Sunday, December 01, 2019
Sunday Reflection: Religion and Politics
I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. I do know that at times, Thanksgivings are riven with political or religious divisions within families, and it's likely that there was more of that this year than usual.
Sure, the division was probably more over politics than religion this year, but both have the ability to create division. And then there is the cleavage that cuts between both-- that is, the difference between people who think religion should inform our ideas about politics and those who do not.
Count me on the side of those who think that our faith should inform our political choices. If faith really is the source of our deepest beliefs and motivations, how could it not? Why would we slice away this one important part of society?
Importantly, I'm not arguing for a theocracy; I don't think that a state religion or a favored religion should direct policy. But I do think that individual citizens should (and do) act from their faith in choosing which party, politician, or policy to support or oppose.
For example, my faith compels me to care about the fate of the poor, and do all that I can to feed the hungry and aid those in need. One way to do that is to favor politicians who want government to do exactly that. How could it not be so?
Sure, some people assert that because Jesus said that the coin with Caesar's head on it should be paid for taxes means (somehow) that our imperative to help the poor does not extend to considering how the government can help. That's pretty twisted. I creates a strange exemption to the role of God, a "two sphere" approach that is unsustainable to anyone seeking integrity within their faith. It reflects an oddly stunted and unambitious God. That's not the one I sense in the world around me.
So, yes, my faith guides what I want from government, and what I seek from that government. That's why I work to expand clemency: it is the government living out a faith imperative, of mercy. It helps, of course, that that imperative is in the Constitution as well...
Sure, the division was probably more over politics than religion this year, but both have the ability to create division. And then there is the cleavage that cuts between both-- that is, the difference between people who think religion should inform our ideas about politics and those who do not.
Count me on the side of those who think that our faith should inform our political choices. If faith really is the source of our deepest beliefs and motivations, how could it not? Why would we slice away this one important part of society?
Importantly, I'm not arguing for a theocracy; I don't think that a state religion or a favored religion should direct policy. But I do think that individual citizens should (and do) act from their faith in choosing which party, politician, or policy to support or oppose.
For example, my faith compels me to care about the fate of the poor, and do all that I can to feed the hungry and aid those in need. One way to do that is to favor politicians who want government to do exactly that. How could it not be so?
Sure, some people assert that because Jesus said that the coin with Caesar's head on it should be paid for taxes means (somehow) that our imperative to help the poor does not extend to considering how the government can help. That's pretty twisted. I creates a strange exemption to the role of God, a "two sphere" approach that is unsustainable to anyone seeking integrity within their faith. It reflects an oddly stunted and unambitious God. That's not the one I sense in the world around me.
So, yes, my faith guides what I want from government, and what I seek from that government. That's why I work to expand clemency: it is the government living out a faith imperative, of mercy. It helps, of course, that that imperative is in the Constitution as well...
