I was a junior in college taking an American History class during the 2016 presidential election. The large public university I attended ensured that my classes had people of various beliefs, political ideologies, and faith backgrounds. So you can imagine the vibrant discussion that took place in that American History class the day after President Trump was elected into office.
To start things off, my professor strolled into class with a somber look, took a seat on his stool at the front of the room, and stared off into space behind us for the first ten minutes of class. He looked distraught, leaving the rest of us wondering what the heck was going on. I thought someone died.
When he finally spoke, I realized he was in agony over the election results from the night before and couldn’t come to terms with the political situation. The remainder of the class time became a discussion on politics, voting, and why people vote the way they do. I remained quiet and listened to my classmates’ thoughts and opinions—many very emotional and passionate—until I found the right opportunity to speak after my professor said, “I just don’t understand how someone could vote for him (President Trump).”
My hand shot up.
“I think what we have to realize is that we prioritize different issues in our voting,” I responded calmly despite my heated interior.
“I think most people are genuinely trying to do the right thing and want to vote for a candidate that will help the flourishing of all people, but what does that mean when there’s no perfect candidate? Naturally, we have to choose ‘the lesser of two evils’ or prioritize certain issues over others. It doesn’t mean that we disqualify the other issues, but each of us is making an informed choice based on our consciences and foundation of belief. For me, that’s my Catholic faith. For others, it might be something else. But we all have some foundation to base our beliefs and voting priorities on. You may not understand how someone could vote from Trump based on YOUR foundation of belief; but another might not understand how you could vote for Hillary based on theirs. It’s all about our foundation of belief.”
The Catholic Foundation
As Catholics, the center of our lives is Jesus Christ. We learn what is right and wrong from Him and the Church He began. Therefore, we must vote with a foundation based on Church teaching—and thankfully, we have been given a guide through Catholic Social Teaching. Rooted in the life and teachings of Christ in Scripture and Tradition, Catholic Social Teaching has seven key themes: 1) Life and dignity of the human person, 2) Call to family, community, and participation, 3) Rights and responsibilities, 4) Option for the poor and vulnerable, 5) The dignity of work, 6) Solidarity, and 7) Care for God’s creation.
While it’s not perfect, the aim of politics is to work for the flourishing of all people through laws and government. If we believe what Christ teaches, then His teachings ARE the good of all, and therefore we must bring faith into the political sphere. We have the responsibility to shape the moral character of our society and thus, we can’t separate faith and politics.
Our faith gives us Catholic Social Teaching as a basis for how to confront modern issues and respond faithfully in accordance with Truth. As we approach another presidential election this fall, I wanted to take a moment to address how we can incorporate faith and politics, and ensure that our decisions are rooted in Truth and the social teachings of the Catholic Church.
There Will Never Be a Perfect Candidate
First off, I think it’s necessary to say that there will never be a perfect candidate. Part of the reason why I personally hate politics is because of how two-faced many politicians are. They say one thing, but do another, and it’s difficult to know what they truly believe. Yet if we want to create change in society and fight injustice, politicians are a vehicle to enact change in government, so we have to support someone (even if we see him or her as the lesser of two evils).
With that being said, there has yet to be a party or candidate that perfectly aligns with all of the Church’s social justice issues. So naturally, we’re faced with the choice to prioritize certain issues or social teachings over others. But how do we know which issues to prioritize? Are there certain moral issues that take precedence?
Disqualifying Issues
The Catholic Church emphatically prioritizes the sacredness of human life and the dignity of the human person as the foundation and bedrock of all other principles. Without the right to life, we have no rights at all—it is inherent and essential.
St. John Paul II said, “Above all, the common outcry, which is justly made on behalf of human rights—for example, the right to health, to home, to work, to family, to culture—is false and illusory if the right to life, the most basic and fundamental right and the condition for all other personal rights, is not defended with maximum determination” (Christifideles Laici, paragraph 38).
Therefore, any issue that violates this fundamental right to life cannot and should not be supported. This is what we can call a “disqualifying issue”—we cannot morally support a candidate who endorses the elimination of the right to life. Those who willingly and directly support public policies that undermine fundamental moral principles cooperate with evil (USCCB, Forming Consciences).
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in its document, Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship, talks about two temptations that often distort the Church’s defense of life: 1) believing there is a moral equivalence between all issues, and 2) using moral distinctions as an excuse to diminish or ignore other serious violations.
Firstly, the document states, “The direct and intentional destruction of innocent human life from the moment of conception until natural death is always wrong and is not just one issue among many. It must always be opposed.” Believing that there is a moral equivalence between all issues involving human life and dignity—that there is no ethical distinction—can cause us to place too much emphasis in our voting on issues that shouldn’t be held at the same level of consideration as disqualifying issues such as abortion or euthanasia.
However, the second temptation is using these moral distinctions as an excuse to diminish or ignore other serious violations of human life and dignity. Issues such as racism, unjust discrimination, failure to respond to those suffering from hunger or a lack of healthcare, unjust immigration policies, pornography, redefining civil marriage, and many others are all very serious moral issues that require us to take action. Just because a candidate may be against abortion and euthanasia, for example, doesn’t give a voter the right to justify indifference or inattentiveness to other human dignity issues.
So How Do I Know What’s Right?
Nobody can tell you who to vote for, but if you are striving to live your faith and advocate for Truth in the world, you should be taking time to pray about things before you support a candidate or advocate for policies. Don’t just jump on a bandwagon because everyone’s doing it. Don’t remain apathetic and not do anything just because you don’t know what to do. If you’re struggling with determining the morally right choice when you go to the polls, here are some tips:
- Pray and receive the sacraments. If your life is centered on Christ and His teachings, things have a way of becoming less grey and more black and white.
- Form your conscience. Learn about Catholic social teaching. Research why the Church opposes certain issues, and why we can never support a candidate that advocates for something intrinsically evil.
- Do your research. Don’t just vote for a candidate because he/she is from one party or the other. Research their history. What policies do they advocate for? Are there any disqualifying issues that would automatically prevent you from voting for him/her?
- Take action. Most likely the candidate you choose to vote for won’t be perfectly aligned with Catholic social teaching, but will rather be the “lesser of two evils.” But action is better than inaction, and we’re called to stand for justice. So take action by casting your vote, serving in your community, writing letters to your representatives, and above all—praying for our nation.
- Seek unity. It’s not our place to judge someone else for their voting choices because we don’t know their hearts or how their conscience has been formed. We also can’t allow political preferences to cause division. To work toward unity we need conversation and dialogue. Converse with people of different beliefs than you and work toward understanding their point of view.
At the end of the day, we are all striving for Heaven and walking together on this journey. We are all part of the Body of Christ. So form your conscience, make prayerfully informed choices, then do your part to educate and evangelize those around you.
Just breathe. We don’t pray to the president, senator, or any elected official. The King of our hearts is the Lord of Lords and Prince of Peace. So let Him direct your paths and pray for our nation.
From the depths of my soul,
Recommended Resources:
- A Brief Catechism for Catholic Voters
- Catholic Vote
- Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship
- Seven Themes of Catholic Social Teaching
- Catholic Social Teaching 101
