Should Christians Vote?

Many Christians would probably think that the answer to the question, “Should Christians vote?”, is so obvious that it is not worth discussing. Of course, the thinking goes, if we should be fortunate enough to live in a country with a democratic system of government then we must vote. Voting is both a privilege and a responsibility that people have fought and suffered for and must not be foregone.

Until fairly recent years I would have agreed with that answer. However, after giving consideration to the question of whether Christians should seek political power, and having set out my thoughts on that in two articles, Christians and Politics: like cheese and crackers or oil and water? and Church and State as State, I have been forced to reconsider my thoughts about voting as well. (Those articles need to be read prior to reading this one.)

In summary, in those articles I suggest that there seem to be a number of seemingly insurmountable problems that ought to make Christians very hesitant, if not completely unwilling, to try to take the reins of power.

For the purpose of this paper it will be assumed that that position is correct – Christians should not seek to run the government.

If that is so however, a related issue arises: If it is not right for Christians to run for political office, should they even vote in elections?

It could be argued that just because Christians should not run for office that need not preclude Christians from engaging in the electoral process by voting. But consider a situation where a Christian (contra my position) does stand for election. For Christians such as myself who have come to believe that Christians should not seek political power, it would not make sense to vote for that Christian candidate and by doing so possibly help them to attain a seat in Parliament (even though there may be agreement with much of what they stand for).

If then Christians do not vote for the Christian candidate, would it make any sense to vote for the alternative, non-Christian candidates whose policies the Christian voter may not support? Hardly.

In the unlikely situation where all the candidates are openly professing Christians it still would not be right to vote for any of them, if it is correct that Christians should not seek political power.

It would seem to follow then, given the starting premise, that it is logical that Christians not vote at all. (Arguably, one possible exception to that may arise in situations where there is a non-Christian candidate standing who consistently promotes policies that (most?) Christians support. How often such a situation would actually occur is another thing.)

Such a conclusion may leave us feeling very uncomfortable. It may seem to be counter-intuitive enough for Christians to walk away from running for Parliament but even more so for them then to refuse to vote for Christians who nevertheless do stand. And choosing not to vote at all may seem to be altogether too much.

Discomfort however is not sufficient grounds for dismissing the argument. We may have simply become used to a particular set-up without having given it much thought. Good answers need to be made in response to the concerns raised in my first two papers. In the absence of those answers (at the time of writing this paper no real responses have been made to answer the concerns I have raised) then we have to take seriously the possibility that Christians should neither seek political office nor vote.

Regardless of whether all the above makes sense or not, there usually remains the almost over-whelming foreboding that if Christians don’t seek power themselves or if they don’t even vote in elections, then they leave themselves completely vulnerable to those who, for whatever reasons, may be bent on making life as difficult as possible for Christians. Should such people gain power then we potentially face the same problems and persecutions that Christians under some tyrannical regimes experience.

Common sense seems to shout at us: if restrictions and suffering can be avoided, then we ought to, we must, do whatever we can to try and ensure that such things are avoided. If that means we have to engage in what these papers are suggesting are inappropriate courses of action for Christians, then that is just too bad. We may have to hold our noses as we seek political power and as we vote but that is surely better than the alternative that may arise if we don’t engage in these things.

Herein lies the challenge for Christians. We should not lightly forego the opportunity we may have to live freely and openly as Christians. Equally, we should not masochistically seek out persecution.

However, given the things that both Jesus and Paul said, e.g. “If they persecuted me, they will persecute you” (John 15:20), and, “In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (II Timothy 3:12), we should not be surprised, or, according to Jesus, even distressed (“I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33)), if/when suppression and persecution come our way.

While we shouldn’t seek persecution, neither should we be willing to cut corners in our Christian walk in order to try and avoid persecution. So, if the primary reason for trying to gain political power or for engaging in voting is to lessen the likelihood that Christians will be persecuted, then that, I believe, is an insufficient reason, if such actions are indeed problematic. Something more would be needed.

The fact is, Christians can live truly as Christians under any form of political regime - it just depends on what price they are prepared to pay for doing so. Again, that is not to say that we should want or seek to live under oppressive and tyrannical governments. Religious freedom is a very desirable good and should be treasured and protected by all legitimate means. It is not in itself an absolute good however. Following Jesus is.

It is of course the case that Christians who openly profess their faith in places like North Korea or Saudi Arabia are virtually certain to pay the very highest of prices for doing so. That though may be all part of what is needed for the light of the gospel to overcome the darkness of this world. (Admittedly, this is much more easily said by one who does not live in those places!)

Perhaps our concern should not so much be with what type of government we have or who it is that is doing the governing, but rather with what it means to be living as followers of Jesus, regardless of those things. Our desire to hold the reins of power ourselves can then be relinquished even along with the need to vote.

As previously stated, this is not an argument for withdrawal from society - far from it. I believe that Christians need to be living and speaking fully and fearlessly as God’s people in this broken world. And we need to have our eyes wide open to the fact that this will come at a cost. As Jesus said, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” (Luke 9:23).