I've been spending a lot of time thinking about my political beliefs. Coming from a traditional Christian home, it should come as no surprise that I was raised to be a republican. Almost every Christian I know is conservative. The reasons for this seem logical enough. Republicans stand for morals that are closer in line with those of the Bible. The traditional family becomes the example. Father is off at work while the mother drives the two and a half kids to soccer practice in the minivan. They have a nice sized house in a nice suburban area. This is the ideal family that the liberals are trying to destroy. Liberals stand for immorality.
Really though, how many social issues are there in the Democratic party that are anti-christian morally? Abortion, gay rights, embryonic stem cell, and ... what else? Christians have bought into these few issues so thoroughly that they have decided that they can't possibly be democrats and thus buy into everything else that comes with being republicans. Christians in general hate the idea of increased taxes on the rich and having more social programs for the poor. Things like universal health care, increased welfare, etc become associated with the 'evil' democratic party.
Now I know what the typical response is to all this. The government shouldn't be the ones to care for those in need. That job belongs to the church. Or Christians should be the ones to take care of the needy. We shouldn't let the government do it for us. Another argument is that people will just end up taking advantage of these programs. If I give personally then I can be sure that the right people are getting the help. These arguments are weak. Most of the Christians I know do their couple of service events a year and spend the rest of the time focused on themselves. If there were no government programs to help those in need, very few people would ever get help. Of course there are those who will take advantage. But there are so many who are honestly trying but just can't get out of their circumstances through no fault of their own. Do we let those people suffer because there are those who will take advantage of you?
I see nothing particularly christian about the ideal family touted by conservatives. I see a lot that is christian about helping those in need, even if it is through the government. There are still the issues of abortion, gay rights, etc. I have been against legislating against gay marriage for a while now. I say it in that confusing way because I am not exactly for gay marriage. So for me at least, the issue of republican versus democrat comes down to abortion versus suffering of the poor. While I still haven't made up my mind, I think I might be leaning left.
Or I could always go with the tried and true political position of apathy.
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I think I could have written this post.
ReplyDeleteExcept I'm convinced that apathy is not the answer. I tried it and walked away unsatisfied.
I think it depends on the kind of apathy (does that even make sense?)
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I've learned that politics is a breeding ground for anger and hate for many people, and I don't want those kinds of discussions. Many people would defend their views more strongly than they would their family or friends.
I take to apathy in a way that I think works for me. I understand everything you are saying in your post, but I choose to approach the political issues in a personal way. Instead of campaigning for politicians or groups with the views I want, I try to live the views. I'll serve the poor, give to the poor, protect the weak and clothe the naked as best I can without a sign or a ribbon that puts me into a political party.
I guess I'm apathetic to political parties, not the specific ideals of any of them.
Also, I think it's important to point out that the whole Republican vs Democrat debate can be much deeper than just abortion/gay marriage vs helping the poor.
There are lots of Republicans who think that public welfare programs are a must, but think that the approach we use to achieve them is faulty at best. There are lots of alternatives to taxing the country and distributing it. For instance, tax credits on giving is just one example of such a program (Churches support this by keeping records of member giving for tax purposes).
I guess the real question is "What kind of legislation should Christians force on everyone else?"
For Republicans, maybe gay marriage and abortion are issues of high value that we must force those views on the rest of the country. For Democrats, maybe the issues of social welfare are of the highest value that we must force those views on the rest of the country. Either way, we are expecting the rest of the nation to live by the values that we have chosen. (I realize I just created the us vs them dichotomy I just attacked above).
Maybe we should stop picking and choosing between abortion, gay marriage, giving to the poor, clothing the naked, education, and other topics. It's divisive at very best. Instead, focus on how you can live within God's will for all these things, and find that place where you are called. I think that there are plenty of people out there fighting the good fight trying (in different ways) to lower abortion rates and I am all for all of those methods even if I don't agree with them (contradictory, but I'm comfortable with that - if outlawing abortion stops murder, or education stops murder, then some murders are stopped...). Same goes for the issues with the poor (if the government gives to the poor or the Church gives to the poor, the poor are eating...)
That was a bit of a ramble. Hopefully it made some sense.
i have a few problems with this post, but i will try to keep it short.
ReplyDeletefirst off, i completely disagree with the title and assumption made that all christians, or even the significant majority, are conservative, which i think you seek to interchange freely with "republican". i have seen a quickly increasing number of liberal christians in the past years. this could be a result of shifting viewpoints, or even of the democratic party appealing to the christian voting stereotypes. if you are calling on stereotypes then yes, the stereotype is that christians are conservative, but it should be noted that typical college students and typical city dwellers are liberal. and while christians may make up greater percentages of the classic "Bible belt" states, there will still be significant numbers in the traditional blue cities and states. consider this excerpt from a 2008 barna study...
"The new Barna study shows that if the election were to be held today, 40% of all born again adults who are likely to vote in November would choose the Democratic candidate and just 29% would choose the Republican candidate. The remaining 28% are currently not sure whom they would choose, preferring to make their selection on the basis of the candidate than strictly on the basis of his or her party affiliation."
furthermore, i dont see how christians are really any different than nonchristians in the way they cast their votes, and it is unfair to comment on that point. most people i know, christian or non, tend to focus in on a key 2-3 issues that they are concerned with and vote along those lines. i dont see how someone voting democrat because that is the party most likely to work towards universal healthcare is different than voting republican as a rule because of their historic voting regarding abortion.
i think i like the message you are trying to get out there, just not really with you in how you go about it.
Thanks Marsh, you beat me.
ReplyDeleteThere are many, many Christians who do not hold "conservative" political viewpoints.
http://sojo.net
Josh: I fully agree that politics often leads to anger, hate, etc. I would also add that anything that causes a divisiveness or side-choosing will do the same. You talk about not choosing between certain issues and just living it out. I think this has some merit but it poses a problem for me come election day. It isn't often a candidate will support all of my own ideals. My options come down to picking the issue of more importance or not voting at all. But when I'm not voting I will certainly be able to focus on both abortion and social justice.
ReplyDeleteMatt: I never meant to imply that all Christians are conservatives. I was partly playing on the stereotype. In particular though, the type of Christian that I am in contact with almost exclusively is the suburban, evangelical/born again Christian. Looking back on the post I realize I could have explicitly stated that this is the Christian I am referring to. And this is the group that has been traditionally very conservative.
You bring up an excerpt from the Barna study but failed to mention that the preceding paragraph.
"A surprising new survey out Monday found that more born again Christian voters said they would support a Democratic candidate than a Republican candidate, breaking the long tradition of born-again support for the GOP."
This article clearly supports the claim that born again Christians are traditionally republicans.
Also I am not entirely sure what you are tying to argue when you say Christians and non-Christians vote in the same way. I never implied that Christians don't or shouldn't focus on a few issues. I did implied that I myself was only really concerned with the issue of abortion and the issue(s) of social justice. (Not really sure if that is one or multiple issues.) I think the important thing is that Christians identify with the issues that are truly important from a biblical perspective, and having a nice suburban house is definitely not a biblical ideal.
Elliot: Thanks for the link. I will need to take some time to look into that more. Also I can't help but notice their mission statement is very similar to that of Intervarsity.
jon - yeah i read that part too as it was in two separate articles referring to the study. while it reinforces your point by demonstrating some cause for the stereotype, i feel it also reinforces my view by showing that in the past few years their has been a dramatic shift in views among christians. that is how i feel, as i have personally seen a marked shift in the views of people over the past few years. this might be a result of moving from hs and a family life to college, but it just seems that christians on the whole are becoming increasingly more liberal.
ReplyDeletesecond, i made that comparison because in my mind your 2nd and 3rd paragraphs were making the point that christians kind of pick abortion or stem cell and vote along those lines though that means ignoring other issues of social justice. my counter to that was basically that (my opinion, based on what i have seen in a bunch of people) that people tend to vote based on just a few issues. this could be because they are ignorant/apathetic on some issues or because they place significantly more importance on a few issues, regardless of the reasoning.
I agree that my explanation doesn't really help come November. But it does maintain Christian friendliness and allow us to focus on living like we preach.
ReplyDeleteAnyone think that our generation will see the downfall of the two party system before we die? Or perhaps see the parties begin to align themselves differently. Maybe I'm overestimating the significance of the population that shares liberal social concerns and conservative moral concerns.
ReplyDeleteI think that the parties will look very different in 80 years, but it's hard to say how much different they will appear in 30 or 40 years. (They will be different, but will we notice?)
ReplyDeleteThe Democratic Party didn't look anything like it does today before the 1930s. In fact, the south was primarily democrat and Republican was synonymous with the North and more progressive views (Honest Abe was Republican!). African Americans voted overwhelmingly Republican and Democrat was synonymous with "Big Business" and the interests of the banking industry.
It wasn't until the New Deal in the 30s that the parties shifted to look as they do today.
I suspect that they will look very different in our lifetimes, but it will be hard to notice as the transition will be slow. Also, all parties have become more progressive and the true "conservative" party is the Libertarian party (Republicans are far less conservative than just 30 years ago).