Opinion: We Shouldn’t Keep Faith out of Politics

In many Christian circles, it is common for political discussion to be perceived as taboo, a distraction from spiritual life, or a source of division amongst believers. Often, the concept of ‘separation of church and state’ is referenced to promote the idea that voting for laws that reflect biblical truth means ‘shoving our beliefs down the throats of others.’

Although the words ‘separation of church and state’ are not written anywhere in the American Constitution, and are a reference to a letter written by Thomas Jefferson with the help of a Baptist preacher, the same idea is allegedly manifested in the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, which says we are to ‘make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof’. However, the Establishment Clause was never intended to mean freedom from religion, but rather, freedom of religion. Our founding fathers wanted to prevent the government from controlling how we choose to worship God by declaring a national religion as many European countries had, not to force us to separate our Christian values from who and what we vote for. 

Vanguard’s own Pastor Michael Whitford gained political experience when he spent a few years working as a public relations specialist in Washington D.C. He spoke on this topic:

“The intent of the language of separation of church and state was so that the state couldn’t tell the church what to do. Everybody wanted to make sure that the church had its own autonomy, and one of the things that played out legally from that is the whole 501-C3 tax exemption on churches, because our founders decided that any church organization was God’s territory, sovereign land if you will, and you can’t tax God. So it was more for the protection of the church, but it was never meant to keep the church away from the influence of the state. In fact, the opposite. John Adams said that our constitution is ‘wholly unfit for an immoral people’ meaning that our constitution is meant to be for a Christian people who have core values that stem from scripture.”

Indeed, the Constitution was always designed for a country full of Christians, and biblical morality has always been the standard for legislation. It’s because of the Christian recognition of our God

-given rights that we have democracy and human rights in the West. In the past, most political policy has been shaped around a Christian moral code based on biblical principles such as do not steal, do not murder, etc. Pastor Mike told me what had changed:

“In our thirteen original colonies, and in the beginning of our nation, whenever somebody proposed a law in Congress, they would say, ‘Thank you for that, show me where it says that in scripture so we can make sure it aligns with the scriptures.’ That was pre-1859, in 1859 the origin of species came out. So just like that ‘forward-thinking’ of Darwinism came in, that species evolve and can become better, jurisprudence and law followed that ‘scientific philosophy’ that now law can change and evolve. But prior to 1859, everything was based on concrete law that came from scripture.”

Our founding fathers set a high bar, but regardless, as believers, why wouldn’t we trust that God’s design and moral authority are the best, even when it comes to ‘controversial’ issues surrounding topics like family, marriage and life and death?

U.S. Capitol Building. Photo Credit: Caleb Perez, Unsplash

Many Christians fear political involvement altogether, claiming that politics has no place in the church or in the lives of Christians because of its divisive nature. But the truth is, as Christians we are called to love others, and stepping away from a Christian impact on our country’s laws out of fear is far from loving to the people who live alongside us. Allie Stuckey, a Christian political commentator, addresses this issue best: “Politics matters because policy matters because people matter. Politics affects policy, policy affects people.” We are called to steward the earth that God has given us, and that means that we shouldn’t be apathetic to our nation’s laws, which impact the lives of everyone. We are not called to fear division, but to fear God.

The further our nation’s laws have strayed from Christian values, the more our culture has strayed from God as well. The truth is that politics play a big part in shaping culture. The modern ‘live and let live’ philosophy that permeates nearly all corners of our society has led to the widespread normalization and praise of sin, instead of virtue. This should come as no surprise to us as we know that without our eyes constantly fixed on Jesus, our predisposition as humans will always be toward sin. Christians have a part to play in politics, whether that means activism, running for office, casting a ballot on election day, or simply praying for virtuous Christian leaders, to ensure that the laws of our country reflect the laws given to Moses by God in the form of the ten commandments. 

However, in C.S. Lewis’s ‘The Screwtape Letters’ the demons who play the antagonists knew that the destruction of our faith lies in using Christianity as a means to an end to our political initiatives. Although, like every other area of our lives, we should let our faith rule over our politics, we should be careful not to let our politics rule our faith. 

Cathy Yi, an Adjunct Professor at Vanguard who is currently teaching a class called ‘Faith and Politics’ gave this advice: “The biggest thing I would advocate for is to remember your identity, and a lot of us will put our partisan identity first. I would challenge people to flip that narrative, and say, ‘I’m a Christian first, and I would happen to align with this political identity.’”