Catholics & Politics Index
By Richard Bruce BA, MA, and PhC in Economics
Former Instructor St. John's University, New York City

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Prolife Christians Should Support Aid to Poor

Many religious people vote Republican because of social issues, particularly abortion. Frequently they also support the economic policies of the Republicans even though these are at odds with their faith. This is a huge mistake.

Many Republicans very much favor abortion and are against the religious voters on many other social issues. If religious voters express support for Republican economic policies the Republicans will argue that we have to compromise to win, and since we all agree on economic issues, abortion and the social issues should be sacrificed. This is not a theoretical problem, it has frequently happened in the past.

Do Not Give Away What You are trading

This is a very simple principle, never give away what you are trading. You do not go to the store, give money to the cashier and then ask them to give you the merchandise. You bring your purchases to the cash register and you buy them. Similarly, religious voters always need to make if very clear that they are trading.

What is the Republican Party

The Republican party is a political party not a social party. We are not in the Republican party to make friends, to be liked or to have a good time. We are Republicans to pursue a political agenda that arises out of our faith.

But we can go farther than this. The Republican party is not a party of ideals, it is a party of the deal. The libertarian followers of Ayn Rand, religious people, opponents of gun control, and many other groups gather together as Republicans.

It has often been noted what a strange group Republicans are. It is like an alliance between the KKK and the Black Panthers, the NAZIS and Israel, the Communist Party and the Republican Party. It does not make sense as a philosophy because it is not a philosophy, it is a deal. Each group is given what it wants most, but each group ususally strongly dislikes other elements of the platform.

So as the Republican Party is a party of the deal, a party of compormise, it does not, and should not have ideals or principles.

This does not mean that Republicans do not or should not have principles. The party is largely composed of people with principles, frequently strong principles. In fact, it was those principles that brought Republicans into the Republican party, but the Republican party itself has no principles, other than winning elections.

So support what your faith tells you to support, oppose what your faith tells you to oppose. Do not hide your values to be nice, or get along. In politics, as in everything else, it is God that we serve.

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Last updated April 10, 2020