The Radical Power of Oneness
Why the Call for Unity Is Revolutionary
It happened quickly. Within the first two weeks of the new administration, the chaos was unleashed—not just through executive orders, policy announcements, and rhetoric but through something even more insidious: the attempt to silence spiritual voices that dared to challenge power.
After the President attended the National Prayer Service at the National Cathedral, where The Right Rev. Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde called for compassion and mercy for marginalized communities, House Republicans introduced HR 59—a resolution condemning the sermon and the Bishop’s voice. it reads:
H.Res.59 - Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the sermon given by the Right Reverend Mariann Edgar Budde at the National Prayer Service on January 21st, 2025, at the National Cathedral was a display of political activism and condemning its distorted message.
so far, 22 US House Republicans have signed on.
Let’s pause here.
In the year 2025.
In the United States of America.
A country that prides itself on religious freedom and free speech.
A nation whose founding documents claim to enshrine the right to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” to all of its citizens.
And yet, here we are—watching government officials attempt to leverage their power to silence a bishop for speaking words of compassion, a message at the very heart of gospels themselves.
Since then, Elon Musk has attacked the Lutheran Church’s work in providing critical humanitarian services around the world and has called for the complete shut down of USAID. While Vice President JD Vance attacked Catholic Bishops for their work with immigrants. It would seem that this administration, voted in by the so called “religious right” is one of the most hostile administrations toward religion and religious freedom that we’ve ever seen.
This is not new. History has seen this before.
One of the most chilling examples of a government silencing religious voices was Nazi Germany, where religious leaders who spoke against injustice were threatened, punished, or eliminated. Eventually The playbook is old, and it is dangerous.
But perhaps this moment—the attack on a call for mercy, the overt hostility toward any form of expressing our moral call to be good neighbors, and decent people who honor and defend our differences—is the clearest evidence yet that what we believe has always been radical. And maybe that is exactly what we need it to be right now.
Maybe you didn’t think belonging to an inclusive, loving spiritual tradition anchored in Oneness (such as Unity, Religious Science, Science of Mind, New Thought, expanded consciousness ) was a radical thing. Well, I’ve got news for you….
The Radical, World-Shifting Implications of Oneness
At the heart of New Thought philosophy is the principle of Oneness—the idea that all life is interconnected and arises from a single divine consciousness.
But as I said in a recent post, Oneness is not a passive. Its more than just feel-good philosophy. It is a radical, world-disrupting, power-challenging force that threatens the very foundation of injustice.
It is dangerous to those who depend on division.
It is subversive to those who wield power through fear.
It is revolutionary to systems that are propped up by the illusion of separation.
Let’s explore why. There are 5 reasons I’ll break down here, and all of them serve as reasons why I wrote my book Freedom From Discord: The Promise of New Thought Liberation Theology
1. Oneness Abolishes the Fear-Based View of God
Traditional religious structures often depict God as separate from humanity—a being who judges, rewards, and punishes. But Oneness obliterates that idea. If God is not separate from us and God is IN us AS us then we are no longer wrestling with a Deity outside of us, but a power within us and therefore we come to understand that
Consciousness is Everything. There is no “fall from grace,” only forgetting who we really are.
These theological implications are radical, because they tell us that there is no need for external salvation: we already are divine. There is no need for religious control through fear. This directly threatens religious dogma that depends on keeping people afraid, ashamed, and obedient.
2. Oneness Redefines Identity and Individualism
Western culture teaches us that we are separate, self-contained individuals—but the principle of Oneness shatters that illusion. When we understand that there is only ONE thing happening here - then we can see that what we call “You” and “Me” are simply ways that the Whole is expressing Its infinite self in terms of diversity. The implication here is that there is no “other” - and that what we do to another, we ultimately do to ourselves. This means rugged individualism is a lie.
If we are radically interconnected, then personal success, personal wealth, and personal enlightenment are incomplete unless they serve the whole.
3. Oneness Transforms the Purpose of Human Life
Under conventional thinking, life is about survival, competition, and personal achievement. But Oneness transforms our purpose. Success is no longer defined merely by wealth or power but by how fully we express love, creativity, and contribution to the whole.
Our work is not just personal—it is collective.
Evolution is not just biological—it is the expansion of consciousness.
Now, lets take these three radical implications of Oneness and apply them more broadly to the human condition from a collective view.
4. Oneness Destroys Systems of Oppression
If all people, all beings, and all of existence are expressions of the same divine consciousness, then any system that divides, exploits, or oppresses others is fundamentally false. Racism, sexism, classism, homophobia—all forms of discrimination—are illusions. They are built on the lie of separation. Colonialism and imperialism collapse under the weight of Oneness. They depend on the idea of superiority and hierarchy, which cannot stand if all are one.
Economic injustice is unnatural. If we are truly One, then hoarding wealth at the expense of others distorts divine flow.
A world built on Oneness would dismantle hierarchies of power that benefit the few at the expense of the many.
This is why New Thought is deeply subversive—because it challenges the very belief systems that uphold oppression.
5. Oneness Shifts Power Away from External Authorities
If divine consciousness is equally present in all beings, then no one holds a monopoly on truth, wisdom, or power.
This directly challenges:
• Religious institutions that claim exclusive access to God
• Governments that rule through hierarchy and division
• Economic systems that benefit the few while exploiting the many
This is why Oneness is a threat to political and religious institutions that thrive on control. All social and revolutionary leaders from Jesus, to Malcom X, Cesar Chavez, Gandhi, to Harriet Tubman understood that once you learned to have dominion over your mind, taking your power back from external forces was more than doable.
6. Oneness Demands a Revolutionary Approach to Justice
If no one is separate, no one is an enemy.
This destroys traditional justice systems based on punishment, retribution, and exclusion.
• Prisons and punitive justice systems lose legitimacy. Justice must be restorative, not retributive.
• War becomes indefensible. If we are One, then we are literally fighting ourselves.
• Restorative justice becomes the only valid approach.
A world built on Oneness would seek to abolish mass incarceration, capital punishment, and war. Instead, it would prioritize healing, reconciliation, and accountability.
Final Thought: In an age of division, Oneness Is Rebellion
Are you prepared to be radical with our message? Do you dare to proclaim your Oneness in the face of division, othering and fear that are running through the airwaves?
New Thought’s principle of Oneness is not just a spiritual comfort—it is a radical, transformative force.
It demands that we:
Dismantle injustice, because it is an illusion of separation.
Restructure society, because hierarchy is false.
Transform consciousness, because true power is within.
This is why Oneness is not passive. It is audacious, rebellious, and revolutionary.
It calls us not just to believe differently—but to live differently.
In radical solidarity.
In fearless truth.
In the creation of a world built not on fear, but on love.
And that, my friends, is exactly why they are trying to silence it. But if we stand up, stand together and demand to see and experience a better world, there is no power that can stop us.
Rev. David Alexander D.D. is the spiritual director of the of Spiritual Living Center of Atlanta, author of Freedom from Discord: The Promise of New Thought Liberation Theology and Recovery from the Lie of Whiteness.