Politics in religious settings

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Scrupulously4

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Hello everybody! I am just wondering what you guys think and the topic of politics in religion spaces. My church that I was baptized in and have gone through my whole life recently started getting involved in politics and I don’t think that the church is the right place to bring to politics. Since then I have stopped attending and feel terrible that I haven’t received communion. Do you guys agree? All answers welcome
 
As politics sometimes involves economy with truth it can on occasion be a catalyst for conflict with religion. That’s just one aspect. The two then may be described as uneasy bedfellows. Not so long ago a top English politician actually had to resign due to such a conflict. There are other politicians who remain Christian however and seem to be able to balance the two somehow.
 
Depends on what you mean. I don’t mind advocating against abortion from the pulpit because all Catholics are supposed to be against it. But, pushing a political position that Catholics can have different positions on, now that should not be allowed. It is a great way of alienating faithful, orthodox Catholics.
 
As Catholics, we are called to bring the faith into the public square.

Sunday is a day which replaced the Jewish Sabbath as a day of worship and thanksgiving to God. In the Catholic Church, I don’t think there’s much time to get into politics on a Sunday morning, but the Church does issue statements on political issues (careful to maintain its tax-exempt status) at other times.

I have seen Catholics who have political ambitions take highly visible roles in church to get some name recognition come election day. The Church sponsors and/or participates in the Right to Life marches in Wash DC for example.

Some churches may be small enough that nobody is going to turn the pastor in to the local prosecutor for giving a sermon on a political topic.

In my town, known for all its churches and bars, there are very few if any pastors who show up for public council meetings. They may work more quietly behind the scenes.

If you’re not Catholic, why don’t you give us a chance to show you the splendor of truth entrusted to the Catholic Church?
 
Sometimes it feels uncomfortable when you hear about it during Mass.
 
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Yeh and I won’t get political here, but they tend to disagree with my political standing.
 
A lot of moral or ethical issues have been turned into political issues as well. That doesn’t mean they don’t still have moral aspects to them. And certainly it can be uncomfortable to be reminded that our political leanings may not be in accord with Church teachings on various topics. It’s something to think about during the week.
 
Scrupulously4 said:
Since then I have stopped attending and feel terrible that I haven’t received communion.
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I’m not a fan of politics being professed at Mass, but if your problems with the church’s politics is keeping you from the Eucharist, then you should really ask yourself if your politics has become an idol.
 
There is a tendency I see here in the US, and maybe other places too, of putting our political beliefs above all else, even God. I would prefer church to be where we form our consciences, then apply that to the public square on our own.
 
In the US there are laws that govern this.

Let’s imagine your state had a public initiative on the ballot where the citizens could vote that would require everyone with a disability to be sterilized.

This is an immoral law, churches would be allowed to talk about this law, it’s relaiton to the religious laws, and to encourage it’s members to vote against that law.

Your church may also encourage the parishioners to contact their elected representatives to “say NO to sterilizing the disabled”.

Your church may hold voter registrations.

What may not happen in your church is for someone to get up and say “Vote for Joe Schmoe because he does not support the sterilization of disabled people” or “Do not vote for Sally Rally because she is pro-sterilization of disabled people”.

The church can say “be sure to look at where each candidate stands on key moral issues”.

Is that the sort of political talk you have heard at your church? If it is endorsement of candidates or specific speech against candidates, speak to your Diocese because they want to help the church follow the law.
 
I would hope that you speak to someone at the Diocese about this. It would be a shame for your parish to lose their non-profit status over politics.
 
What if the candidate was attempting to do something truly evil and unjust? It would be a shame to be found guilty of remaining silent in the face of injustice for the sake of money.
 
I don’t think that the Church should be in charge of the government, but the Church IS responsible for teaching on moral issues and many political issues are also moral issues. I personally resent the attempt of certain political parties to use coercion and threats of removing NFP status when there are many, many secular organizations that freely speak on political matters and endorse candidates but are not threatened. If this is a democracy, than every person and organization has the right to whatever political views they want to express and no one should attempt to silence them. That being said, there is some danger in pastors and parish leaders making political statements because while they may believe that their personal opinions are perfectly in line with Church teaching, they often aren’t. Unless American Catholics form their own political party, we are stuck with the lousy secular ones that we have. Neither one deserves full endorsement from any church or religious group.
 
Our priest won’t discuss politics in a religious setting. Says that he’s not allowed to. The closest he gets to discussing politics is encouraging his parishioners to vote our consciences on Election Day.
 
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