By Steve Longenecker
On July 4, we commemorate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. This bold manifesto formally severed relations with the British Empire after over a year of warfare in New England. A colony rebelling against the empire was revolutionary—nobody had done this—but the insurgent movement and its declaration also proclaimed a revolutionary doctrine: All men are created equal. Nobody else had done this, either. Historian Walter Isaacson celebrates “all men are created equal” as the greatest sentence ever written.
All men are created equal stood in stark contrast to Britain and the European continent. In America an abundant supply resulted in a more egalitarian distribution of land, which translated into democratic political life unique in the world. In Britain, 15 percent of adult white men could vote; in the American colonies it was between 50 and 60 percent, and elections were regular and frequent.
This American trend of opportunity for middling men continued during the Revolution. Silversmith Paul Revere, for example, called himself an artisan-gentleman. In Europe, gentlemen did not work, and they certainly did not wash up at the end of the workday. But Revere did, yet Boston still welcomed his claim to gentlemanship. Benjamin Franklin, a printer, was the youngest son and the fifteenth child in a family of seventeen children (he had two younger sisters). He became the ambassador to France.
Sadly, all men are created equal never came close to consensus in the rebelling colonies, not even on July 4. In fact, most white Americans probably disagreed with it. All men are created equal did not extend to non-property owners, Indigenous people, and Catholics. It was all men are created equal, and slavery was the penultimate antithesis of democracy.
Yet for all of America’s flaws, the Declaration of Independence represented something different, something radical.
Brethren already knew about all men being created equal. Of course, like the larger American society, Brethren were far from perfect. Their positions on slavery, Indigenous people, and gender demonstrated some progress, but they left room for considerable improvement.
That said, Brethren and Mennonites made all men equal in several interesting ways. Let me share two: a core belief and a practice.
Pietism, central to Brethren theology, made all men, all persons, equal by providing saving faith, inward religion, and a personal relationship with Christ available to all. Gone were church officials who held the keys to the kingdom. Only Christ did that. Anybody could become a saint. Or, as Alexander Mack, Jr., put it, “Yet might e’en the greatest sinner, If he would for love make place, Enable love to be the winner, And give himself life’s highest grace.” And give himself life’s highest grace. No other authority was required; everybody could access Jesus, regardless of social class, age, gender, or race. No clergy required. The free availability of the water of life embodied unbounded egalitarianism.
Pietism was not uniquely Brethren, but they applied this all-men-are-created-equal theology in unique ways. One was feet washing.
Feet washing, always part of Love Feast, represented the essence of egalitarianism. Nothing is more humbling than kneeling before someone to wash their feet, a very modest body part. Moreover, social rank played no role in the ordinance. In Brethren congregations preachers washed the feet of laity, artisans washed the feet of journeymen, and wives of prosperous farmers washed the feet of wives of tenants. As Brethren knelt before each other in imitation of Jesus in the Upper Room, they abandoned conceptions of rank and demonstrated that in God’s kingdom all believers are equal.
How, then, should Brethren in 2026 commemorate this great national moment, a revolutionary concept imperfectly implemented, and a flawed religious heritage that shared common ground with this innovative egalitarian concept? Put more simply, what lessons can Brethren take from 1776 and apply to 2026?
In these confusing times, let me suggest a simple way for Brethren to commemorate the Declaration of Independence: Pick something you think is Brethren—a common understanding of Brethrenism is gone—just pick something that fits your calling, your talents, and do it. Doing something itself is very Brethren. Brethren have always thought of themselves as believers who practice their faith rather than talk about it. A short list of theologians; a long list of doers. Just do something.
Here are two specific suggestions:
One, be a healer. Practice all persons are created equal (we’ll update men to persons) by being a good listener. Whether in one-to-one conversations or in the larger political discourse, we need more good listeners.
Second, be a prophet. Cry out for justice. Admittedly, this Brethren tradition is more recent. Monetary donations offer a practical way to do this. The centrality of cash to our political system is hardly all persons are created equal, but it gives access to most of us. Put your money where your mouth is and donate to something that works for justice.
Find what works for you, and celebrate all people are created equal by carrying Brethren values, including healing and justice, into a broken society. Your country needs you.
Steve Longenecker is Professor of History, emeritus, at Bridgwater College (VA).