Politicians And Religious Tribalism
November 7th, 2011 § Leave a Comment
USA Today had an interesting commentary by David Gushee recently about the role of religion, specifically Christianity in politics. The whole piece was worth reading but in it they had this that I thought was worth noting:
This version of Christian politics is inherently corrupting to Christian faith, ethics and witness. It encourages politicians to take God’s name in vain, and to do so routinely. (That would be a violation of the Ten Commandments, if Christians still cared about such things.) It tempts church leaders to abuse their offices and abandon their core vocations as they entangle themselves with politics. It confuses the message of Christianity with that of the politician of the moment. It damages the moral witness of Christians in culture. It makes it harder for millions to even consider the claims of historic Christian faith. It drives many away from God altogether.
This kind of Christian politics is also corrupting of American politics. When a significant minority of the body politic votes mainly on the basis of what amounts to religious tribalism, it encourages everyone else to do the same thing. But tribal politics is toxic. It has destroyed nations from Yugoslavia to Lebanon. And it does nothing to bring to office leaders with the skills to actually solve our everyday problems. We need effective leaders, not religious symbols.
What may prove to be interesting this year is the fact that one of the leading GOP candidates for president is someone from a religion that many evangelical Christians consider to be heretical. What if he is the best qualified to lead, should Christians support someone less qualified but who might more closely align with their religious tribe?
This dovetails nicely with a comment my Pastor Dave Jefferys made at the Vista Community Church this Sunday when he said that government/politics was “not the answer to all our problems”. Government does have an important God ordained role in society. But history is rife with examples of thoroughly un-Biblical governments and political leaders that were used to further God’s purpose.
Maybe we need to keep in mind Jesus’ admonishment to
“Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” – Luke 20:25 ESV
