Faithful Democrats: For A Time Such As This

An important reason why George Bush presides over the nation’s highest office today is the large turnout of socially conservative Christian voters (including 4 million new evangelical voters) in Ohio and other key states in the 2004 presidential election. Many of these voters told pollsters they were attracted by Republican-supported ballot measures opposing same-sex marriage. Though important, such a large increase in voter turnout cannot be solely attributable to a communal Christian desire to outlaw same sex marriage. There is evidence that the increase was directly related to political campaigning (of a distinctly partisan nature) among Christian organizations like Focus on the Family, the Family Research Council, and the Christian Coalition. Using language like, “reclaiming America for Christ,” “holy war,” “a persecuted minority,” and the “godless forces of secularism,” (a) various influential leaders in the Religious Right have encouraged their Christian audiences to “vote their values.” Their teaching goes something like this: Real Christians don’t vote for Democrats. Christians vote for Republicans because they are the party that upholds Christian morality and values.

Despite the persistence of the claim that the Republican Party is the only political party with “values,” the popularity of Jim Wallis’ book “God’s Politics” and his tagline, “God is Not a Republican or a Democrat,” demonstrate that this teaching rings false for a considerable number who consider themselves Christians. Most who are attracted to Wallis’ work believe the Republican Right claims to, but does not in reality, accurately reflect them. This sentiment, felt by a former Democratic National Committee chairman and close collaborators, led to the launch of a new website entitled Faithful Democrats. The co-founders hope to create a distinctly Democratic and Christian forum that will broaden the conversation concerning what it means to be a “values voter.” According to Jesse Lava, a co-founder who now directs the site, “What David and I believed we needed was some vehicle that would help shape the national debate on faith and politics. So the main thing was to help reframe the values debate to be beyond wedge-issue politics, beyond fear and division and more focused on justice and the common good.” (b)

In a recent conversation with Lava, he listed some of the values that the site is hoping to highlight, noting they are issues he believes the vast majority of Americans would agree upon. In his words they are justice - particularly, how we care for the “least of these” in the spirit of Matthew 25:31 - 36; the common good, or the idea that all people in a community can and should benefit from governmental policies; the importance of embracing and honoring people of different cultures; care of creation; and war as a last resort. Faithful Democrats will also tackle some of the hot-button issues that have monopolized the conversation surrounding values, including abortion and gay marriage. September 19th was the first day of weeklong topic at Faithful Democrats emphasizing reducing abortions. The site includes blogging by featured writers and theologians on the topic and also highlights legislation that is being submitted to the House by Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) and Congressman Tim Ryan (D-OH) entitled, Reducing the Need for Abortion and Supporting Parents Act. (c)

It is clear from speaking to Lava and perusing the site that the intent of the creators is not to divide along partisan lines but to provide an exclusive space that encourages dialogue and action for Christians who consider themselves Democrats. The hope of the founders is that this space will play an integral role in the expansion of the national conversation regarding faith and politics. Whether your political affiliation, and even if you’re simply uninterested in politics, www.faithfuldemocrats.org is an important site to look into as it offers an underrepresented perspective in the conversation regarding what it means to exercise religious values in the political arena, and indeed, what it means to be a Christian. It also may also provide new insight into the reasons why people of the same faith are so divided, hopefully shedding some light onto our increasing polarization in the 21st century. All who claim Christ should do their best to be informed and thoughtful followers, and an important element of this objective is to carefully consider what Christian values are and what role they should play in public policy, be it regarding divisive issues such as abortion or those we can all agree upon, such as the common good.

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Footnotes

(a) In the words of D. James Kennedy, “”Our job is to reclaim America for Christ, whatever the cost,” Kennedy says. “As the vice regents of God, we are to exercise godly dominion and influence over our neighborhoods, our schools, our government, our literature and arts, our sports arenas, our entertainment media, our news media, our scientific endeavors — in short, over every aspect and institution of human society.”

(b) James, Frank. “Democrats Launch Christian Website: Group Hopes to Dent Advantage for GOP.” Chicago Tribune 6 Sep. 2006.

(c) Lava pointed out an interesting thing to me: Despite the centrality of the issue in the public square and in political campaigns, in twelve years of control of the House and Senate the Republican Party has never launched a serious legislative effort to curb the number of abortions.