The region's importance to Christians worldwide – both for history and doctrinal authority for many denominations – also shapes the political theologies of the Middle East.
They emphasize their homeland as the birthplace of Christianity, even at the sacrifice of some religious duties such as evangelical work, as conversion from Islam is illegal in most Middle Eastern countries.
Their generally high educational attainments made them key leaders causes for Palestinian nationalism, where they emphasized their historic ties to the Holy Land and religious bonds with Muslims and Jews, but the rise of Islamist groups, and their own declining numbers, has changed the Christian approach to one of influence rather than direct wielding of power.
The Kairos document is a call from Palestinian Christian leaders for peaceful co-existence in the Holy Land, beginning with a re-negotiation of rights in Jerusalem for "two peoples" and "three religions".
The Kairos document argues against theologians who use the Bible to justify a religious state in the Holy Land, where Palestinian Christians and Muslims have a "natural right" to live.
The document's authors are scholars from Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine, and Iraq, and it critically analyzes the role of religion in helping with the region's educational, social, and structurally political problems.
The document stresses religion's potential for harm in political life multiple times and repeatedly emphasizes the need for Christians and Muslims to work together using principles of equality and freedom.