The Spirit of Tribalism Causing Division in America

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When Tribes Rule, Truth Dies

The deep divisions in America today reveal something far more dangerous than partisan politics—they expose the rise of tribalism in the public square. The hostility we see is not mere disagreement; it is the reflex of one group rejoicing at the silencing of another.

I recognize this spirit. I grew up in the middle of Kampala, the capital of Uganda—a city where all 52 tribes of our nation converged. We were Baganda, and we were told we did not get along with the Acholi. As children, we didn’t understand the tension. We were expected to own it, respect it, observe it, and pass it on.

The Northerners were called “warrior tribes.” They had produced Idi Amin, who had brought our people pain, even deposing and murdering our king. So we hated them—not because of anything we had personally suffered, but because the script had already been written for us: “You do not get along with the Northerners.”

I remember the moment this became real to me. I had come to Christ as a boy, and one of my closest friends was Robert Okema, a Luo who lived just a few doors away. He was one of the kindest people I knew. I brought him home often, but the neighbors would whisper, “That Luo kid is bad for you. You cannot have him in your house.”

I would plead with them: Please, he’s my friend. I like him. But it did not matter. To them, he was of the wrong tribe—and that alone disqualified him.

That early wound—being told that someone’s tribe outweighed their character—etched itself into my memory. And when I look at America now, I see the same spirit resurfacing in new forms.

The Death of Dialogue

When a nation descends into tribalism, evidence no longer matters, dialogue no longer works, and reconciliation becomes impossible. The ultimate wish of one tribe is not coexistence but the elimination of the other.

The Bible warns of this very spirit: “If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other”(Galatians 5:15). America is walking that road. Executive actions pile up because tribes cannot agree, cannot trust, cannot yield. But governance by decree is not democracy—it is monarchy. And when a people refuse to reason together, they invite a king.

History’s Warnings

I have seen this movie before.

In Uganda, we traded fear of one another for the false security of a dictator. The “king” we demanded became the tyrant we could not escape. And I will never forget watching as Rwanda descended into unspeakable horror in 1994. Nearly a million lives were lost in just 100 days. Entire families vanished overnight. I was close enough to hear the cries of a nation being torn apart.

Tribalism always begins with suspicion and caricature but ends with bloodshed. Once a society believes “the other tribe is irredeemably evil”—whether defined by ethnicity, ideology, or party—mass violence is never far behind.

America’s Own Echoes

The Civil War remains the bloodiest chapter in the nation’s history, with more than 600,000 dead. Yes, it was fought over slavery—but beneath that moral crisis was the deeper fracture of two “tribes” who no longer believed they could share a country.

Later, entire communities were treated as less than human in their own land. The logic was tribal: “they” cannot be trusted, so “we” must be protected.

Even the Civil Rights Movement, as righteous as it was, revealed the depth of America’s tribal reflex. Peaceful demonstrators were branded enemies, not because of their actions, but because they threatened the dominance of another tribe.

Today’s divisions may look different, but the spirit is the same. Left and right no longer see opponents; they see enemies. Blue and red are not preferences but tribal identities. To question your tribe is to betray it. To reach across the aisle is to consort with the enemy.

The Inevitable Strongman

This is the danger America faces. Tribal nations eventually demand a strong hand, a dictator, to keep them from tearing each other apart.

Ancient Israel made the same mistake. Rejecting God’s reign, they cried out: “Now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations” (1 Samuel 8:5). But God warned them: a king would not unite them—he would exploit them. And still they insisted, “We want a king over us” (v. 19).

Jesus said it plainly: “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand” (Matthew 12:25). America will not be the exception to His words.

The Gospel’s Answer to Tribalism

What, then, is America’s hope? It will not be found in stronger arguments, louder rhetoric, or sharper tribal lines. The only cure for tribal hatred is the cross of Christ.

At Calvary, Jew and Gentile, slave and free, male and female were reconciled into one new humanity (Ephesians 2:14 16; Galatians 3:28). Only the gospel dismantles the walls of hostility that tribes erect. Only Christ creates a table where enemies sit as family.

The early church knew this well. In Antioch, believers were first called Christians (Acts 11:26)—not Jews, not Greeks, not Romans, but a new people defined not by tribe but by Christ. That was their prophetic witness then. It must be ours today.

A Call to the Church

As a minister, I know how tempting it is to baptize partisan politics and call it gospel. But I also know this: whenever the Church lowers itself to a tribal pulpit, it loses its prophetic authority. Only when we stand above the tribes can we speak to them with God’s voice.

This is not about choosing sides but about choosing Christ. Our task is not to echo the culture’s divisions but to embody heaven’s reconciliation. Our citizenship is in heaven (Philippians 3:20), and our allegiance is to a King whose throne cannot be shaken.

America stands at a tipping point. Tribalism is not merely politics—it is spiritual warfare. The enemy delights in division because he knows a house divided cannot stand.

My prayer is not abstract—it is the cry of a man who has seen nations devour themselves. I pray, “Lord, have mercy on America. Do not let tribalism consume her as it has consumed others.”

And may the Church be found faithful—not as a tribe among tribes, but as a prophetic people who refuse to trade the cross for a flag, or the kingdom of God for the kingdoms of men.

Photo Credit: ©Unsplash/Samuel Schneider

Dr. Dennis Sempebwa was born and raised in Uganda. He has served in 89 countries as an award-winning recording artist, leadership coach, educator, and sought-after speaker. Holding numerous doctoral degrees and authorship of 18 books, Dennis is recognized as one of Africa’s top thought leaders and public intellectuals. He and his family reside in Texas, USA. Learn more at sempebwa.com.