Serving God or Party?

As the United States enters the election season, it can be hard for American Catholics to remember that their first loyalty must be to God.  In a political atmosphere that appears ever more contentious and charged, there seems to be increasing evidence that for many Americans, and likely for many American Catholics, their first loyalty may be to their political party rather than to God or even country.

Studies by Pew and the More In Common foundation indicate that Americans increasingly see members of the other party as inherently immoral, hateful, dishonest, unpatriotic, close-minded, unintelligent or brainwashed rather than as fellow countrymen and women who may have a different vision for the nation but who also deeply love it.  In a Christian context, it would seem that in the heat of the political moment, most Americans have lost sight of Christ’s command to love one’s enemies and not to judge others, even as many seek to do God’s will.

Studies confirm

As stated, a Pew report from late last year indicates that Republicans and Democrats have a rather dim view of each other.  Three quarters of Democrats view Republicans as more close-minded than other Americans and 63% of Republicans view Democrats as less patriotic than other Americans.  Perhaps more disturbing, 55% of Republicans and 47% of Democrats view members of the other party as immoral.  A little more than a third of partisans on each side of the divide also view their opposition as less intelligent than other Americans.

The More In Common study confirms and amplifies some of the Pew findings about how most Republicans and Democrats see each other as people.  This analysis found that more than 80% of members of each party judged members of the other party to be brainwashed and hateful.

Other studies, such as one conducted in 2018 by Abramowitz and Webster at Emory University indicate a growth in negative partisanship, whereby Americans tend to vote against the other party rather than for their own party’s platform. Increasingly, Americans are bringing these views home and incorporating them into their overall behaviors.  The New York Times found that significant numbers of Republicans and Democrats would disapprove if their children married members of the other political party.  Effectively, it seems that the notion of worthy political opponents has evaporated, laying bare George Washington’s fear that allegiance to parties would potentially tear apart the nation.

Given the picture that Pew, More In Common and Emory paint of the views that Republicans and Democrats hold of each other, it seems to almost natural that a recent Yale study would find that would find that the majority of Americans are willing to tolerate undemocratic behavior, or the subversion of democratic norms, in order to ensure that their political side wins.  If one views the opposition as fundamentally stupid and immoral, then it is not very surprising that partisans on each side would feel compelled to enforce their vision at all costs in order to save the country from their opposition’s evil designs.

Hopeful data points

If these derogatory and rather un-Christian judgements about members of the opposite party are based upon the political positions that they hold, then the More In Common analysis that was conducted in 2019 offers some potentially hopeful data points.  This study found that there was a tremendous disconnect between partisan views of members of the other party and reality.

On many highly contentious issues, members of each party held wildly inaccurate views of the other party’s members’ beliefs.  In many cases perception and reality were off by more than 30 percentage points.  The study concluded that that the majority of Republicans and Democrats, or what More In Common termed the Exhausted Majority, are much closer on many issues than they actually perceive.  Thus their general animosity toward each other is rather unfounded.

Yet given the mutual contempt in which Americans seem to hold one another based on their political leanings, it would seem that the parable of the Good Samaritan could almost be replaced with that of the Good Democrat or Republican.  The story of the Good Samaritan showed, among other things, that members of a suspect group could be better exemplars of true virtue and God’s will than one’s own tribe.

So too, in the current political climate there is good and imperative reason to look beyond increasingly rigid prejudices to the see the lived realities of the members of the other party if America is to survive in any recognizable form of itself.  Thankfully, on many issues, the More In Common analysis provides a good starting point for rising to the standard that Christ sets for how we treat and judge others.

Disagreement but not hate

Based on Christ’s words, it would seem that we can disagree vehemently with our political opponents but have no sanction to hate or to judge them, which is what the Pew and More In Common numbers indicate is happening in America.  Throughout the Bible, we are told that judgement and certainly condemnation belong to God alone.  Christ’s words could not be clearer in Matthew: “For as you judge, so will you be judged, and the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you” (Matthew 7:2). Raising the bar even further, He elsewhere states, “…whoever says ‘you fool,’ will be liable to fiery Gehenna” (Mathew 5:22).  There is very little ambiguity in Christ’s statements.

As if these commands were not enough, Christ puts the bar up another notch for His followers another by stating that beyond not hating or judging others, we are to love them.  He made very clear in Matthew’s gospel that even if we disagree and are sanctioned to treat another as a tax collector or sinner, we are still to love them, otherwise, we are no better than our perceived enemies “For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have?  Do not tax collectors do the same?” (Matthew 5:46).  Earlier in the Sermon on the Mount, He states that we are also to pray for our enemies.

Obviously, it is possible to observe the letter without the spirit of these teaching, but it was this hypocrisy that Christ condemned in the Pharisees.  Interestingly, in more than one parable, he describes the principal occupants of the dark, where there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth, as “hypocrites” (Matthew 13:42).  In order avoid being like the hypocrites, Christ states that we are to be humble and to examine and remedy our own faults first before we start to examine the faults of others.

The power of Christ-like example

None of this is easy. It effectively goes against the contemporary American political culture of demonizing and denigrating the other side.  Perhaps this is why Chesterton coldly stated that “the Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting.  It has been found difficult; and left untried.”  Yet the power of such an example as the Christian ideal can change or save a society.

Vladimir Lenin is alleged to have stated or written while in a state of remorse over what was happening to Russia under the Bolsheviks that all that was needed to have saved Russia were ten men like St. Francis of Assisi.  Regardless of whether or not this particular statement is true, the ability of a group of people truly living a belief to effect or to stave off tremendous change is rather undeniable.  This is the legacy of the early Church, and it is in that spirit that Catholics in America have a key role to play in healing a fractured nation.

True Catholics needed

Catholics make up the second largest religious group in the nation.  While not a monolithic whole, as people who state that they believe in and follow Christ, they have the potential to change the nation for the better.  Unlike in other nations in times past, there is no Catholic political party, which usually held the center of the political spectrum in these countries. Thus in order to participate in the political life of America, Catholics must align with one of the major political parties.

Until the era of hyper and negative partisanship, this construct likely posed much less of a challenge for Catholics trying to live the Christian ideal. But it seems that never was the practice of true Catholic belief more needed in American political discourse than today. This does not mean that Catholics have to alter their political positions, but rather to change the manner in which those positions are espoused if they are behaving like most other Americans.

Among other reasons, the Bible makes clear that Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed because of their pride. As rich and powerful societies, we are told that they forgot charity and kindness. In a certain sense, contemporary American political culture seems to have also laid aside the civility and respect that should engender a dialogue and movement toward a better and more Christian society.

Time to rise to the challenge

Catholics should rise to the standard that Christ sets.  He makes clear: If you love me, you will obey my commands.  This is no easy task, but it can transform us and the nation. Perhaps a small first step would be to pray for one’s political opponents, as Christ admonishes, or to join the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ “Civilize It” campaign, which calls for civility and dignity by Catholics during the election season.

In the preamble to his 1958 book, The Affluent Society, economist John Kenneth Galbraith stated that the wealth and security of American society were unprecedented in world history. He also made clear that this reality was not an unalterable and permanent state of affairs but rather a potential anomaly in history.

By extension, the same could be said of the American system of government. It is possibly much more fragile than we believe.  By living the spirit and not just the letter of Christ’s words, Catholics can and should make that system much more durable and strong and, by doing so, make America a better place.