Faith Night: Should Faith Have A Role In Politics?
Author: Father Cody Williams, Holy Cross Church
Faith Night: Should Faith Have a Role in Politics?
Father Cody Williams
Holy Cross Church
Over the last several decades the common answer to this question is, no. The general mantra is that faith and politics are separate entities that should not be involved with one another. Some try to quote the Founding Fathers as creating a separation of church and state even though their intention was to prevent the state from interfering with matters of church. Others challenge this notion by stating that faith cannot be separated from politics since our country was founded on Christian ideals. Ultimately the intersection of faith and politics became a political tool. Politicians have spanned the entire spectrum from using faith as a tool to motivate voters to showing their own ideals to those who want to remove all aspects of faith from the political area and use a non-religious platform to influence voters. Regardless of the methods religion has been used in the political arena, the real question remains unanswered: should faith have a role in politics?
The ancient Greeks coined the term “politics” even though the idea of politics predates them. Politics comes from the Greek word polis which means city or state. Thus the role of politics is to answer the question: what is good for the state? If we take the democratic system of Athens as the example, members of the state would discuss the issues and concerns of the time with the goal of reaching a consensus regarding the proper course of action for the people. Note the essential details. First, politics is about the nation or state. The goal of politics is not necessarily the good of the individual or winning in the political arena. Second, the focus of politics is debate and discussion. Often today our political debates become more slander or arguing than a discussion of the central issues of our times. Lastly, the goal of politics is to seek the good. Our modern politics can be easily compared to a football game. Two sides duke it out until there is a winner. I argue that this “all-or-none” idea of politics is damaging to the central good of politics. The good we should be striving for is to not create a “winner” unless all people feel that we have reached the right decision. We should be striving not for argument but debate; not for winning but for the good; not for division but unity. The goal of all politics is the care of the people and the unification of the state.
With this introduction in mind, where does faith intersect with politics? The answer is quite simple: with the individual person. If you accept that politics is for the good of the state and that each person’s involvement in the political arena is necessary for achieving the good, then we should expect that each individual person would bring the totality of themselves to the good of the state. We need different viewpoints in order to find what is truly good. We need people to be involved so that their cares and concerns are part of the political process. We need a good moral framework and a desire for unity, peace, and dialogue for politics to achieve its ultimate end. Faith provides many of the frameworks through which politics can achieve its end. Faith provides a moral framework that seeks the good for the society. The vast majority of faiths seek peace, unity, and a care for the common person that can be lacking in a polarized system. Faith brings a unity to the human person which then integrates the individual into the state. The intersection of faith and politics should now be obvious. In order to have a functional and properly oriented political system, we need each and every person to bring their entire selves to the political arena: faith, beliefs, interests, cares, concerns, likes, dislikes, and desires. Only then can we seek the good that politics offers to the state.
If this topic interests you, you would like to explore it more deeply, or would like to enter into a discussion about it, join us on Monday, October 21st for Faith Night. John Barnes will speak on his involvement in politics as a man of faith and dinner is provided. See you then.
