Modern Christians tend to be easily duped into believing that their religion has no place in political life, but this could not be more untrue.
Liberals have successfully tricked many Christians into inactivity in the political sphere, helping grant them easier access to political power and many victories on social issues.
These Christians have fallen for the trap of assuming that church and state are, can, and should be separate. This has recontextualized the famous biblical verse “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s” as a verse commanding Christians to divorce themselves and their beliefs from political questions.
Liberals are incorrect on both beliefs. Church and state are not, can not, and should not be separate. Christianity, and all faiths, should therefore be present in all aspects of life, including politics.
Until modern times, Christianity has always been understood as a necessary and inseparable part of many governments. The Christian faith has served as a check on the abuses of earthly political power, a model for a moral lifestyle, and as a source of assistance to those in need.
Here are some examples. At the turn of the 12th century, priests and bishops in Southeastern Europe defended Jewish citizens from unruly crusaders as they traveled to the Holy Land. In the 16th century, missionaries saved the soul of Mexico by teaching its indigenous inhabitants that sacrificing children was wrong. In the 13th century, a convent named after Mary Magdalene was founded in Florence to help former prostitutes recover physically, mentally, and spiritually.
The common assumption that the United States was built on a separation of church and state is unfounded. The only document anyone can cite to support this claim is from the most left-leaning of the Founding Fathers, Thomas Jefferson. Yet even he wrote in the Declaration of Independence that all men are “endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights.”
Many respond to this with the establishment clause of the First Amendment, which states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.” This meant the United States could not have an official state religion. This did not mean the individual states could not. Several states upheld established churches before the declaration and after the Constitution.
The clause was included to deal with the religious pluralism of the Protestant denominations across the 13 states. It was also meant to guarantee that “the security for civil rights” was “the same as that for religious rights” because, as James Madison said, “If a majority be united by a common interest, the rights of the minority will be insecure.”
While the establishment of a state religion is indeed unconstitutional, it is a fact of politics that all governments are dictated by one religion or another, by one set of values or another. This is true of all governments of all countries for all of time. Even if one attests that it has no state religion, it inevitably must have a moral framework to function. A moral framework is a religious worldview, whether it is written in an ancient text or simply “your truth.”
The Left has concocted a new plan to further discourage the Christian role in government: it has cooked up “Christian nationalism,” a term it cannot even define, to demonize this traditional view and make it seem radical. It does this now because its own state religion is threatened by Christianity’s presence.
Christian governance is not necessarily theocratic. And if it is, then by definition all other governance is equally theocratic. All governments put their faith in and attribute their morals to something.
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We have seen the destructive effects of removing Christian influence from governments in the West; from the Napoleonic wars to World War II to the current culture wars. Christian influence, whether you are one or not, has created the most equal and humane governments in history.
There is no reason for Christians to excuse themselves from political life. In fact, Christian values should be promulgated throughout it. That is the best way to get ourselves out of this political mess.
Parker Miller is a 2024 Washington Examiner Winter Fellow.
