Faith and the moral imperative of housing

While there is a broad range of faith traditions, some universal truths remain foundational: compassion, integrity, responsibility, and the power of radical, uncompromising love. These aren’t abstract concepts. They are calls to action that thunder through every religious tradition I know.

When I read the Hebrew prophets, I hear Amos crying out against those who “sell the righteous for silver, and the needy for a pair of sandals.” I hear Isaiah demanding we “loose the chains of injustice” and “provide the poor wanderer with shelter.” I hear Micah asking what the Lord requires: “To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”

Jesus didn’t mince words either. “I was a stranger and you welcomed me.” Not, “I was a stranger and you formed a committee to study the issue.” Not, “I was a stranger and you worried about property values.” You welcomed me. Period.

This isn’t about charity. This is about justice. This is about recognizing that housing is not a commodity to be traded for profit while people suffer. Housing is a human right. Housing is the foundation upon which people build their lives, raise their families, pursue their education, maintain their health and contribute to their communities.

What could be more “essential” than stable housing? We praised essential workers during the pandemic. Now many of these very people face eviction with nowhere to go. Where is our moral outrage now?

When we talk about housing, we’re talking about who gets to live with dignity in our communities. We’re talking about teachers and nurses and janitors and cooks — those who weave the very fabric of our society. We’re talking about seniors on fixed incomes and young families just starting out. We’re talking about people with disabilities who need stable homes to access care.

If we truly believe in the inherent worth and dignity of every person, then we must believe they deserve a safe, stable, affordable place to call home.

Our congregations sit on some of the most valuable land in our communities. Some faith communities are already leading the way, building affordable housing on their land, opening their facilities as warming centers and navigation centers, advocating for policy changes, educating their members about NIMBYism and exclusionary zoning. But we need more. So much more.

We need clergy to preach about housing from the pulpit as often as they preach about any other moral issue. We need faith communities to show up at city council meetings and planning commission hearings. We need people of faith to examine their own resistance to housing in their neighborhoods and ask themselves: whose comfort are we centering? Whose dignity are we ignoring?

The housing crisis is a spiritual crisis. It is a moral crisis. It is a human crisis.

Do we believe in human dignity? Then we must rage against a system that forces people to choose between rent and food.

Do we believe in the kinship of all people? Then we must see the housed and the unhoused as family.

Our faith teaches us to feed the hungry. To clothe the naked. To welcome the stranger. To house the homeless.

Regardless of your faith, these are core values we should all hold. This holiday season let’s recommit to upholding these values.

The Rev. Dr. G. Penny Nixon is the faith director for the Housing Leadership Council of San Mateo County and minister emerita of the Congregational Church of San Mateo, where she served as senior minister from 2007-2022.