Conservative, Liberal and Catholic

[Odell]

Where does our faith fall into this? Im not big on politics dont know much of the difference. But I think im more conservative. But I could not tell you what all constitutes being a conservative. I think that it is mostly the liberals that are for gay marriage and abortion. I could be wrong could any one tell me, can we be one of these and Catholic or are we just Catholic?

 

[Efrain]

By political standards I would be grouped as a conservative. Most of our beliefs line up with the conservative movement and more family oriented. On the other side it is imposible to be a practicing Catholic and a liberal at the same time. Their views are relativistic and seem to be aligned with the “culture of death”.

There is a quote I always remember about politics but I can’t remember from who, “The people should listen to the Church and the government to the people.”

 

[Odell]

By political standards I would be grouped as a conservative. Most of our beliefs line up with the conservative movement and more family oriented. On the other side it is imposible to be a practicing Catholic and a liberal at the same time. Their views are relativistic and seem to be aligned with the “culture of death”.

There is a quote I always remember about politics but I can’t remember from who, “The people should listen to the Church and the government to the people.”

Like the quote

what makes conservatives, conservative? Or liberals liberal

 

[Teakafrog]

I voted conservative Catholic, because anyone nowadays who tries to follow Church teaching is labeled that by our peers, most of who, even if they call themselves Catholic refuse to submit to authority on issues like birth control or marriage. We try to be truly Catholic, not rejecting any Church teaching for any reason. That means following Church law in it’s entirety, not being either too far left, like a cafeteria Catholic, or too far to the right, to try to be more Catholic than the Pope. Moderation in all things.

 

[OnlyAmbrose]

Like the quote

what makes conservatives, conservative? Or liberals liberal

As a rule, “conservative” means maintenance of the status quo whereas “liberal” means advocating change to accepted norms. You’ll find that the definition of these two terms has changed drastically over the years, but the above definition remains constant.

For instance- by modern American standards, Alexander Hamilton would be considered a “liberal” because he favored big government, high taxes, and an intrusive state. However, back when he was around he was considered the epitome of “conservative” because that’s how things were back then- in the 18th century most nations were ruled with big governments and high taxes. Since he favored maintenance of the status quo, he was called conservative.

On that same token, Thomas Jefferson was considered a radical “liberal” in his time, because he favored small government, low taxes, and other such (then) revolutionary ideas. However, his views fit better with the modern “conservative” movement today, but back then he was a “liberal” because his views were so contrary to the status quo.

As it stands now, conservatism generally means adherence to a more traditional lifestyle. This is why most conservatives are Christian (America’s traditional religion) and favor traditional views on family, the economy, and perhaps most obviously, sexuality and abortion.

By that definition, most Catholics should define themselves as conservative, because we do favor a traditional way of living.

 

[Titus]

Although I voted Conservative Catholic, I wouldn’t align myself with the GOP et al on a lot of issues: but on the really big ones they’ve got it right!

 

[Fred_4]

Honestly, I’m not sure what those terms mean. Our nation’s founding fathers were some of the most politically radical people of their time. Living in Chicago, in a solidly “blue” state I find I tend to be very conservative politically. However, my wife and I recently spent some time in Oklahoma visiting my family. Being in a solidly “red” state I began to feel much more “liberal.” Perhaps I am a person without real convictions, but just enjoy being contrary. Dunno. Although the Church doesn’t speak directly to many political issues, I consistently and firmly believe and vote on life issues… abortion, death penalty, euthanasia etc. On these issues the Church is clear, logical, consistent, and totally makes sense. And I offer my vote in the obedience of faith.

 

[Odell]

thanks for all the post this is good Im learning alot.

 

[Malcolm_McLean]

As a rule, “conservative” means maintenance of the status quo whereas “liberal” means advocating change to accepted norms. You’ll find that the definition of these two terms has changed drastically over the years, but the above definition remains constant.

I define “liberal” as “someone who believes that human beings have rights which it is the function of the state to defend”.

Most people in the West are liberals. Though the idea quite plainly grew out of Christianity, it is in fact non-Christian and is also nonsense. A right is something given by those with power to those without, it is not inherent.

Of couse when you start talking about “group rights” versus “individual rights” you get unanswerable questions. Am I allowed to educate my child as I want? Am I allowed to join with other people in educating my children? Are we allowed to choose who can join our school, for instance restrict it to only white children?

There is also the “trendy”. Trendies accept the ideas of the day, and are often confused with liberals, though the two things are quite different. For instance the idea of animal rights, though an extension of human rights, is not liberal. As soon as a trendy says “but isn’t saving the tiger more important then these Indian peasants” then the liberal game is up.