Beliefs, Faith, and American Citizenship

When John Fitzgerald Kennedy was asked if his Catholic beliefs would interfere in the discharging of his presidential duties if he were to be elected, he responded with this now-famous quote:

… I am not the Catholic candidate for president. I am the Democratic Party’s candidate for president, who happens also to be a Catholic. I do not speak for my church on public matters, and the church does not speak for me.

Religious “litmus tests” in politics picked up speed in the second half of the twentieth century and are currently at the fore as they pertain to Supreme Court nominations in the twenty-first century. Certain beliefs and stances, informed by Christian dogma, are routinely called into question as they pertain to objective civil governance and decision making. Attempts are repeatedly made to expose religious bias and its threat to the rule of law and the Constitution. Ironically, Article VI of that document states “no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.”

The necessary coexistence of church and state, in one form or another, has been around for centuries, and the tension between the two has posed varying degrees of difficulty in balancing religious beliefs and civic responsibility. The articles of faith in a particular religion can potentially “tip the scales” in the weighing of civil matters. Living a life that is informed by faith and conscience while paying the proper deference to civil law and authority is possible, as illustrated in a “religious test” posed in scripture:

[The Pharisees asked:] “Tell us, then, what is your opinion: Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?” Knowing their malice, Jesus said, “Why are you testing me, you hypocrites? Show me the coin that pays the census tax.” Then they handed him the Roman coin. He said to them, “Whose image is this and whose inscription?” They replied, “Caesar’s.” At that he said to them, “Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.” (Matthew 22:17-22)

The “litmus test” involving Caesar, courtesy of the Pharisees, was designed to elicit an “either/or” answer from Jesus. Much to their surprise and dismay, Jesus presented a middle path that could not be refuted. Determining what belongs to God and what belongs to “Caesar” can be challenging in certain situations but can be achieved through prayer, deliberation, and reliance on Divine Providence. From a Christian perspective, the First Commandment can set the tone and order of our fidelity to church and state. Putting God first while sorting through the “strange gods” of civic governance and politics, requires sober prayer and thought. Paying taxes on our hard-earned income is a burden in and of itself and becomes more oppressive when spent to fund concerns to which our beliefs are opposed. St. Paul, in his letter to the Romans, has this to say:

Let every person be subject to the governing authorities; for there is no authority except from God, and those authorities that exist have been instituted by God. (Romans 13:1)

Negotiating daily life within the spheres of family, church, and civil obligations can easily tilt out of balance in modern life. Careful discernment and deliberation, especially involving the weightier issues of human existence, require the divine assistance that God is ready and willing to offer.

In the general election of 2020, the division among the electorate is more pronounced than ever. Voting blocs, once fairly monolithic, are undergoing shifts that are seismic in many cases. Gone are the days when a given group could speak with one voice. The polling methods of the past, once fairly accurate, have been replaced with algorithms and a plethora of computer programs. The political landscape has become something akin to the Wild West, with a lot of unsettled lands to be plowed. The fastest gunfighters of the past have been replaced by those most adept at slinging commentary across the landscape of social media.

Let us pray for ongoing discernment as we balance faith and citizenship in casting the nets of our faith in evangelization, and our votes in the upcoming elections.