Faith has played a significant role in defining how South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott views his role in Congress, he told the Washington Examiner, and teaches the need both for “individual responsibility and the need for a compassionate approach.
“My faith is the essence of my existence, without much of a question,” the first-term Republican said. “I think it plays an important role and informs me on most of the decisions that I make. It is, in its essence, a love story, about God’s love for humanity, and the lengths that he is willing to go and the sacrifices that he made for us to spend all eternity with him.
“It teaches me the importance of individual responsibility and the need for a compassionate approach towards those who are less fortunate,” he added. “I think it’s made me a much better elected official, and hopefully a better servant.”
Scott, a popular conservative in his state, was appointed to succeed retiring Republican Sen. Jim DeMint in 2012. He won his first full term in 2014, with a whopping 61 percent of the vote.
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Though his time growing up contrasted with the privileged background of many of his colleagues, he hesitated to suggest anyone else had been privileged, or that they understood the world differently because of it. However, he observed, that experience did have an effect on his views today.
“Growing up in poverty, a single-parent household, living with my grandparents in a very small house, sharing a bedroom with my mother and my brother for a couple years, all of that informed me and sensitized me to the average person in the average place in our country today,” Scott said. “I think it helps me remain grounded and focused on how to create outcomes for Americans and not have a political debate about issues from a partisan perspective.
“I was, for lack of a better word, rescued by a conservative mentor in my teen years who taught me the power of education and the power of civic involvement. Coupled with force and optimism and encouragement from my mother, I think that really has shaped my worldview,” he added.
