Is it a Sin NOT to vote?

[Gregory_Francis]

(CA mod’s, please move this thread if it is not in the correct forum for it’s topic)

This has been a feeling I have had for a while and truly want my far more versed Brothers and Sisters here at CA to help me.

Even though I am a life long catholic I was away for a while and came back a few yr’s ago. I really don’t know how to make an educated choice when I see none. Yet I have always seen voting as important. (tell lately)

Could someone help explain what the church has/would say on this matter? I really feel quite stupid in a way even asking but it is
bothering me. God Bless, GF

 

[Tietjen]

(CA mod’s, please move this thread if it is not in the correct forum for it’s topic)

This has been a feeling I have had for a while and truly want my far more versed Brothers and Sisters here at CA to help me.

Even though I am a life long catholic I was away for a while and came back a few yr’s ago. I really don’t know how to make an educated choice when I see none. Yet I have always seen voting as important. (tell lately)

Could someone help explain what the church has/would say on this matter? I really feel quite stupid in a way even asking but it is
bothering me. God Bless, GF

I don’t believe it to be a sin not to vote, but I would say that it very well may be irresponsible. I would suggest reading this to help you understand what the Church has to say concerning voting. God bless.

 

[matt1985]

I don’t think it could possibly be a sin. If you can’t live with either two candidates, and there is not a “none of the above” choice, than I don’t think you will be punished for not voting.

 

[Holly3278]

I think it is a sin not to vote. Even if you just can’t live with either of the two candidates, you should still vote for the lesser of two evils. That said, I do not think it would be a mortal sin to not vote but merely a venial sin.

 

[LilyM]

I think it is a sin not to vote. Even if you just can’t live with either of the two candidates, you should still vote for the lesser of two evils. That said, I do not think it would be a mortal sin to not vote but merely a venial sin.

I agree - I believe we are under an obligtion to vote for the least distasteful of the candidates and do our utmost to prevent the worst from getting into office.

Having said which, there’s no ‘merely’ about venial sins. They are like the snowflakes that pile up on a tree branch in a storm and weigh it down so much it breaks off and falls, they can do an awful lot of damage.

 

[Sheeniac]

GF,

At one point a few months ago, I considered voting for everything BUT the office of the President. But then I rec’d an email from Fr. Pavone. He sent one out to his email list with the subject line “…And What I Have Failed to do”, a line we say nearly every Sunday, but somehow, I had never thought of it in that sense.

Since it was an email from Priests for Life, it was mainly about abortion. I probably couldn’t pick the email out of a literary line-up, so to speak, but I think the subject will stay with me forever. It has now become a guide for my conscience.

Some things are more important in the eyes of the Church than others. Not all issues have the same moral weight.

So… by not voting, are you failing to do what God has proclaimed to be important? If it is still a difficult decision, can you vote 3rd party, and write letters to the editor - surely there are more people who feel the same…

 

[BlaineTog]

I don’t vote. I have no mind for the political, so I’d essentially be playing Russian Roulette with my ballot. I guess you could count this as a vote for “no, it’s not a sin,” if you were so inclined.

 

[LilyM]

Well here in Oz, since we have secret ballots and nothing computerised about any of the system, it’s possible to simply pick up the ballot paper, not place any mark upon it, and place it in the ballot box in an unmarked state.

Of course the unmarked papers are counted along with those that are otherwise incorrectly marked and labelled simply as ‘informal votes’, rather than being counted as a deliberate ‘none of the above’ vote.

 

[Newbie2]

I don’t vote. I have no mind for the political, so I’d essentially be playing Russian Roulette with my ballot. I guess you could count this as a vote for “no, it’s not a sin,” if you were so inclined.

Sometimes, methinks, an uninformed vote can be “worse” than not voting, in terms of who may get elected.

There are many examples of pols(crooks) getting re-elected in the catagory of “What were they thinking”, in terms of the voters.

But no, not voting is not sinful, but as has been said is irresponsible and perhaps…what’s the word I’m looking for…Ungrateful? We just passed Memorial Day…many have died to assure our freedom to vote here in the US.

 

[BlaineTog]

Sometimes, methinks, an uninformed vote can be “worse” than not voting, in terms of who may get elected.

Exactly my thoughts. Too many people have died for me to abuse my right to vote.

 

[Tietjen]

I think it is a sin not to vote. Even if you just can’t live with either of the two candidates, you should still vote for the lesser of two evils. That said, I do not think it would be a mortal sin to not vote but merely a venial sin.

I respect your opinion and recognize that many Catholics (the vast majority) share it. However, I personally cannot get around two problems with this position. First, I consider myself to have a fairly well formed conscience. If the only two people running in an election were pro-death (IE - pro-abortion) I would be seriously violating my conscience voting for either one. I could, of course, “write-in” a candidate. Secondly, voting “for the lesser of two evils” is still choosing evil, no matter how you slice it. You, knowing that “the lesser” candidate supports abortion, and selecting a person for office that you know will veto pro-life bills in favor of killing the innocent. I try to imagine what Christ would do. Would he pull the level for the “lesser of two evils” and thereby choose an evil (even if it is the lesser of the two)? I do not believe that God or His Church will consider it a sin (venial or mortal) to refuse to vote for a pro-death candidate. Just my 2¢ though.

PS - I do not believe that there is an issue in the upcoming Presidential elections however.

 

[Gregory_Francis]

Tietjen, thank you very much for the PDF guide it helped immeasurably and I hope all respondents read it. And thank you all for your (name removed by moderator)ut, I truly appreciate it.

a Couple of points; and without addressing my issues in depth other then the main five laid out in the PDF (I again urge all to read it a few times)

First this will be the first time I will (or will not) vote strictly on tenants of The Faith. Second, as This vote sets in my mind hope of change from what has come from the last eight yr’s, the moral validity of the our country’s direction during this time, and how I will follow The Church’s teaching to apply if possible, my vote for the good of all not just myself and other Americans. This is why I guess I find this election so difficult. (As my Grandmother would say: “l’inferno è pieno di codardi” hell is full of cowards, this was usually spoken when I was small and whined about going to confession )

Since I don’t want to join those ranks I do feel a moral obligation to vote, but by Gods law not mine.

Once again thanks to Tietjen’s link for making this easier to meditate on how to proceed. God Bless, GF

 

[LilyM]

Exactly my thoughts. Too many people have died for me to abuse my right to vote.

And too many have died for you to not be obligated to them to exercise it!

Get thee educated, if need be - read the excellent guide that Tietjen has linked to.

 

[puzzleannie]

no but you forfeit your right to complain about the government if you take no part in voting. personally I vote because I can. who knows how long it will be before that right is taken away. fewer than 25% of voters turned out in the last election in this county. 750M people, 200M registered voters, 50M voted. I don’t think it is any coincidence we have one of the highest percentages elected officials indicted or convicted of wrongdoing the country.

 

[BlaineTog]

And too many have died for you to not be obligated to them to exercise it!

I respectfully disagree. I cannot in good conscience harm the democratic process by (name removed by moderator)utting a data point I have no faith in, and no amount of cliches will convince me to go against my conscience.

puzzleannie:

no but you forfeit your right to complain about the government if you take no part in voting.

I am perfectly willing to accept that deal.

 

[Prodigal_Son1]

I see some say it is a sin not to vote. I would like to ask another question without trying to derail this thread.

Do you consider it a sin to vote for someone who has absolutely no chance of winning the election? If so, please explain.

I’ll be honest, I think it shows a lack of trusting in the Lord to choose the lesser of two evils, which to me would be more a possibilty of a sin. I mean, I detest all my sins and do not want to be complicit with either degree of evil.

If someone can convince me of it truly being sinful not to vote, my backup plan is to write in a candidate, otherwise I intend on trusting in the Lord and praying for whoever gets elected.

(Besides, I’m from Florida…our vote doesn’t seem to count anymore anyways.)

May the peace of the Lord be with you.
Prodigal Son1

 

[Holly3278]

I agree - I believe we are under an obligtion to vote for the least distasteful of the candidates and do our utmost to prevent the worst from getting into office.

Having said which, there’s no ‘merely’ about venial sins. They are like the snowflakes that pile up on a tree branch in a storm and weigh it down so much it breaks off and falls, they can do an awful lot of damage.

This is true. But when I said merely, I did not intend it in the way that you interpreted it I think. I intended to mean that it was simply a venial sin as opposed to a mortal sin.

 

[LilyM]

I see some say it is a sin not to vote. I would like to ask another question without trying to derail this thread.

Do you consider it a sin to vote for someone who has absolutely no chance of winning the election? If so, please explain.

I’ll be honest, I think it shows a lack of trusting in the Lord to choose the lesser of two evils, which to me would be more a possibilty of a sin. I mean, I detest all my sins and do not want to be complicit with either degree of evil.

If someone can convince me of it truly being sinful not to vote, my backup plan is to write in a candidate, otherwise I intend on trusting in the Lord and praying for whoever gets elected.

(Besides, I’m from Florida…our vote doesn’t seem to count anymore anyways.)

May the peace of the Lord be with you.
Prodigal Son1

There’s no such thing as a candidate who has no chance - stranger things have happened. In the 2000 election there was a campaign in several uncontested Congress electorates, spearheaded by Michael Moore of *Bowling for Columbine *and Fahrenheit 9/11 fame (or infamy), for people to vote for ficus plants as write-in candidates. In one electorate the ficus plant got more votes than the human candidate. So anything is possible.

I think it’s far better to pray BEFORE the election, that people will vote for the right (or best) person, and do so yourself (a write-in candidate is a fine solution when it’s an option, otherwise the least of the evils approach).

 

[Salonika]

If someone has considered all the available options both in terms of candidates and their policy, and cannot in conscience vote for any of them, then I think the best option is to either cast a blank ballot or cross everyone/all parties out unless they live somewhere where you can tick “a plague on all your houses”. I have done this.

If you are genuinely uninterested in politics I consider that it is more unacceptable to vote for candidates and/or parties you know nothing about than not to go to the ballot box. In the same category I would place voting in a random way - like voting for people because of the first letter of their surname or every third name.

Interesting for members of those religious groups who forbid or frown on their members voting - to vote would be a sin or close to one.

 

[Jimmy_B]

THE FIVE NON-NEGOTIABLE ISSUES
These five issues are called non-negotiable because they concern actions that are always morally wrong and must never be promoted by the law. It is a serious sin to endorse or promote any of these actions, and no candidate who really wants to advance the common good will support any of the five non-negotiables.
1. Abortion
The Church teaches that, regarding a law permitting abortions, it is “never licit to obey it, or to take part in a propaganda campaign in favor of such a law, or to vote for it” (EV 73). Abortion is the intentional and direct killing of an innocent human being, and therefore it is a form of homicide.
The child is always an innocent party, and no law may permit the taking of his life. Even when a child is conceived through rape or incest, the fault is not the child’s, who should not suffer death for others’ sins.
2. Euthanasia
Often disguised by the name “mercy killing,” euthanasia also is a form of homicide. No one has a right to take his own life (suicide), and no one has the right to take the life of any innocent person.
In euthanasia, the ill or elderly are killed out of a misplaced sense of compassion, but true compassion cannot include doing something intrinsically evil to another person (cf. EV 73).
3. Fetal Stem Cell Research
Human embryos are human beings. “Respect for the dignity of the human being excludes all experimental manipulation or exploitation of the human embryo” (CRF 4b).
Recent scientific advances show that any medical cure that might arise from experimentation on fetal stem cells can be developed by using adult stem cells instead. Adult stem cells can be obtained without doing harm to the adults from whom they come. Thus there no longer is a medical argument in favor of using fetal stem cells.
4. Human Cloning
“Attempts . . . for obtaining a human being without any connection with sexuality through ‘twin fission,’ cloning, or parthenogenesis are to be considered contrary to the moral law, since they are in opposition to the dignity both of human procreation and of the conjugal union” (RHL I:6).
Human cloning also ends up being a form of homicide because the “rejected” or “unsuccessful” clones are destroyed, yet each clone is a human being.
5. Homosexual "Marriage"
True marriage is the union of one man and one woman. Legal recognition of any other form of “marriage” undermines true marriage, and legal recognition of homosexual unions actually does homosexual persons a disfavor by encouraging them to persist in what is an objectively immoral arrangement.
“When legislation in favor of the recognition of homosexual unions is proposed for the first time in a legislative assembly, the Catholic lawmaker has a moral duty to express his opposition clearly and publicly and to vote against it. To vote in favor of a law so harmful to the common good is gravely immoral” (UHP 10).