From the Bible Belt to the Moral Majority movement, Christianity
is commonly associated with conservatism in contemporary American
politics, a coupling Pastor David Hintz believes is mandated by the
Bible.
Addressing the perceived incompatibility of the Bible and
liberal politics, the Bruin Republicans hosted a presentation by
Hintz titled “Can a Liberal be a Christian?” Wednesday
night in Moore Hall.
In a 45-minute speech, Hintz addressed why he believes the Bible
supports certain political viewpoints. Prior to becoming a
Christian, Hintz held many politically liberal views but said he
now considers himself a conservative.
According to Hintz, the Bible strictly prohibits liberal views
on social issues such as abortion and homosexuality, leaving
fundamentalist Christians with only one political possibility.
Bruin Republicans chairman Greg Moeck said it is important to
consider the impact religion has on politics.
“Ever since the ’90s, the religious right has become
a major power in politics, so it’s important to consider the
question of whether a liberal can be Christian,” Moeck said.
“If you want to understand the religious right you need to
look at where they’re coming from and what Biblical
principles motivate them.”
Jennifer Propper, marketing director for Bruin Republicans, said
despite the power of the Christian voting demographic, many remain
prejudiced and ignorant about the motivations of the religious
right.
“The religious right is one of the most important voting
demographics because of its sheer size, so if you want to
understand American politics, it’s crucial that you
understand this group, as well as the Biblical principles behind
them,” Propper said.
But second-year biochemistry student Allen Hwang said
Christianity doesn’t necessarily dictate any particular
political views.
“Conservatives always portray liberal ideas as immoral and
anti-Christian, but no contemporary political or moral issue is a
blatant case of right and wrong,” Hwang said. “Beyond
that, even if you have certain moral or religious beliefs, you
shouldn’t try to use the government to impose those beliefs
on other people. That’s why we have separation of church and
state ““ so people can make those decisions for
themselves.”
Though some might be skeptical about religion’s place in a
political discussion, Propper said faith figures into many
important debates.
“People always act as if there’s this strict
division between politics and religion, but that’s not really
true. A lot of the controversial political issues are moral issues,
so your religious opinions will influence your views,”
Propper said.
Propper said religion has played an active role in politics
since the founding of the country, with many important American
reformers, such as Martin Luther King Jr. and the abolitionists,
originating in the church.
“As Martin Luther King Jr. said, we live in a time of
wonderful scientific and technological progress, but we can’t
forget that we need moral progress to go along with that,”
Propper said.