Among the interesting bits in the new Pew poll is the finding that conservatives fear there's too much religion in politics. In 2004, 30% said churches should stay out of politics. Now, 50% do. Among white evangelicals, the percentage jumped from 28% up to 39%
Why? The cynical interpretation might be that conservatives don't like Obama playing the faith card. Suddenly, when a Democrat is using religion as a prop, it's unseemly.
But just as likely, this is a reflection of a genuine disillusionment among conservatives about what political involvement has actually gotten them. As the Evangelical Manifesto, produced in May by a group of leading Christians put it: "Whichever side it comes from, a politicized faith is faithless, foolish and disastrous for the church."
In other words, while moderates and liberals fear that church involvement in politics hurts politics, some religious conservatives have increasingly come to feel it hurts Christ.
Add to Del.icio.us
Add to Technorati
Add to Digg
Add to Newsvine
Add to Facebook
Add to StumbleUpon
Subscribe
For years I have been asked how I, a Christian, could vote for a democrat. For years I have been saying that the Republicans have only given Christians lip service and have rewarded "the Devil" with their failure to provide for the needs of its citizens.
I have seen the Religious focus groups spread lies and innuendos about candidates and even refuse communion to believers just because they have supported democrats. And yet as thousand of our young men and women go off to fight a war, American jobs are shipped overseas and goods are on the shelves of our mega-stores that were produced by child labor, I hear these same people say that to vote for a democrat is to vote for sin.
I don't always vote for a democrat, I just don't vote for people that I feel live at the corporate pig trough.
It could be that in the end, conservatism and religion don't mix very well at a lot of levels. Conservatives don't want government telling them how to live and that is what religion, in the end, is all about, telling other people how to live.
Perhaps religious conservatives have gotten tired of the abuse of the Lord's name for political gain. Perhaps they realize that Christianity is not defined only by abortion and the gays. Perhaps they realize that we are a country of laws based in the US Constitution and not the Old Testament. Perhaps they realize that government and religion are best served seperately.
Perhaps religious conservatives have come to realize that eight years of carrying the water for the Republican party has yielded them NOTHING but endless war, economic unrest/uncertainty, world instability and is not compatible with the goal of winning souls for Jesus Christ.
Maybe its because after eight years of "Compassionate Conservatism" and six years of GOP dominance of all three branches of Government abortions have nor decreased but increased. States have passed laws granting "same-sex" marriage and they are now out of work, losing their home and paying twice as much at the pump.
Maybe we need a liberal government so that we can return to the conservative values we shared when Truman was President. ( My God, has it been that long ago?)
Post a Comment
By submitting these comments, I agree to the beliefnet.com terms of service, rules of conduct and privacy policy (the "agreements"). I understand and agree that any content I post is licensed to beliefnet.com and may be used by beliefnet.com in accordance with the agreements.