“There’s not been a public theological contest like this since the Scopes Monkey trial.”—Diana Butler Bass
This week, Texas entered a new season: For students, it’s summer vacation, and for candidates, it’s the general election. The U.S. Senate race between AG Paxton and Rep. Talarico is drawing significant national attention, including new interest from the media about the connection between faith and public policy. In Baptist News Global, our friend Mark Wingfield reflects on Diana Butler Bass’ assessment that “Talarico v. Paxton is going to be a straight up religious argument between Christianity as a religion of love for neighbor and Christian authoritarianism.”
The focus on religion in this election cycle will provoke strong feelings, but maybe not strong faith. We can expect to see more than the usual amount of theological shorthand and various kinds of “signaling” as candidates and voters attempt to parse which political party and policy positions best reflect their deeply held beliefs.
For Texas Impact members, the national focus on the role of religion in the election is an invitation to pay attention and stay in conversation about what kind of community we are called to cultivate. Political parties are not proxies for religions. Our faith traditions lift up voting as “a matter of faith, citizenship, and democracy” not based on how we vote, but that we vote.
Want to dive deeper? Texas Impact’s publication A Matter of Faith is a great place to start. With theological reflections, worship resources, and personal stories from diverse faith traditions, A Matter of Faith explains why our faith traditions place such weight on civic participation.
Download A Matter of Faith |
