A Pastor's Commentary
All Voters Are Values Voters
by Thomas Hasbrouck, Associate Pastor
The conservative vote. The liberal vote. The black vote. The white vote. The latino vote. The female vote. The male vote. The Jewish vote. The evangelical Christian vote. The gay vote. The youth vote. The senior vote. This vote. That vote. Much is made of these voting "blocs" and their strategic importance in campaign strategy. Also present, and very much connected, is the debate over whether religious identity and values should be part of the discussion.
Some point to the policy concept of separation of church and state, and conclude that religious talk and positions and influence should have no place in government. Others say wait, the separation of church and state means the government is not allowed to control churches and religious institutions, and individual churches are not to control government, but asking individual office holders to forego religious practice or principles goes beyond the common sense intent of the First Amendment.
Even though religion has been pushed out of many public institutions and government settings, the majority of United States voters still profess to holding religious beliefs, and consider religion an important part of life. Therefore the candidates, both Republican and Democrat, have sought in this election not to distance themselves from religious identity, but to claim it and to appeal to it. Why?
Simply stated, they want the vote. Whatever theoretical and academic pronouncements have been made about politics and religion being separated, the candidates know full well that voters do not live that way. Neither do they vote that way. The reason is confoundingly simple&emdash;religious identity, and its corresponding teaching (doctrine), creates the values that voters hold.
From the very beginning this dynamic was known. The founding fathers, almost to a man, reminded one another and the people that the new United States government was made for a religious people. For example, John Adams in 1798 said, "Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other." They expected the people and the elected officials to live out their religion‐derived values. One test of the validity of Adams' statement is this: the less moral the people, the more laws will be required to maintain order.
Now, each one of us tends to think it will work best if the moral and religious values are our own; of course, they are not, at least not exactly. As a result, the actual practice of government and the life of society is maddeningly complex. We have here not only the religious ideals and teachings of "major" religions like Christianity and Judaism, but also a multitude of others, including the "non-religious". For clarification, I offer a definition: religion is a set of beliefs and practices with respect to god(s). This must include atheism, which has particular beliefs about god. And that religious identity and its teachings create values, just as theistic teachings do. Obviously, the values coming from all these sources are not the same; they reflect the very different teachings behind them.
As a Christian who believes that God has revealed himself and truth in the Bible, I use that as both the primary and the ultimate source of doctrine. This is what shapes my values. As a voter, I seek to be consistent with biblical values while evaluating the experience and policy and accomplishments of the candidates. Will I be completely satisfied? Probably not. But values and the policies they drive are foundational to my voting decisions, just as values are foundational to the candidates' positions.
I appeal to the candidates: tell us what you believe is right and wrong. We want to know, because it does matter; it is the basis for your policy. Tell us what you see the problems to be, and how you intend to go about dealing with them. Show us you can lead, and show us you can work with others. But please don't tell us religious identity does not matter, or think that it's you being religious we want to see. Live your values.
And voters, pay attention. No one candidate will agree with you one hundred percent on policy or values, unless you are the candidate. Look at what the candidates do, not just what they say. Ask questions. Insist on truth. And vote for the candidate who couples ability with the values you hold and believe will serve the country best. (You will almost certainly have to prioritize the values you are looking for.)
This coming election, like every other, is not about values voters versus some other group or groups. It is about the values our society holds, and the policies and actions our elected officials will execute. What will our laws decree? The answer is found in the values of the lawmakers. So then, who will be our lawmakers? It's your vote.