What Should the Church's Role in Politics Be?

While the US is often thought of as hyper religious, particularly in comparison to our European counterparts, and this regularly seeps into our political sphere, the brand of religion often in the press is right-wing evangelical Christianity. When the Catholic Church does take an active and public role, it is generally around the issue of abortion.

For that reason, it was particularly refreshing to see the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) take a vocal stance during the debt ceiling debate.

Both the Speaker of the House, John Boehner (R-OH), and the chair of the House Budget Committee, Paul Ryan (R-WI), along with Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) are Catholic, so it provided the Bishops, and Catholic progressives, a unique opportunity to remind them of Catholic Social Teaching, namely, the preferential option for the poor. (In fact, 30% of the 112^th Congress identifies as Catholic.)

It's important to note the Catholic Church is considered a powerful lobby in the U.S., so the Bishops' letter was a strong message. Their work did not happen alone, of course, numerous religious organizations, Catholic and otherwise, continued their fight to elevate the progressive, religious voice in the debate. A Pax Christi USA activist was amongst other religious leaders that were arrested in the Capitol during a pray-in.

All this has made me think about what it means to be a progressive Catholic, particularly in the American political context.

Coverage of the role of the Church in US politics in the media is almost solely relegated to the issue of abortion; stories around denying communion to pro-choice politicians immediately come to mind. While an especially engaged Catholic could tell you other issues the Church has taken a position on, I'm not sure that your average citizen could. It is sad that pro-life in our country has been defined as abortion, not a range of life issues including stances on economic & racial justice, access to affordable health care, and the death penalty, to name a few.

As a result of this perception that the U.S. Catholic Church is active of abortion and silent on other issues that effect people's everyday lives, coupled with what many view as more conservative messages coming from the pulpit, there is a serious crisis with the US Catholic Church being able to maintain members. And the fact is, the more people leave in frustration, the more conservative the remaining body gets. It should be noted, that a growing Latino population and immigration are helping stem some of the losses in numbers and growing conservativism within the Church.

It often surprises those who first know my politics, that I'm Catholic, even more so when I explain it is my Catholic faith that informs my politics, not that I am Catholic despite my politics.

I do think the Church should play a role in politics, it does not exist in a vacuum and religion has been a part of our political framework for ages, so I would hope the institutional Church takes stances on the many issues our faith touches on, truly embodying what it means to be pro-life. Additionally, more progressive Catholics (and religious progressives generally) should raise their voices as a counterweight to the right wing, capitalistic Christianity that seems to have taken hold, because the Church is only as powerful as its members.

What do you think?

Is there a role for religion in politics? What should it be?

Do others in the US find themselves grappling with these same issues?

For sisters & brothers in other parts of the world, does Catholicism, or religion generally, play a factor in the political system in your country? How so?