The Line Between Faith and Politics

Ryan Jeong

In modern politics, Christianity has a strong hold in political dictations of the American people ranging from LGBTQ+ rights, women’s reproductive rights, and the intense topic of separation between Church and State. The Christian faith is an invaluable asset to many throughout the country but a controversial political asset nonetheless. In an ever-polarized world in which the lines between church and state are fading more and more, it begs the question: When Christian values dictate political beliefs, to what extent does Christianity break past the world of faith but instead be twisted to a political weapon?

At OCSA, a predominantly liberal school with a high LGBTQ+ demographic and a diverse population of religious beliefs, Christianity plays an interesting role. According to an anonymous student, “I’ve grown up around faith my entire life… I come from a Christian family, but my political beliefs have nothing to do with my beliefs…I don’t want my faith to become a rubric on how others should live.” 

I believe that criticism towards Christianity should not be directed towards Christian values but rather towards the weaponization of Christian values to justify political control. Kris Schlesinger, a Christian author, best supports this in regards to the controversial topic of abortion, saying that “In an ideal world…every child would be…raised in a household and a community that met his or her physical, emotional, spiritual and cultural needs.” She continued, “but we don’t live in this world …which is why Christians should spend less time fighting for the unborn and more on making this world a better place for children to live.” Schlesinger is one member of the Christian faith advocating for a different role that Christianity should take in politics. 

At OCSA, beliefs like that of Schlesinger are becoming more and more common. When Christianity and politics collide, the world is idealized through a rose-colored lens that doesn’t take into account the complexity of our world. Another anonymous student said, “I feel like most of the time we are told to believe but not why we should believe… I am the first one in my family who doesn’t have any religious beliefs… I think we should continuously question what we are told and the values that we have since the world is always changing”. Of course, no political ideology is completely innocent of using faith to achieve its agenda. Regardless of where one stands on the two ends of the political spectrum, both parties use the various prospects of culture, faith and beliefs to achieve their end goals.

At the end of the day however, there exists a thin line between the power of faith and the dangers of hyper-polarized politics. In today’s world, it is becoming increasingly easier to assume someone’s political beliefs based on their faith. But when a political party takes ownership of a religion, the faith disregards the moral principles of true faith and exchanges it for the worship of a political party. When politics dominate Christianity, it sacrifices the reality of others in the favor of a political vision, and not the vision of faith. Sometimes it’s better to keep some things behind the closed church doors.