Center urges Christian involvement in civic education

A new report suggests that Christian organizations should be more involved in civic education.

“At a Political Crossroads: Christian Civic Education and the Future of the American Polity” has been made public by the Washington-based Center for Public Justice and the Center for Christian Studies at Gordon College in Wenham, Mass.

Researchers determined that numerous Christian groups are engaged in efforts ranging from commenting on political affairs to lobbying on social issues to attempting to influence elections.

But most know little about what other Christian groups are doing to influence civic life and many are not addressing the proper functions of government in American society.

“From the churches and Christian schools to think tanks and mobilization campaigns, the dominant concern is to promote good causes and behavior or to react to bad causes and behavior, presuming for the most part that people already know what is good and bad,” the report concludes.

The study also notes that Christian groups may struggle to find areas of agreement regarding civic education.

“The Christians who are involved in these different organizations often hold quite different views of what is right and good about abortion, about poverty relief, about environmental protection or about civil rights,” the report reads. “To sort out and clarify these differences among Christians will require discussion of political philosophy and not merely battles between liberals and conservatives over bills in Congress.”