The last Federal election focused the attention of every sincere Christian once again on politics. Like it or not, compulsory voting requires us to be engaged in the political process. There are much better (theological) reasons for being engaged. Either way, the responsibility to vote – to choose between competing candidates and competing policy positions – confronts us with ambiguity and complexity.
The webcast to churches of the Australian Christian Lobby forum in Canberra with John Howard and Kevin Rudd brought another question into public discourse - whether active Christian influence in the political process is appropriate at all. I try to get into the shoes of those who raise this question, who feel threatened or affronted by Christians bringing their views into the political arena. But in the end I find it hard not be dismissive of them for their failure to recognise how preposterous that position is. It is as if they believe that Christian thinking is dictated by unsupportable religious ideas, whereas their own thinking is based on axiomatic, objective truths, not value-laden assumptions.
As citizens we have both a privilege and an obligation to vote. As Christians we have an added responsibility to vote in a way that reflects the ethos of God’s kingdom. But that’s a lot easier than it sounds. A quite common and difficult decision is faced by those--Christians or otherwise--who wish to vote for a local candidate, but not for the party he or she stands for. It can be an excruciating dilemma. Vote for the party or for the person?
Should we automatically vote for a Christian candidate, regardless of their party allegiance?
It seems to me that the key thing is not how many Christians are in Parliament. The key thing is whether those who are in Parliament really take their faith inside the caucus and party room, and allow it to both critique party policy and give them courage to challenge the rigid party system occasionally. Thankfully there have been some examples in the last couple of years of Christians standing up against the pressures and dictates of their party, and we can only applaud and support them. Why are there so few conscience votes? Why do so few cross the floor? Do Christian parliamentarians really believe that their own party has the moral high ground on almost every issue?
Similarly it is difficult to avoid the conclusion that when it comes to voting, many Christians really struggle to see connections between their core beliefs and the business of voting, but simply vote according to political preferences acquired in their own social and political context. It is the business of this website to help Christians who are looking for clues as to how to make the political judgment that they can only avoid by not voting, or voting informally, and do so faith-fully.
That we will come to different conclusions is not a problem. There is no one right way to vote. But we cannot avoid the responsibility to engage sincerely with the issues, and cast our vote in a way that is genuinely informed by our faith, pre-eminently by the teachings of Jesus. We sincerely hope that this website helps in the quest to be faithful to him in whatever ways you are involved in the political process.
Tom Slater
National Director
Australian Evangelical Alliance