The election is over and the vote was close. While most people are focused on the results of the vote in regard to the candidates, there is another message that has been delivered that Christians need to be particularly aware of. Beyond the candidates and party platforms, this vote gives us a close-up view of the people in the country.
Beginning months ago, there has been a great deal of moaning and groaning about the candidate choices. Most of the lament has been focused on that fact that Trump is rude, crude, and a loose canon, while Clinton is a liar, cheater, and a hard core Socialist. While all of this is demonstrably true, it is not the candidates who are the biggest problem. The country knew who these people were and voted for them anyway. No, the biggest problem is that we have become a nation that would pick these kinds of candidates.
Recently, the Barna polling organization did a survey to discover characteristics of people who supported each candidate. What they uncovered was quite revealing. Their results give us a snapshot of the kind of nation we are today. The results below are not a complete summary of Barna’s findings, but I did pick out the demographics which are pertinent to our understanding of the state of our society.
- Trump Supporters
Faith segments:
evangelicals
non-evangelical born again
Protestants
people with a biblical worldview
people who believe in the existence of absolute moral truth
theological conservatives - Pro-life advocates
- People who support traditional moral values
- People who have served or are serving in the military
- Those angry about the current state of America
- Those who believe the country is going in the wrong direction
- Fiscal conservatives
- Social conservatives
- Those who want a smaller government
Analysis
The profile above gives us some insight into the priorities of Trump supporters (not to be confused with the priorities of Trump himself). These priorities include:
- biblical morality and beliefs
- traditional view of God & country
- personal responsibility
- priority of the individual
Clinton Supporters
- Faith segments:
left leaning Christian denominations
notional Christians
non-Christian faiths
atheists and agnostics
Catholics - Environmentalists
- Adults who regularly shop at Wal-Mart
- Advocates of LGBT rights
- Those who are optimistic about the future
- Fiscal liberals
- Fiscal moderates
- Social liberals
- Social moderates
- People who want an activist government
Analysis
The profiles above give us some insight into the priorities of Clinton supporters. These priorities include:
- relative morality and beliefs
- globalist philosophy
- societal responsibility
- priority of the collective
The Division Within Society – Christian Theism vs. Naturalism
Of course, not every individual who voted for either of the candidates believes all of the things that are expressed in my “Analysis” sections. The various groups of people who voted for each candidate are, after all, quite diverse. That said, in a general sense, this does give us a good picture of the beliefs of those who voted for each candidate.
Essentially the divide we see in the election is a snapshot of the divide in society at large. On a worldview level, it is expressed as the clash between Christian Theism and Naturalism.
Christian Theism is the worldview belief that the God of the Bible actually exists and has revealed himself and his ways. This revelation is expressed in principles such as: 1) belief in the existence of an objectively real and personal God, 2) belief that the Bible is God’s revelation of himself to man and contains teachings about morality that are absolute, 3) individuals are personally responsible for how they live life, and 4) belief that the focus of God’s work in the world is on the individual. While Trump does not, in many ways, live his life in a way that is consistent with the beliefs of the Bible, his worldview position is based upon it, and the policies he has proposed largely reflect that worldview.
Naturalism is the belief that the natural universe is all that exists. With that as a starting point, there are particular principles that become the basis for evaluating life. These include: 1) the belief that all religious beliefs are the product of man’s imagination, 2) morality is based on human preference and circumstances, 3) the needs of the collective (society) holds priority over the individual, and 4) those in positions of power have the responsibility for overseeing and guiding the direction of society. While Clinton does claim to be a Christian, the actions of her life and the policies she promotes are based upon a naturalistic worldview.
These two points of view could not be more opposed to one another, and the political positions of the candidates reflect this conflict. Their visions and policies gave the voters a very clear choice as to which worldview should dominate modern American society.
It needs to be clearly understood, though, that the divide is not merely a policy divide. Policy is only an outward expression of a much more profound difference. Policies that people support are based on their worldview beliefs, and unless those beliefs are understood, one can never understand those who have different policy ideas. Interestingly, even in cases where people hold different worldviews but wish to advance the same policy, they will have very different motivations for doing so.
What Christians Need to Do Going Forward
For Christians, policies are only important for the environment they create. This is not meant, in any way, to minimize the importance of policies or policy advocacy. An environment that respects life, promotes liberty, and provides people the opportunity to make the best life they can is crucially important.
But that is not the most important thing. People’s beliefs about policy come from somewhere – their worldview beliefs. It is people’s worldview beliefs that we must be most concerned about.
Contrary to the understanding of most, a naturalistic worldview is actually a non-Christian, religious point of view. People who hold naturalistic values are following beliefs that come from an atheistic religion.
But what does that mean for Christians? Well, it means that our greatest concern should be about leading non-believers to Christ. A person’s worldview will only change with a conversion. And what response should Christians have? We should work to lead non-believers to Christ. Without that, they are headed for an eternity without him. And without the heart change, the outward expression of their worldview, as regards policy matters, will continue to be a focus on creating a utopian material world. After all, it is their belief that this is all they have.
© 2016 Freddy Davis