According to a recent Pew Forum, the majority of people in the United States want religious institutions to keep out of political matters. While, this wouldn't seem to be an unlikely position for those that are the non-converted, the non-repentant and the avowed atheist. However, for the first time in recent history, a significant percentage of Evangelicals (36%) also say that churches should keep out of politics, a jump from 20 percent who said the same thing in 2004.So what has happened in the past few years? Well, for many of us, too many of our religious leaders have become way too political, have become way too linked to the Republican party and all too quick to embrace political issues that have a very weak connection to a biblical position.
For example, how did Evangelicals suddenly become the group that wants to make sure that all illegals are shipped out of the country? Why in the world were we told by some of our religious leaders that if we agreed with global warming, we were acting contrary to our religious beliefs?
Don't get me wrong; in many ways, I continue to be socially and politically pretty conservative. But when Evangelical leaders continue to tell us to support particular candidates or political ideologies AS IF these candidates or ideoligies alone will help bring about some kind of moral alignment, we are headed for trouble.
Throughout the centuries, every time the church gets a little too cozy with the government, we are headed for problems. The church, under persecution, is actually a much healthier and stronger church than one that has compromised its message of the essential Jesus in order to influence a political point of view.
