Faith and Politics

In the article Faith and Politics since the Federal Election Brian Edgar offers some reflections on the relationship of faith and Australian politics since the last election and looks at how a number of assumptions about evangelicals and politics have changed and they may keep on changing in the light of debates on matters such as industrial relations.

If, however you wish to review the material about faith and politics that was prepared for the last Federal election you may wish to follow the links on this page. Much of the material still has relevance for those who want to explore the relationship of Christian faith to the way our political system works.

‘We ought to really be praying for (several Christian MPs) up there in Canberra – they’re under incredible pressure you know.’

So said a friend one day, and a good idea it was too. But why were the three people mentioned all members of the one major party?

I thought immediately of the comment of another friend, a deep-thinking Pentecostal pastor – ‘we have to learn to think from the starting point of the scriptures, not from our party allegiances’. Now that would really be something.

That’s what this publication is about. It’s an attempt to help Christians in Australia really engage with the political process, by which the making of our laws, the allocation of our national resources and to some extent the shaping of our community, is determined. Click here to read more about why we have this web-site.

As we come to a federal election the Evangelical Alliance wants to help people to think through issues of social and political importance. Many Christians are still uncertain about how to understand the relationship between Christian values on the one hand and political values on the other. Churches can be reluctant to bring important social issues into worship because of the danger of alienating people.

The material on this web-site Christians tries to show how churches and Christians can think through some important issues together without becoming party-political.

Individuals and especially pastors, ministers and priests as well as study group leaders are encouraged to utilise the material provided here – building on it, modifying it, using it in sermons, worship and study to model ways of bringing biblical principles to bear on current social issues.

Material can be accessed either by going directly to one of the articles or issues on the side menu or by following through the five streams of material listed below which group related material together.

Why should Christians vote at all? And if they do, who should they vote for? Who would Jesus have voted for? Political parties are an important part of the political scene but should Christians vote for a particular party? Should they have a preference for voting for Christian parties or individual Christian candidates? Or should they vote for ‘the best candidate’ in their electorate irrespective of their faith stance? Go here to see articles which reflect on these things.

How do Christian values relate to political values? And do Christians have different values anyway? How should Christians relate to society as a whole? These and other questions are explored here...

Party Policies and Values

What are the fundamental values of the major parties on the Australian scene? Find out here why Christians choose to vote for the coalition, for Labor, the Greens and the Christian democrats. Explore them here

Economics, indigenous issues, Australia’s responsibilities in the world as a whole, national security and the needs of asylum seekers as well as the environment, aid and development, family issues and the value of human life. Each section has a statement and associated resource material for study groups and public worship. Click here to see the issues that are dealt with...

There are some issues which deserve to be higher on the political agenda. One of the is the Micah Challenge. The World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) and the Micah Network are creating a global campaign to deepen Christian engagement with the poor and to influence leaders of rich and poor nations to fulfil their public promise to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, and so halve absolute global poverty by 2015. All 191 members states of the United Nations have promised to achieve the Millennium Development Goals by 2015. But will they do it? Click here to read more about it and see what you can do.

Resources for Worship, Preaching and Study

Each of the articles is a resource that can be used to help study groups, preachers and worship leaders, but there are some even more specific aids listed here – prayers, discussion questions, suitable songs and hymns and preaching suggestions. Check them out.