ElizabethOn Friday, Sept. 9, Abby Johnson, a renowned pro-life activist, came to Liberty University to share with the students the importance of standing up for the pro-life movement. However, while most students loved what she had to say, some were a bit put off by the message. Many students mentioned how they didn’t like how often Christianity and politics were blended together and thought that the two should be completely separate.
This got me thinking, should religion and politics be separated or do they go hand in hand?
In order to answer this question I turned to social media and asked my followers what their ideas on the subject were. Here is what they had to say:
- “The two don’t mix well”
- “Yes I think they should be two separate organizations”
- “Absolutely. Separation of church and state goes both ways”
- “Yeah. All opinions should be separate from other opinions”
- “Church should be separate from state, but politics depends on your personal/religious belief”
- “So I think that politics and religion should be separated in that one should not have control over the other. A religious body shouldn’t be able to influence decisions that the government makes, and the government shouldn’t have any say in what a religious group can and cannot do during worship”
Suffice to say, the major consensus was that politics should never be mixed with religion, and to an extent I agree. However, there is a big part of me that entirely disagrees.
Perhaps in a better time the world could afford to keep politics completely separate from their faith. But now, the world no longer consists of simply Republicans versus Democrats, but rather, literal good versus evil. There are people bragging about murdering their babies in the streets, children are being trafficked and sexualized at an alarming rate, it’s considered brave to mutilate your body if you feel like it, and so much more. To make matters worse, a lot of our politicians and many politically affiliated organizations are behind these terrible acts.
Our religion, our faith, sets forth our worldview, and our worldview dictates what we fight for. We as Christians are called to fight the good fight of faith. We are called to stand up against what is wrong. We are called to be beacons of light in this cursed world. In order to do this, I think that Christians should fight against these horrid political issues. As children of God we cannot stand idly by and watch as babies are murdered in the womb, as children are told that they can change their bodies on a whim, as humans are trafficked across the globe (often under the control of our politicians). I fight for conservative values because I serve Christ and I believe that they are values which He also prizes. I am a conservative because I am a Christian.
I like how one of my good friends worded this issue: “…Now religion is part of a worldview. Your worldview will affect how you think about politics unintentionally. I think because of this, you should be upfront about your views on both and admit to that unintentional bias and lean into your values. And if you’re devout with your beliefs, it should affect every aspect of your life, INCLUDING politics…Having a starting point for your values is part of having integrity, especially in the political realm.”
Separation of Church and State:
Now I do understand that the separation of church and state is important. I understand that since we have the freedom of religion in this nation, and that we respect other religions in addition to Christianity, that it can be tricky for Christian ideas to be implemented in government. However, do not forget that this nation was founded on Judeo-Christian principles, and because of that, I think Christianity does have a rightful place in our governmental systems. We belong to Christ before we belong to the Constitution.
In the same way, I understand that the government should be left out of churches since the last thing that we want is the government interfering with what churches can or can’t preach about. I also understand that for a pastor to bring politics into the pulpit also opens the door to opposition. However, as I said before, Christians are called to stand up for what is right, and if our pastors won’t stand up, how can we be expected to? We must make use of our first amendment rights while we still have them.
In conclusion, I believe that politics does, in fact, have a place in religion and that religion has a place in politics. As Christians we are supposed to stand up for the sanctity of life, for the sanctity of marriage, for the protection of our children, and for freedom. We fight for these values not because we are conservatives, but because we are Christians. Because these are values that God prizes. If the church won’t stand up for them, then who will?
1 Peter 2:16 – Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God.
Luke 10:19 – Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you.
Comment What You Think Below!
I feel like Christians retreating from politics is a cope to avoid a messy and tedious fight and to preserve their social standing in the secular world.
Also, the notion of separation of church and state has been distorted by leftist attorneys and activist judges. The Founding Fathers wanted strong Christian institutions to structure society with a limited government that served a few important functions.
Good article, you are on the right track!
I completely agree! Thank you for your comment!