If you want proof that Southern Baptists are a diverse lot, then just look at the results of the Nov. 4 elections for Congress.
A list of Baptists who were re-elected to Congress was reported in Baptist Press news service. The list included Steny Hoyer of Maryland, the Democratic majority leader in the U.S. House of Representatives, and Roy Blunt of Missouri, Republican whip in the House.
In Alabama, two of the four recently elected Baptist members of the House of Representatives are Democrats and two are Republicans.
The idea that evangelical Christians and Baptists, in particular, all think alike and vote alike is simply not true. What makes one a Christian is a commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ, not a commitment to a political party. What makes one a Baptist is an understanding of the Bible, which reflects a core of theological beliefs. These have nothing to do with political party platforms.
The election for president also makes the point. Voters reporting church attendance at least once a week split their votes 43 percent for the Democratic candidate for president and more than 55 percent for the Republican candidate. Among evangelicals, up to a third voted for the Democratic candidate in some states.
Again the point is made. Evangelical Christians and Baptists are not a monolithic bloc that votes in lock step for or against candidates.
But religion does influence personal values that are reflected at the ballot box.
In Alabama, faith informed the vote on wet/dry issues in five communities. The dry forces did not win all five elections, but the opposition to expanded sales of alcoholic beverages was centered among active churchgoers from each community. Churches gave voice to the negative impacts of alcohol, but it was church members, for the most part, who formed opposition groups to stand against those attempting to expand the sale of alcohol.
In California, Florida and Arizona, it was religion that informed a majority of voters to stand against gay “marriage.”
All agree the traditional position of the Christian church is that marriage is between one man and one woman. Some denominations wrestle with same-sex unions, but the vast majority has rejected that deviation to date.
Reports indicate the Mormon church poured vast resources into passing Proposition 8 in California, the definition of marriage. In Florida, Baptists used their influence to pass the marriage amendment by more than the supermajority (60 percent) required. In Arizona, a number of religious groups joined forces to reverse that state’s defeat of a marriage amendment two years ago.
Again it was individuals whose personal values were informed by their faith who acted to support the definition of marriage as a union between one man and one woman. One cannot overestimate the importance of religious teaching in these and other ballot issues across America.
The election also demonstrated that personal values do not always reflect official positions of the church.
The Roman Catholic church is embroiled in a public debate over the church’s reaction to political candidates who support abortion. Some Roman Catholic candidates have been refused the Eucharist. For Baptists, that might not be a major issue, but Roman Catholics believe the Eucharist is a sacrament that conveys saving grace. Refusal to the Lord’s table amounts to refusing an avenue of salvation.
Bishop Robert Finn of the Kansas City-St. Joseph, Mo., Diocese went so far as to say Catholic voters’ “eternal salvation is tied up with that important choice,” a reference to supporting a candidate who supported abortion.
When the votes were counted, 54 percent of Catholics had voted for the Democratic ticket, which included a Catholic vice presidential candidate who supports abortion. Now the bishops are faced with deciding how the Roman Catholic church should respond to the rejection of their leadership by the majority of the Roman Catholic faithful.
In Alabama, the Alabama Baptist State Convention is officially opposed to the sale and use of alcohol. Frequently Baptists have officially urged church members and others to abstain from alcoholic beverages and to oppose the sale of alcohol in their communities. As the largest religious body in the state, that position should carry moral weight with Baptist voters. But victories for wet forces in two local elections Nov. 4 demonstrate again that differences frequently arise between official positions of churches and the moral values of church members.
Still there is a difference between the way some Roman Catholic bishops attempted to coerce compliance with church teaching on the part of the faithful and the way Alabama Baptists attempted to influence positions on alcohol. One attempted to limit access to God for those who differed. The other appealed to moral persuasion.
The difference is commitment to religious liberty. Anytime a church contends that agreement with its position on a moral or ethical issue is necessary to be a Christian, that church has inserted itself into the sacred space between God and man. The Bible teaches that Jesus alone is Lord and He alone stands as the Great High Priest, making intercession between God and human kind. No other person, no organization, no church, no government can invade that sacred space.
Personally this writer opposes both abortion and alcohol. Churches should continue to teach that abortion on demand is contrary to God’s first gift to mankind, which is life. And churches should continue to teach about the devastating consequences alcohol wreaks on society. But neither position is equivalent to a saving relationship with God through personal faith in Jesus Christ. Baptists must be careful not to allow social zeal to compromise our teaching about how to be saved.
Roman Catholics, Baptists and other Christian groups will continue to teach the implications of faith on moral and ethical issues facing local communities and facing our nation. Members and others will continue to be influenced by church teaching and continue to reflect that teaching at the ballot box. That is how it should be.
But a distinction must always be made between one’s relationship to God and one’s position on a moral or ethical issue.
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