Want My Vote? Camouflage Your Faith.

According to a recent Angus Reid Institute poll as reported in the National Post, voters don't want their politicians to have personal religious beliefs -- at least that's my take from their findings.  But let's look closer.

The poll was conducted one month after the recent Canadian federal election and focused on the leader of the Conservatives, Andrew Scheer, who lost to Liberal Justin Trudeau even though many thought Pierre's son had screwed up so badly that there was no way he could win.  But win he did.

Among those polled who knew Scheer was Catholic, 51% said his religious beliefs had a negative impact on their view of him.  But did all 51% translate that into voting for his opponent?  We don't know. It is true that the two key issues were his positions on same-sex marriage and abortion rights.  It is also true that Trudeau and the Liberals emphasized that more than anything they had to offer.

It's also possible that Scheer had a non-positive (or at the very least a non-exciting) image to begin with. He certainly wasn't prepared to take on those who would argue his faith was the problem.

Interestingly, the poll found that 67% of Canadians knew about the deep religious beliefs of both Scheer the Conservative and NDP (New Democratic Party) leader Jagmeet Singh, a devoted Sikh. But they treated them differently.  While 51% counted it against Scheer, only 24% counted it against Singh.  Why?  Maybe it wasn't the person after all, but rather the specific faith that made a difference.  These days, if it looks, swims, and quacks like a Christian, it must be a Christian -- and it's unacceptable to have a Christian behaving like a Christian in government, especially in the ruling party.  However, if the leader can camouflage his/her Christianity, say like Justin Trudeau does, then only 31% would even know about his Catholic faith (same faith as Scheer's) and only 36% deemed it as a negative impact on their views towards him.

And of course, the liberal, left-leaning, media does not help a candidate like Scheer.  They continuously pelt questions at him about his stand on the two issues mentioned above knowing his responses would likely cause more voters to move away from him.  And this goes on even while 55% of Canadians believe that questions about a person's faith or religion should be "off-limits" during election campaigns (and only 45% say it should not).  But since when does the media today listen to the majority when it doesn't suit their agenda?

The fact Scheer promised he would never allow legislation that would change the status quo of the federal government's position on the issues did not matter.  I mean after all how can you trust a politician when he won't stick by his own ethical and religious beliefs?  [An excellent question by the way.]. And the poll actually bears that out -- 32% believe a politician who makes those kind of promises, but 41% doubt its truth, and 27% say there's no way they'd keep their word.

And we can argue all we want that having faith as a guiding light is much more than having a position on same-sex marriage or abortion and that politicians with faith are much better for society than those without -- it doesn't matter because these days it's all about those two issues and those two issues almost exclusively.

In fact, among Liberal and NDP supporters, over 80% said that a candidate's views on those two issues had a strong impact on their vote.  For Conservatives, it was only 46%.

Angus Reid polls also provide an index on "public faith" for Canadians -- the degree to which those polled believe that having, knowing, and sharing faith and its importance in society.  Currently 36% are for it; 30% are uncertain; and about 35% dead against it.  That's the election mentality field in which anyone tries to win an election.

Nevertheless, the fact remains -- faith worn on your sleeve is not a vote-getter these days.  How then shall the Christian run for office, or should he?

First, I believe we need more Christians in office, not fewer.  But Christians running for office must realize that winning is not the be all purpose of their life.  God can use your run for office to open other doors and touch the lives of individuals and groups in new ways.

Second, as a body of believers, the Church of Christ must realize that while God is fully aware of who wins and who loses in elections and who forms the governments of the world, He does not need the political playing field to conquer sin and set up His Kingdom.

Third, and most importantly, if God has given us strong convictions about the various issues causing division in our society today, we should stick with those convictions, being very careful to demonstrate total love towards those that disagree with us.  We have not done that well as Christians to this point. If we are to make a difference, we need to.

Fourth, our votes should go to people who have faith and are willing to tell their voters that their faith will indeed guide their actions and decisions.  And let's leave the results to God.

-- Ken Godevenos, writing from Murrells Inlet, South Carolina.

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