renewing international warnings of ethnic cleansing and genocidal patterns.
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, genocide-related violence has taken a different but equally devastating form, unfolding through decades of persistent conflict in the eastern provinces, particularly North Kivu, South Kivu, and Ituri. The violence is driven by a complex web of armed groups, regional interference, and competition over valuable natural resources such as gold, coltan, and cobalt, which finance ongoing warfare. Civilians have endured massacres, widespread sexual violence, forced recruitment of child soldiers, and repeated ethnic targeting, often with little protection from the state. Chronic institutional weakness, porous borders, and cycles of revenge killings have allowed atrocities to continue largely unchecked, resulting in one of the world’s longest-running humanitarian crises, with millions of deaths over time and deep, enduring social trauma.
In October 2025, the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights published a report called, A War on Children, that documented the extent of suffering and violence in Sudan. The Report concluded that “it is difficult, if not numbing, to absorb the scale of the suffering. Over ten million children have been exposed to violence. Four million are malnourished. Nearly 800,000 under the age of five face imminent risk of death. 17 million are out of School”. This investigation highlighted how children face widespread atrocities including killings, sexual violence, forced military recruitment, and the destruction of essential infrastructure such as hospitals and schools.
The magnitude of the suffering is immeasurable but the response from the liberal Christian world has been muted, perfunctory, and mealy-mouthed. For example, the United Church of Christ (UCC) has grouped together the War in Gaza with far more obvious and egregious cases of genocide in Sudan, Congo, and Ukraine. However, seems incapable or unwilling to see the imbalance in its appeal for action. It fails to even mention the Oct 7 2023 massacre as a catalyst for the war. Conversely, it does try to explain the causes of the other genocides. None of the mainline Christian denominations have called out and condemned the disappearance of thousands of Christians in South Sudan.
Statements from the Church of England, the Methodist Church in Britain and the Episcopal Church (USA) offer an overview of the situation in the Sudan and call for peace and delivery of humanitarian aid. Yet, they refrain from assigning primary blame for the violence. There is a decidedly pastoral and humanitarian tone to the statements.
In regards to genocide in the Congo, seven of the main liberal Protestant denominations have made public statements. Again, the tone and force of the statements is quite muted. In fact, four of the statements are just suggestions for prayer and three are group statements. None are stand-alone calls for attention and action.
What a contrast to the public statements coming from many of these same liberal Protestant denominations on the war in Gaza. The United Church of Canada, Anglican Church of Canada, Presbyterian Church in Canada, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada all were very quick to call for immediate ceasefire and; thereby, deny Israel its right to defend itself and try to rescue the hostages. In the United States, the United Church of Christ advanced a series of policy statements that expressly condemned the State of Israel for committing genocide against Palestinians. Again, these policies did not even acknowledge the precipitating pogrom that began the death and destruction.Not to be outdone, the Church of England also added its voice against the State of Israel demanding that it end all military action.
Similarly, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and United Methodist Church signed a declaration in October 2025 along with a number of other advocacy groups calling for the United States administration and President to intervene in the genocide in Sudan and “demand that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) stop sending weapons to and otherwise supporting the Rapid Support Force (RSF).
Astonishingly, none of the 44 denominations expressly call on Iran, Turkey, Qatar, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, China, or Russia to stop sending weapons to Hamas, Hezbollah, or Palestinian Islamic Jihad in an official denominational statement/prayer/policy. Yet, five of the larger western liberal denominations do advocate for an arms embargo against Israel. United Church of Canada, Anglican Church of Canada, Presbyterian Church in Canada, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Apparently, these Christian groups prefer to see Israel defenseless.
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