So what was the religious message of the mid-term elections?
That may sound like a strange question, but it isn’t strange at all for a person of faith.
That’s because people of faith cannot separate their faith from their politics, at least if that relationship is properly understood.
Indeed, I would say that anyone who is religious, but separates faith from politics is being hypocritical.
Not only can faith shape the political views of religious people, it should. Here’s how it works.
Political candidates tell us they will do certain things if elected. They may not keep their promise, but our votes for them are based on our agreement with what they say they will do. And that agreement is rooted in our religious beliefs.
So every religious voter in North Carolina, for example, who helped elect Thom Tillis as their U.S. Senator said by their vote that they believe voter restrictions intended to make it harder for minorities, students, and the elderly to vote are morally right because Tillis was a major leader in getting that law passed.
Every religious voter in Kansas who helped re-elect Governor Sam Brownback said by their vote that they believe the for-profit healthcare system that determines who gets medical treatment on the basis of the ability to pay is morally justified because Brownback supports that system and opposes Obamacare.
Every religious voter in Texas who helped elect Greg Abbott as governor said by their vote that they believe it is morally right to make the poorest women in their state drive hours for cancer screening because the clinic in their area that included abortion services was closed by a law Abbott supported.
Everybody votes on the basis of what they believe. For people of faith our votes are based on what we believe about God. In the deepest sense, for us voting is a sacred act.
So the religious message of the mid-term elections was this: For sincerely religious voters, who we supported was a public statement about our values and political beliefs precisely because of our religious convictions.
But that’s not the end of the story. Other issues remain: (1) How do we know if religious people actually reflect the best of their faith in the way they vote? (2) As a religious person how do you vote when you agree with some things a candidate says and not others? (3) Religious beliefs are not just personal because they influence our political decisions, and that is why they matter.
These topics will be the subject of upcoming Blogs.
linnposts.com 
Jan,
The election results have left me too numb, too depressed, and too discouraged to have the wherewithal right now to intelligently reply to your piece. At least you are able to carry the torch for reason and sanity.
Thanks, Bill
I personally believe the Republican candidates got the majority of vote because oppose Obamacare, and resent the work that Obama accomplished, and deep under all of that is “racism.”
I agree whole heartedly with the two comments above. Now I am trying to figure out the rationale, religious or otherwise, for Ernst in IA & McConnell in KY. AZ got another R Gov, but then AZ never has had rational politics.
You surely did your part in Minnesota
Love AlFrankin and his job just got harder
Very troubling trend in America and the Church
Dixcy
I look forward to your blogs on this topic. We get the government we deserve and if, collectively, we choose to be ignorant, not see the forest for the trees, not know history, we will learn the hard way; through pain and suffering! It so profoundly sad that so very many suffer humiliation and violence from a myopic socio-economic elitism forced on all by a few. A very troubling human tendency.
Bob,
I think the saying that we get the government we deserve is not quite correct. I think Americans deserve far better government that what we have. I think it is more correct to say we get the government we vote for. Then your comments about the American electorate follow. And yes, we get pretty sad government because of the reasons you list.