If you know that a person is an evangelical Christian, what does that tell you about his or her politics?

For example, do you know what political party that evangelical is a member of? Do you know how he voted in the last presidential election? Do you know what she thinks about the Iraq war? The environment? Health care? Keynesian v. laissez-faire economic theory?

An “evangelical,” in the term’s purest form, is simply someone who believes the “evangel,” the good news of Jesus Christ. The National Association of Evangelicals adds belief in the inspired, infallible Bible as part of what defines and distinguishes the evangelical. If a person is a Christ-honoring, Bible-believing Christian, does that tell you anything about his or her politics?

In June 2005, NBC’s Katie Couric interviewed Billy Graham. She asked Mr. Graham if it’s true that he is a Democrat. He answered affirmatively, to which Couric responded, “Do you think people would be surprised to learn that? Because generally, in this day and age, evangelical Christians are closely associated with the Republican Party.” Perhaps Couric’s perception has become a common one. So how about it? Are all evangelicals Republicans? Are all evangelicals by definition right-wing, pro-war, anti-welfare conservatives?

Actually, regarding party membership, the Barna Group says that 62% of evangelicals are Republican. That’s a clear majority, but it also means about 4 out of 10 evangelical Christians are not Republican.

As mentioned above, the most prominent evangelical of the 20th century, Billy Graham, is a Democrat. Graham has mostly stayed out of politics and has gladly befriended presidents and politicians of both political parties. Another well-known evangelical is Jimmy Carter, the former president who returned the phrase “born-again Christian” to mainstream consciousness in the 1970s. Carter, of course, is a Democrat and an advocate of many left-of-center views.

One of the most influential evangelicals of the 21st century is Rick Warren, author of the phenomenally successful Purpose-Driven Life. What’s on Warren’s political agenda? In June 2005, Warren wrote an open letter to President Bush urging the president to increase our nation’s commitment to the fight against AIDS and poverty in Africa. Warren’s letter included an appeal for the cancellation of third-world debt and the reform of U.S. trade laws. That’s not typical right-wing politics.

Some evangelical leaders will tell you in a heartbeat that they are not political conservatives, including Jim Wallis, editor of Sojourners magazine and author of the current best-seller, God’s Politics: Why The Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn’t Get It, and Tony Campolo, the very likable and controversial Baptist preacher who doesn’t conform to anyone’s checklist.

My point is not to knock conservative Christians or extol moderate, progressive, or liberal ones, but rather to say that that there are evangelical Christians at every point on the political spectrum. There is plenty of room among evangelicals for a variety of political beliefs, and for healthy discussion and debate among us.

The standard in our discussions should not be, what does the Republican Party say, or what does George W. Bush say, but what does Jesus say, what does the Bible say. We will seldom agree on the answers. But we should agree that as evangelicals it is Christ who unites us, not politics. We should also agree that politics is a matter of personal conscience, for each Christian to figure out for himself the best he can.

* * * * *
A Reluctant Republican
In researching the above essay I came across an excellent post from 2005 by Joe Carter at the Evangelical Outpost titled: “The Conscience of a (Christian) Conservative: Why I’m a Reluctant Republican.” Here are some excerpts:

• “Too many evangelicals have taken the position that supporting an electable Republican candidate is the default political posture for a ‘good conservative Christian.’”

• “When speaking on political issues, many prominent evangelical leaders are sounding more like Rush Limbaugh than Francis Schaeffer.”

• “We really have to do more to get the message out that Pat Robertson does not speak for us.”

• ‘Too often there appears to be little Biblical warrant for the positions that are taken. Issues that concern the protection of the poor or the defense of the innocent are obvious causes that evangelicals should champion. But is the limiting of Congressional filibusters or partisan budget-reform proposals matters for which there is a specific ‘conservative Christian’ position? Some evangelicals certainly give that impression.”

Read the whole article here. Thanks, Joe, for your consistently good writing. (Joe Carter’s Evangelical Outpost was voted “Best Religious Blog” in the 2005 Weblog Awards).
* * * * * *
UPDATE (01/18/06): In response to the above post, Rod Heggy has written: “Christians Not a Cohesive Voting Block.”
* * * * * *
UPDATE (Feb. 1, 2006): Welcome, Evangelical Outpost readers. Thanks, Joe, for linking to this article. Joe is one of the top evangelical bloggers out there, and one of the most generous in giving new blogs (like this one) a boost. Thanks, Joe.