It seems that that every four years, the church is shocked to realize that so many Christians are political, care about elections, and are passionate about politics. While there is discipleship and intentionality in exploring how faith shapes almost every other aspect of life, how faith should shape politics and civic engagement is de-prioritized, ignored, or even stigmatized. But the church cannot be silent on politics. And if she has been before the election, it is critical that there is a plan and strategy to re-forge church unity amidst fragmentation and polarization inside and outside the pews.
In most of my past and current church experiences, politics is denigrated as a domain that faithful Christians need not concern themselves with. When addressed, politics is often described as a distraction from living out the Christian life, as something that people who don’t love Jesus enough seek. While partisanship is denounced, it is also implied that engagement in politics is entanglement to the things of the world. It is as if a political Christian is a Christian with loves disordered, loving the kingdoms of this world more than the kingdom of God. It is as if it is impossible that some Christians may engage in politics because they love God and are motivated by the Gospel to engage politically as a way to love neighbor.
But silence or a reluctance to engage politics is to ignore the passions and priorities of those in the church. What the church needs, and stuff that I have not learned in church, is an intentional strategy to re-forge church unity after this contentious election season. The church needs to model countercultural community where people of competing political allegiances can come together and are asked not to dissolve their political identities and beliefs, but to examine their identities and beliefs in light of the Gospel.
To inform this, we need to first appreciate the extent to which Christians, and especially evangelical Christians, do in fact care about politics. Data from the 2018 Cooperative Congressional Election Study shows that evangelicals are as engaged and sometimes more than the average American. Moreover, it is those who are most engaged in church that are also more engaged in politics. And as evangelicals are as likely as Americans overall to hold strong political opinions, so the church needs to have a “script” to disciple through the inevitable disappointment that many will feel.
Evangelicals are more politically engaged than the average American. Evangelicals who are not interested and do not follow politics are a minority in the church. Nearly 8 in 10 evangelicals (77%) are interested in politics, nearly 6 in 10 (59%) are politically active on social media, and more than 1 in 3 (36%) have engaged in political advocacy like putting up a political sign, working for a candidate, attending a political protest, contacting a public official, or donating money to a political candidate in the past year.
And on the most important political metric, voting, evangelicals are more reliable voters than the average American. While 52% of Americans voted in 2018, 57% of evangelicals voted. This explains why major political parties spend so much energy on courting evangelical voters, and further reveals the glaring omission of discipleship on politics within the church.
Political engagement increases with church attendance. Evangelicals who attend church more frequently are more politically engaged. They are more likely to follow and be interested in politics, engage in political advocacy, and vote. The only exception is political engagement on social media, as those who attend church monthly are more likely to do that then those who attend church weekly or more.
Most evangelicals have strong opinions about President Trump. In our politically charged climate, evangelicals are about as likely as all Americans to have strong opinions about President Trump (69% versus 72%). Evangelical perceptions of Trump are diametrically opposed with the country, as about the same portion of evangelicals strongly approve of President Trump (43%) as Americans who strongly oppose of him (44%). That only about 3 in 10 evangelicals (31%) have weak or are unsure of their approval of the president reveals the extent to which the church has well-formed and strong political attitudes.
And regardless of the outcome of the election, large portions of the the church will be disappointed by the result. So the church needs to have a “script” to help people navigate their disappointment and ensure that strongly held identities and beliefs, though important, are put in perspective through the Cross and shaped by the Gospel.
Despite the lack of teaching and discipleship about the integration of faith with politics in many churches, most evangelicals are interested in politics and have strong opinions about the President. While some churches may choose not to talk about politics in hopes of reducing conflict and division, churches should also consider the constructive and discipleship opportunity if not responsibility they have in helping Christians understand and appropriately value their political allegiances and affiliations in light of their heavenly citizenship.