Affirming the Use of Diverse Languages in the United States and Opposing a Constitutional Amendment Making English the Official Language

The United States is a country whose inhabitants are enriched by diverse traditions, languages, and cultures. While English is the most commonly used or “primary” language of the country, other languages have been used throughout the history of the nation. For example, Native American languages and Spanish were already spoken when the first English colonists arrived. Throughout that same history, there have been various efforts to prescribe the use of English and to proscribe the use of other languages. These efforts sometimes resulted in legislation that had the effect of legalizing discrimination against various language minority groups, as was the case for German, Swedish, French, Greek, and Italian immigrants who came to this country in great numbers during the nineteenth century. Such legislative attempts were eventually overcome by the constitutional principles of equal rights. The acknowledgment of English as the primary language of the United States does not deny the right and contribution of other languages or the inherent right of people to retain and speak their native language.

The attempt to remove bilingual education is one particular area of concern. Education has played a very important role in the development of this nation. To have access to it and to receive a sound education are considered inalienable rights of all children. Bilingual education has been and continues to be a critical tool to ensure these rights for non-English-speaking children living now in the United States. It has been an instrument of education for children to make the transition from their native languages to English (without abandoning their native languages) while at the same time staying at the level correspondent to their age. Bilingual education does work. There are thousands of living examples of bilingual education successes. Students who learned English in bilingual classrooms and who continue to achieve to the highest of academic and professional standards are living examples of bilingual education successes.

Over the years, there have been consistent efforts in different parts of the country to make English the official language of the United States. Notwithstanding their unsuccessful attempts to pass a constitutional amendment, we are now seeing concerted efforts to bring the same policy to state and local levels. The movement to declare constitutionally English as the official language of the nation is not based upon any real need but, in fact, may be motivated by an effort to deny the pluralistic foundation of the country and to deny the dignity and wholeness of persons from different racial and ethnic groups who rightly considered their languages an integral part of their cultures. We fear the real purpose of some may be not so much to make English the official language of the US as to make English the exclusive language of the nation.

The English-only “movement” includes efforts to pass a constitutional amendment making English the official language of the United States, opposition to federal legislation for bilingual education, voting-rights bills, and the FCC licensing applications for Spanish-language broadcasts. This movement is another manifestation of the systemic racism that has infected this country for generations. The English- only movement blames the deterioration of the American fabric on immigration and the use of languages other than English. It contends that the nation’s unity rests upon the use of an official language. It defines multiculturalism and multilingualism as “anti-unity.” Consequently, the movement, if successful, could further discriminate against and segregate the racial and ethnic population of the United States. Essential information such as: numbers for the 911 emergency, hospital emergency rooms, police, firefighters; and medical and legal forms, language services, bilingual education, and interpreters in the judicial system might be denied.

As Christians, we believe that we are children of God, created in God’s image, and members of the family of God.

We believe that diversity is a gift of the creative genius of God and that languages are an expression of the wisdom of God.

We believe that competence in the English language is important to participate fully in the life of the United States, but we also acknowledge the fact that we live in a global context, the global family of God, where people and nations experience inter-dependency at all levels and where the acquisition of a second language represents a better understanding of other people’s cultures, hopes, and dreams.

We believe that our nation should maximize the rich contributions that the ethnic/language groups bring to this country by preserving those languages and encouraging people living within the United States to learn other languages.

We believe that it is the will of God that each human being is affirmed as a whole person and that it is in the acceptance and interchange of our uniqueness that we find a witness of God’s shalom.

We oppose the attempt to rob a person of his or her language as dehumanizing and as a denial of that person’s wholeness. We oppose the English-only movement as a manifestation of the sin of racism.

Therefore, be it resolved, that

1. the Council of Bishops, annual conferences, and members of local churches contact their local, state, and federal representatives urging support for practices and policies that permit provision of information in languages appropriate to the residents of communities and opposition to any movement that seeks to make English the only language of the United States; and
2. the General Board of Church and Society make this resolution an urgent item in their agenda for lobbying, constituency education, and advocacy.

ADOPTED 1988
AMENDED AND ADOPTED 2000
AMENDED AND READOPTED 2008, 2016
RESOLUTION #3121, 2008, 2012 BOOK OF RESOLUTIONS
RESOLUTION #72, 2004 BOOK OF RESOLUTIONS
RESOLUTION #64, 2000 BOOK OF RESOLUTIONS

See Social Principles, ¶ 162.

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Copyright © 2016, The United Methodist Publishing House, used by permission