As a Christian you
1 are opposed to capital punishment. (Could you be Attorney General of Texas?)2 believed in racial integration when General of segregation was the law. (Could you be Attorney Georgia in 1950?)3 believe that abortion is immoral of and should be against the law. ( Could you be Attorney General the United States?)
1 are opposed to capital punishment. (Could you be Attorney General of Texas?)2 believed in racial integration when General of segregation was the law. (Could you be Attorney Georgia in 1950?)3 believe that abortion is immoral of and should be against the law. ( Could you be Attorney General the United States?)
(Christians and Politics by Kenneth Cauthen)
Can a christian ever be completely detached from his beliefs when it comes to his political beliefs? Doesn't your religious beliefs help you form your political beliefs? How can there ever be change in morally motivated issues such as segregation in the the 50s if politics and religion are to remain separate? It seems religion helps change the beliefs of the individual to change the beliefs of the society.
I do not think that a Christian can be completely detached from his or her religious beliefs with regards to political beliefs. This idea is not the same as mixing church with state. Rather, one's religion could help to dictate one's views on abortion, health care, etc. and these views often dictate how one will vote politically. Brian's post reminded me of the seamless garment we talked about in class earlier this year, which explained how our Catholic ethics of human life could relate to politics.
ReplyDeleteI also do not think that a Christian can ever truly detacher him or herself from their beliefs. At the same time I think Brian raises a valid point...how could political leaders in the fifties not see the how blatant discrimination against African Americans did not conflict with their Christian beliefs. I think one explaination might be that they hid behind years of tradition of slavery, and once the situation grew completely out of hand, leaders in the community who were Christian became fearful of speaking up. I doubt that the leaders were ignorant of what their actions meant, and how they conflicted with their beliefs, I think they were just too scared to speak out.
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ReplyDeleteI dont think it is necessary to completely detach yourself from your religious beliefs when it comes to politics, and I also dont think it is even possible. For most people who have faith in their life it is a part of their being/ a part of who they are. Therefor most of the decisions we make (no matter what it is related to) would be somewhat rooted in our faith. This doesn't mean that we consciously come to every conclusion by thinking first and foremost of our faith, but I do believe that having faith in your life helps shape you. We make our decisions based on the kind of person we are, so if our faith has helped to shape us, it is indirectly effecting every decision we make.
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