I’m writing this article because I think the Christian Right needs to take a long hard look at its policy agenda and make some changes.
Religion, morality, and politics are inherently intermingled and therefore should not be separated. However, in order for Christians to be a witness to the secular world, changes must occur in our political ideology and group behaviors. It’s time for the Christian Right to end its exclusive ties with the Republican Party. Republicans focus on personal morality issues like gay marriage and abortion, but they often ignore the equally important issues of social injustices and human rights.
Same-sex marriage is understandably a controversial issue. Christians are correct in opposing same-sex marriages; however if we’re amending the California Constitution to state “only marriage between a man and a woman,” why not add “until death do them part” and outlaw divorce, too? This would kill two birds with one stone. I am being facetious, but honestly divorce is a larger problem in our society than gay marriage will ever be. Our resources might be better spent enriching family life than denying rights to gays, especially considering the Christian divorce rate is virtually the same as the secular one.
The other moral issue, abortion, is an emotional issue because it represents the negative implications of a fallen culture. Abortion is morally wrong; however overturning Roe v. Wade would be problematic on a logistical level. Studies show homosexuals are the leading group showing interest in adoption, and there are currently not enough Christian families willing to adopt the annual 1.2 million aborted babies. I’m sure you can figure out why this is a problem.
Criminalization of abortion also creates a criminal law dilemma. Illegalizing abortion would force district attorneys to prosecute back-alley abortions as first-degree murder. Prosecuting scared teenage girls with murder when their motivation was not malicious but driven by fear, creates a messy legal predicament and hinders true justice.
Abortion-on-demand is wrong, and will be judged by God. Meanwhile, Christians should focus their attention on de facto abortions rather than de jure abortions, meaning we should increase sex education, promote abstinence, and support crisis pregnancy centers and allow for the proliferation of birth control use. These are the most effective ways of deterring abortion.
Aside from these moral issues, the Christian right associates with the political party which often opposes minimum wage increases, worker’s unions, and wealth redistribution through entitlements. The Bible is clear about how important the poor, disabled, widowed, and elderly are to God, and how evil the love of money is. While there are Christians who do care for the needy, there is a gap between how much non-government agents are accomplishing and how much help is needed.
Republicans often advocate increased defense spending over entitlement programs. This allocation pulls resources from our own single mothers, widowers and orphans. And as for international aid, it takes away from the resources needed to help the millions across the globe who live on under a dollar a day. As Christians, we should advocate foreign aid being lent out in the form of food and medical supplies, not weapons. The Republican Party supports the war against radical Islamic fascism while ignoring genocide, disease and human trafficking problems. The majority of our society is unaware of the genocide in Rwanda and Darfur, or that Orange County has an extremely large concentration of enslaved human trafficking victims.
In summation I am calling for a reevaluation of the policymaking agenda set by the Christian right. By reallocating our time, energy and money into reforms that are biblical, efficient, and free of hypocrisy, the Christian Right can better tackle societal ills and serve as a witness to the world.
