As the 2024 election approaches, some people are turning to their religious leaders for advice when deciding who to vote for.
Even though it is illegal for church to get involved in political campaign activitiesPeople often turn to clergy to aid them find a frame of reference and context when deciding who to vote for, he said. Rabbi Hillel Skolnik of Congregation Tifereth Israel in Columbus.
“It makes sense that your religious beliefs would impact the way you conduct yourself at the ballot box,” he said.
The Ohio Capital Journal spoke with three Columbus religious leaders about the advice they give to members of their congregations who turn to them for aid deciding who to vote for in this year’s presidential election. between Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump.
“God is not beholden to any political party,” said Jed Dearing, pastor of Trinity Episcopal Church in downtown Columbus.
“Vote according to your conscience”
Tim Ahrens, senior pastor of First Congregational United Church of Christ in downtown Columbus, encourages people to vote.
“Don’t come in and do nothing because you haven’t done any homework and you haven’t investigated,” Ahrens said. “Vote your conscience and vote what you believe in.”
To aid people seeking advice on voting, he asks them what they believe.
“I explore with people what values are at the core of their being,” Ahrens said. “Who shares your values and who most closely believes they can represent who you are.”
Trinity Episcopal Church
Members of Dearing’s parish frequently come to him with questions.
“How can I love my neighbor despite the hateful language that was used?” he said. “How can I pray for a candidate I don’t like? How can we pray without judgment?”
Many people who come to him are livid — especially women and members of the LGBTQ community.
“So the question becomes — with people who speak such hate and want to take away rights and take away things that have been established — how do I keep love and care and respect for them in my heart, especially when they use inhumane language?” he said. “How do I just not stay angry?”
He said it reminded him of Moses and the burning bush in the Book of Genesis. Exodus Ffrom the Bible.
“At this point, the Hebrew people are enslaved by the Egyptians, and this bush is burning, but it doesn’t burn and it doesn’t burn Moses,” he said. “Instead, it calls him … (and) ends up reorienting his life to go work for freedom for the enslaved people. For me, as Christians, the real challenge and cause is to figure out how do we nurture a fire that burns for justice, for freedom, for equal opportunity for all, without being consumed and angry?”
Dearing said that when choosing a candidate to vote for, he thinks about the verse Micah 6:8 — “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what He does Lord What is required of you? To do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.”
“Are they committed to justice? Mercy? Do they have humility? Are they going to be someone in office who will learn and grow as we hopefully learn and grow?” Dearing said.
Jewish Context
Skolnik attempts to raise certain issues by providing Jewish background and context.
For example, he said, Judaism supports a woman’s right to choose abortion.
“It’s not about voting for a specific candidate, but about putting an important issue in a Jewish context that can influence the choice we make at the ballot box,” Skolnik said.
He tries to aid people by following three principles: science, prayer and acts of kindness.
“Our Jewish life should be a balance of those three,” Skolnik said. “…The people they choose as their leaders are the ones who are in alignment with you in the way that you yourself would choose to try to have a life that includes learning, worship, and acts of love and kindness.”
Israel’s War with Hamas
Israel’s War with Hamas Is Something Jewish Voters Can’t Ignore, Skolnik he said.
Above 39 900 more than 1000 people died 92 200 since Israel invaded after a Hamas attack in October that killed almost 1,200 people in Israel, more than 10,000 people have been injured in Gaza and more than 10,000 are missing Al-Jazeera.
“AND“It’s certainly a huge issue in terms of feeling like the candidate you’re supporting at least supports Israel’s right to self-defense,” Skolnik said. “The idea of Israel’s right to self-defense doesn’t mean agreeing with every decision Israel makes every moment of every day, but it’s certainly something that comes across in big, bold letters in context.”
Dearing said some people in his congregation have a challenging time accepting the fact that the United States continues to fund Israel amid Israel’s war with Hamas. President Joe Biden signed the bill into law $14.1 billion in funding to support Israel in April.
“Overall, there’s a question of whether my values align more with the Democratic Party, and now that party is in control, continuing to make the decision to fund this war,” Dearing said. “Do I vote for a president of a party that continues to fund this war, which seems to go beyond justice or defense?”
Christian nationalism
Ahrens recently gave a sermon criticizing Christian nationalism.
“Moral legislation never works,” he said in his sermon. “Just read the Bible and you will see how it fails time and time again. Furthermore, Christian nationalism is an ideology held overwhelmingly by white American Christians, and therefore tends to deepen racial and ethnic divisions.”
In his sermon he said that Christians should get involved in politics.
“But I also believe that we can and should do this without becoming Christian nationalists, because Christian nationalism is neither Christian nor patriotic,” Ahrens said in his sermon. “Christian nationalism tends to treat other Americans as second-class citizens, including but not excluding others, including women, children, and immigrants. They also tend to treat science, scientists, and science education with contempt.”
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