I had a discussion, or two, with the young
adult minister at my church several months ago regarding voting in America. It began with a discussion of the dynamics behind how the candidates for the last election were
recognized and why we thought it was interesting that most of the Presidential
candidates were not a part of the major debates. Then eventually my minister
discussed that the 2009 election had been one of the first elections in which
he willfully researched and weighed all of his options before casting his vote
for President. I discussed that it had been the first time I had done any
research of the politicians’ platforms (although I had definitely not
researched all of them). During the conversation, my minister discussed that he
had based his vote wholly on his Christian beliefs. Call me crazy, but that may
have been the first time that option had popped into my head.
Please, let me explain…
Throughout college, I have learned a multitude
of things and had begun to classify myself as many things in regards to my
moral and societal beliefs. I am a feminist, and then when I learned more, I
preferred the term Womanist to describe what I am. I am an avid advocate for
victims of Intimate Partner Violence and Domestic Violence. I advocate for
mentoring and helping at-risk youth. All of these things and many more.
The thing is…
My Christian beliefs rarely intersected with
the above mentioned although Christian is something I have ALWAYS identified
myself as.
So when my minister brought to my attention
that Christianity and voting in America could and should actually not only
intersect, but intertwine and become one… my mind felt a little un-easy. I mean
if you really think about voting based solely on Christianity… I’m not sure WHO
I would vote for or WHY I would even want to live in America (I laugh).
Truthfully, though, in this journey that I
have decided to go on this past year, I have still managed to maintain certain
compartments in my mind and in my beliefs. I had one that focused on Benita:
the Black College Educated Woman living in America. Then I had Benita: the
Christian. As the “Christian compartment grows I have realized how much of the
other part will have to shift if not decreased exponentially. I first realized
this a few years ago when I realized what marriage truly is and how a marriage
was created to function. When I started thinking about egalitarian marriages
and their propensity to fail and how marriages almost support some of the most
sexist notions, we see today, a big shift occurred. I realized that being
submissive does not mean subordinate and/or having less power. I learned some
other things regarding this, but I won’t go into that on this blog.
Interestingly enough I didn’t come to this conclusion in church, but rather a
summer that I took Women’s Studies and Diverse Families and Children class.
Even with that realization, as a stubborn
young woman I think I mentally and spiritually refused to acknowledge that
there are several other ideologies that will need to change as a Christian.
Here is where I could discuss gay rights, women’s rights, and some other stuff,
but again, this particular blog is not about that. The fact remains that at
that moment when my minister said those words I was forced to think about, if
only for a second, the possibility that many of the things that I value and/or
believe are based on ideals that were developed without concern or thought
towards what God wants.
Now I sit here wondering… Should my vote, when
I cast it, be American or Christian? Should our votes, my fellow American
Christians, be based solely on the Constitution (which we know has various
Christian foundations) or based solely on God’s will for us as a people, as His
children.
*Enter the uneasiness…*
When I pose that question, I’m literally
having an inward battle. One side is saying, that in the context of things such
as LGBTQ rights “It is unjust to say that they should not have equality".
Then the other side pops in and says’
something like… “But it’s not about them, it’s about HIM.”
Then the one side says, “But the Constitution
doesn’t make that distinction and it is unjust to tell someone that they
should believe the same religion as I do”.
Then there goes that other side saying, “It is
unrighteous to support the actions that God hates.”
*See my dilemma??*
At this point, I have just decided that I need
to begin praying for discernment and continuous guidance because I want my
actions to please God above all, not man.
I think in a future post when things are made
clearer, or even while I’m still contemplating, I will write about some of the above-mentioned
beliefs in more detail. Until then I must pose the title question to you all…
Do you think that your religious beliefs
should be the sole criteria for who you vote for politically?
Or
How much of your religious/spiritual beliefs
should be reflected in your political views?
