For a long time I could not understand why so many Christians in America favoured the Republicans over the Democrats. The Republicans, after all, were for the rich and the military while the Democrats were for the poor and the common man. It was hard for me to imagine Jesus siding with the generals and the moneymen against the man in the street.
But in those days I did not believe in God. I did not call myself a Marxist, but that is what I was. What Marx said just seemed like common sense to me. But later I read the Bible all the way through and, after a few years of failing to explain it away, I became a Christian myself.
Then suddenly it made sense to me why so many Christians voted Republican: it pretty much came down to abortion and moral issues like that. Republicans represent the old Christian morals, more or less, while the Democrats were for things like abortion, gays and keeping prayer out of schools.
The ends do not justify the means. So no amount good deeds by the government can make up for its support for abortion. Just like no amount of good deeds by the government could make up for its support for slavery.
And so millions of ordinary Americans wind up supporting the party of the rich. They find themselves siding with the generals and the moneymen against the man in the street – against themselves!
In the 1980s and 1990s the Democratic party lost the support of most white Southerners and serious Catholics. The Democrats – well some Democrats – said it was because of racism. But given the timing of the white flight it seemed abortion not racism was more to blame. Besides, racism could not explain why serious Catholics left but the not-so-serious ones remained. But abortion could explain it. (“Serious” in this case means those who go to church every week – just because it is easier to measure it that way.)
The feeling I get about the people at the top of the Democratic party is that they do not take the Bible and religion seriously. They think that stuff is for those who do not know any better. They know better.
So, just like 14-year-olds who think they know better than their parents, they throw out what God or the Bible or thousands of years of human wisdom say and make up their own morals.
Their approach to the Constitution is the same as their approach to the Bible: they think they know better than the wisdom of their forefathers and so they read it the way that suits them. They call that progress.
But in doing this they are losing touch with ordinary people, people who still believe in the Bible, God and hell. They have already lost most of the white Christian vote. In 2004 it seems they were starting to lose even the black Christian vote.
See also:
- political left and right
- Republican
- Democrat
- Jennifer Smith – the completely average American
Very interesting post. Thank you.
It seems like a bit of a paradox, the decision that most Christians have to make politically in the U.S.
I too understand the attraction to the Republicans that Christians have because of the party’s moral convictions. But how can these convictions be explained after what has transpired over the last eight years. Such as committing to a war using a false premise.Not very moral if you ask me.
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I’m curious about your allegation that Democrats have supported positions that in some way betray the Constitution. We have seen 8 years of directed effort to concentrate power in the executive and conduct government in secret, in part to establish aggressive, “Big Brother” surveillance over the population, all in flagrant violation of the limited, tricameral structure created by our founders.
As to the Bible, morality and abortion, I fail to see how a postion supporting choice — which is not the same as a “pro-abortion” postion — in any way is inconsistent with the Bible. If Jesus taught us anything at all, he taught us that morality must be something embraced by each individual of his own free will. It cannot be imposed from without.
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You are looking at Bush the way someone who does not belong to his base would look at him.
Bush has made sure to give his base what they wanted more than anything else: for the rich, it was a huge tax cut; for the Christian right, it was anti-abortion judges on the Supreme Court. Say what you want, he has delivered on his promises to his base. It is human nature not to bite the hand that feeds you, so they trust Bush on the other stuff and will go along with him – at least for a while.
I do not know what the polls say, but I imagine even most of his base now regrets the way he has turned out overall. Given his approval ratings, about half seem to be unhappy with him.
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Good post. I have to admit, that in my conservative days, I fell for the moral issues platform of the republicans, only to find out later that they just use these issues (aboration, sanctity of marriage, etc.) to draw in voters. Even if I don’t agree with democrats’ stances on the above issues, it seems like they at least try to champion the causes of the middle and lower classes, even if they don’t always pull through. It’s the lesser of the two evils, I guess…
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Pirouette: I am in the same position, pretty much. I agree with the Democrats on most things, but not on the moral stuff. So that puts me in the middle, pulled both ways.
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I am a Christian myself. According to what I feel and what I have observed, Christians feel that you should earn things like money and things you can acquire through money. It’s not fair for the people who do work hard to give up their taxes to pay people who don’t work hard. It’s basically telling Americans that ‘it is okay to slack off because you will be taken care of anyway’. Everyone is capable of getting a good education through student loans. Therefore everyone is capable of getting a good job with good pay. Republicans support earning your way to success (as do Christians) and Democrats do not.
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Thoughtful post. The issue of abortion is a great moral problem for anti-racist Christians with traditional theological beliefs because we cannot support either the overtly racist/capitalist conservative side or the “pro-choice” option that is so foundational to liberalism. Contrary to what liberals like to believe, Jesus taught that morality is defined by God’s law and is both absolute and comprehensive. Furthermore, he never upheld contemporary democratic notions like individuality and free will. The idea that one could be against something morally and yet allow for it in the name of “choice” is not just ludicrous, it is antithetical to what Jesus taught. There was a time in the U.S. when labor and justice concerns were much closer to traditional Christianity; but secular and atheistic assumptions prevailed (including “choice”) on the left and assured that even the most justice-oriented traditional Christians could not side with liberals. No anti-racist, justice oriented Christians has a place to rest his/her head in today’s political status quo. Voting for conservative politics is a de facto vote for the priorities of the wealthy and maintenance of the racist status quo; voting for liberal politics is a de facto vote for abortion and other ideologies that are irreconcilable with the historic Christian faith and its teachings. Were John Brown alive today, he probably wouldn’t vote at all. Active dissent from participating in this corrupt system is probably the most Christian position one can take today.
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What I find interesting is the claim that those at the top of the democratic party create their own morals…as if that’s not somehow what *everyone* does. It’s within anyone’s ability to take the words from the Bible as God given. Which is fine…but it was also in anyone’s ability to take all those other religions that millions of people have partaken in as divinely given. Aside from the argument that nothing in particular makes the monotheistic believers any more sure or devoted that their earlier polytheistic counterparts, is that through history there have been visible shifts in morals to fit what the people in charge thought was in their best interest. It’s okay to kill and/or sterilize handicapped people since this will make our nation stronger. It’s fine to enslave those of other races since we’re giving them Christianity and “civilization”. Abortion is no huge deal because unprepared/resentful mothers do a poor job of raising these unwanted children and crime rates reflect this. To be perfectly honest, every last community of people shapes their own morals based on the needs and values of that community and is subject to change over time. Regardless of the chosen religious text that can easily be interpreted in a plethora of ways. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it’s naive almost, to feel as if only a small group of undesirables is doing this. It’s part of humanity.
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I thou you were going to explain when they decided to start the moral vote
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