The following is a transcript of a Raised Catholic podcast episode. To listen to the episode, click here.

Today is episode 193: Grown-Up Catholicism: Voting and Political Engagement

Hi friends. In last week’s episode, I described our new series which is all about learning to own our faith for ourselves. We are discerning with the help of the Holy Spirit just what it is that we believe and how our beliefs and actions line up with the teachings of Jesus. Now, just a reminder here that this series is meant to be descriptive, not prescriptive, as I will model my process of discernment in these practical areas using scripture, contemplation and prayer, but I will never tell you how to live out your grown-up Catholic Christianity as that is between you and God. 

Okay, so this week we’re coming in hot with what could be considered kind of a thorny topic, but I’ll tell you honestly, friend, I hope it’s not. How each American engages with politics is important to anyone who cares about civics and the future we want as a country and American Catholics are no exception. Thinking about and discerning how we come to our beliefs and how our political engagement aligns with the teachings of Jesus is something that American Catholics and Christians from Protestant denominations should absolutely be thinking about and praying through, not in a tribal, sort of ‘group think’ way, but for ourselves. So today we will cover a few areas:

1. Should people of faith engage in politics?

2. How should a person of faith decide their vote?

3. How should I treat or think about people who vote differently from me?

Let’s start with the first. Should people of faith engage in politics? Like, what about the separation of church and state? Remember when Jesus said, “Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.” Well, as humans and citizens, we are holistic people with hearts, minds, and bodies, families, needs and experiences and in my view, we should bring all of that and our faith too, to how we think about politics and our vote. For grown-up Christians, our faith is not just one room in the building of our house, but it is the lens through which we see everything else. 

Now, does this mean that we ought to think and vote how a pastor or preacher or Catholic influencer online tells us to? Absolutely not – and in fact, we should be clear that when a member of the clergy directs a congregation’s vote or endorses a candidate either in person or online, this is not only inappropriate, but it is a misuse and abuse of the pulpit that happens far too frequently these days. In my role as a preschool music teacher, or as a cantor at church, or here on this podcast, you won’t find me telling people how to vote in this upcoming election, because in these places I have an official role and ethical responsibility that I take seriously to the humans I lead not to abuse my position. But to be sure, all of who I am – and my faith is a huge part of that – comes into my decisions around my vote and political engagement. And in the other, unofficial, private spheres of my life, I will for sure be talking about and advocating for the way that I hope our country will move forward this fall. I hope that difference is clear. 

Number two: how should a person of faith decide their vote? Well, I would hope that for people who profess faith, that prayer with Jesus at the center is a part of how we discern something as important as how we vote. Because He lived a human life like ours, we can look to His words and actions as a model for how we make our decisions, but since there is no such thing as a ‘Jesus-endorsed’ political party or candidate (really, friend, I promise there is no such thing), it may not be as simple as some might make it. Individual grown-up Catholics should do the work to see where God is leading them, both in elections and in civic engagement just as we do in the other parts of our lives. And it’s never as simple as just one issue. Our Catechism says, 

“Catholic voters should use the framework of Catholic social teaching to examine candidates’ positions on issues affecting human life and dignity as well as issues of justice and peace, and they should consider candidates’ integrity, philosophy and performance. It is important for all citizens “to see beyond party politics, to analyze campaign rhetoric critically, and to choose their political leaders according to principle, not party affiliation or mere self-interest.”

Now I am by no means perfect on this, but in my own discernment, I try to bring in a couple of philosophies. The first is the consistent life ethic which opposes harm to all life, and which causes us to look at major social issues of the day, not as black and white but as complex, historical, causal and consequential systems which affect all of God’s children. 

Alongside the consistent life ethic, let’s talk about the Catholic social teaching I mentioned just a minute ago. It’s a thoughtful and important, but largely ignored area of study and preaching by modern American Catholic clergy. The seven themes of Catholic social teaching include: Life and Dignity of the Human Person, Call to Family, Community and Participation, Option for the Poor and Vulnerable, The Dignity of Work and the Rights of Workers, Care for God’s Creation, and more. And I’m wondering, friend, have you ever heard these themes preached on at mass? Ever heard of them at all? Well, I’ll share some resources on Catholic social teaching and more in the show notes if you’d like to check it out for yourself. 

Now, there is no such thing as a perfect candidate, just as there’s no such thing as a perfect person, except for the Lord and His Mom, so for me, I discern political candidates based on a mix of my own moral compass as informed by the Holy Spirit, my goals and hopes for the future of our country, common sense, and the things that Jesus actually said in places like the Sheep and Goats discourse in Matthew chapter 25 and in the Sermon on the Mount. And I’ll link both of those for you in the show notes, too, but when Jesus says, “‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did (or did not do) for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did it for me,” it offers a serious check, not only on my own actions but also on how I discern the people that I would choose to lead us moving forward.

As we study, discern and build what our Catechism calls a “well-formed conscience,” we people of faith can align our beliefs and actions with what Jesus taught, and as we do, we should keep in mind these important words from the first letter of James:

“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.”

And I hope it’s okay with James if I add that it is important for us to be ‘doers’ and not ‘voters’ only. And here as in all of today’s podcast, friend, I am preaching to myself, too. Alignment with a candidate or political party is never the source and summit of a grown-up Christian’s work. As Jesus said, it is by our fruit that we will be known. 

And that leads us to the final topic today: 

How should I treat or think about people who vote differently from me?

What are some commonsense ways that we can engage in the political system while still being salt and light in a world that really needs us?

Now, I don’t know about you, but I read and see quite a lot of harsh, dehumanizing, and even cruel rhetoric and memes from people online and way too frequently, these same people’s social media bio will read something like: ‘Christian’ or ‘Daughter of God’ or even include a verse of scripture, and whenever I see this, my first thought is, ‘ugh, they are killing the brand.’ Because they’ll know we are Christians by our love, right? Not by our opinions or our ‘sick burns’.

But the second thought I have when I see stuff like this is that there is quite a lot of fear out there today. This is a troubling time in America – with school shootings and gun violence, war, racism and rising antisemitism, economic challenges, a range of impacts from covid and much more. There are voices in our politics and media which have learned to make and keep us fearful and divided in order to keep us tuned in, and when we post like that, this fear can pour through us and out onto our brothers and sisters in the form of rage or cruelty or dehumanization. This is not the salt and light that we are called to be as Christians.

We as a nation have become so divided and we as an American Church are divided, too, and sometimes so tribal in our thinking that we can look on our neighbor or someone who doesn’t think like us as our enemy instead of following the command of Jesus to ‘love our neighbor as ourselves.’ And before you think I’m preaching from on high here, friend, believe me when I say that I include myself in the need for adjustment here.

So, how do we remember who and Whose we are, and who our neighbor really is? How do we become salt and light in a broken world, even in a time of trouble? How do we free ourselves from this ‘us and them’ tribalism that is very literally killing us and our country? Maybe we can find that capacity for such a time as this.

Proverbs 18 contains a few nuggets that might help guide our discourse. In it, we read:

“An unfriendly person pursues selfish ends and against all sound judgment starts quarrels,” and

“Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions, “ and 

“The words of the mouth are deep waters, but the fountain of wisdom is a rushing stream.”

But verse 21 is the killer for me here, friend. It reads, “The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” Maybe in this season, as we try to look on our sisters and brothers as image-bearers of the God we love and serve – even the ones who don’t look or live or believe like us and even the ones with whom we strongly disagree – maybe then it will be easier for us to remember that the fruit of our words will be something that we will eat – so let’s choose our words wisely.

When it comes to the question of how to treat the people with whom we disagree, the answer from Jesus is crystal clear and also very hard. Matthew chapter 5 says, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,” Hmmm, well I wish it did not say that, friend, but it does, and it’s probably one of the hardest of the things that Jesus taught.

Author Carlos Whitaker teaches us not to stand on issues but instead, to walk with people. And similarly, this seems simple and hard and even unwise sometimes, but when we remember that the human people that God made are at the heart and are the reason for every single political issue, cause, or enterprise that we face, maybe we can think about it a bit differently. After all, we Americans are supposed to be building a system that is for the people – even the ones who don’t look or live or believe like us, all of us sisters and brothers in the family of God. Maybe when it comes down to it, remembering that we belong to each other is a good place for our discernment and prayer around political engagement to find a new root and begin.

And so, I guess I’m wondering friend, how about you?

Thanks so much for being with me today. If you need me, you can find me on Instagram @kerrycampbellwrites, at Substack at kerrycampbellwrites.substack.com, or on my website at kerrycampbell.org. Thanks so much for rating, reviewing, subscribing and most importantly, sharing this podcast with a friend.  That makes a real difference in growing our community, so thanks. If you would like to support this podcast financially, there are a couple of ways for you to do that in the show notes, along with some resources related to today’s episode, so do check all of that out, but before we go, let’s pray together.

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, amen.

God, as in every sphere in which we exist, when it comes to our politics and civic engagement, we belong to you. Help us to hear you guiding our beliefs and actions and our vote, too, as we work toward building a country that is reflective of who you really are. For us and our dear ones we pray in the name of Jesus and wrapped in the mantle of Our Mother, Mary, amen. 

Well, thanks so much for listening today, friend. I hope to see you over on substack but until then, I’ll see you next time. 

Show Notes

The Grown-Up Catholicism series continues with an episode on voting and political engagement. As in each episode in the series, this one is descriptive not prescriptive in that I’ll model my own discernment on these issues with scripture, contemplation and prayer but I’ll never direct your grown-up Catholic choice as that’s between you and the Lord! I hope this episode is a blessing to you, thanks for giving it a listen.

If you’d like to connect with me, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠find me on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠at my website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠on Substack⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. If you’d like to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠help support this podcast financially⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, there’s a way to do just that ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠on my page at buymeacoffee.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! Thanks for sharing, subscribing, rating, and reviewing, as this helps our community to grow.

Thanks as always to my friend, Peter Vaughan-Vail, for providing the beautiful harp music you hear in this and every episode.

Here are some resources I hope will help you to engage with this week’s topic in a deeper way for yourself:

1. Article: ⁠Michael Wear wants Christians to get more political, from Sojourners⁠

2. Book: ⁠The Spirit of Our Politics: Spiritual Formation and the Renovation of Public Life⁠, by Michael Wear

3. ⁠Seven Themes of Catholic Social Teaching – reflections from the USCCB⁠

4. Instagram reel: ⁠Author Carlos Whitaker on not standing on issues but walking with people⁠

5. Podcast: ⁠The Bulletin with former government teacher Sharon McMahon on civic engagement ⁠

6. Podcast: ⁠How to approach complex topics with grace, with Ashlee Eiland on That Sounds Fun with Annie F. Downs⁠

7. Essay: ⁠When it’s hard to be on the internet, with Laura Kelly Fanucci at incourage⁠

8. Article: ⁠Cardinal Bernadin’s Consistent Ethic of Life still divides Catholics 40 years later, from America Magazine⁠