This past weekend marked the first Sunday since the verdict of Roe v. Wade being overturned by the Supreme Court. The ruling sent a shockwave throughout the nation and sparked many necessary conversations. It also brought to a head something I myself have been speculating for the past few years, the underlying connection between religion and politics.
I personally identify as a Christian. My family and I go to church most (like every other) Sundays. This past year my faith in the Church has begun to waiver. When the priest at my local church is giving a homily about the Constitution and the state of the United States, I see a problem. For example, the program this Sunday there was a press release about gun violence from the parish. Personally, I believe that the Church should only be talking about…well Church stuff. That recent politics should not influence how a religion as old as time operates.
Nowhere in the Bible is there a passage saying woman should not lawfully be able to have an abortion. It does give views on life and the cherishment of it, but these two ideals are quite different. Using interpretation of the Bible as a crutch in order to prove a political statement is incoherent. I draw comparisons to slave owners, pointing to the Bible justifying their right to own a fellow human being.
The faith has no place in the political atmosphere. Religious leaders should not be making radical statements about our country’s rulings. This just creates yet another polarizing dynamic within our nation. Whether or not you identify as a Christian/Catholic nowadays can point towards what you believe politically. It can literally determine if someone loves or hates you. Fundamentally none of this should be the case.
This link between specifically Catholicism and Conservatism is seemingly growing much more apparent (once again) over the last few years. Now this link is the most obvious one, but assuredly there are of course connections between other religions and other political parties as well. I am just focusing on this symbiotic relationship as of now because it is (obviously) the most topical at this point in time.
The Catholic Church has openly emphasized its stance on the topic of abortion for a few years at this point. I cannot understand as to why this is the case. Why is an entire religion making a political statement? I infer that it has come down to the money. Unfortunately, the Church does not operate because God pays the priest’s utility bill, the Church operates because of the millions of donations they receive. In fact, within the last 10 years, the number of Americans who report they attend church services around once or twice a month declined by 7% (stat via. https://comparecamp.com/church-attendance-statistics/#TOC2). So, with the biggest source of livelihood literally walking out the door where can the Church turn to next? Politics.
By making a statement about abortion the Catholic Church instantly strengthened the relationship between Conservatism and Catholicism. What it did was cultivate an underlying relationship that had already existed for decades. As a result, the Church has substantially bounced back to stability.
With these suggestions I want to make clear that I am not pointing fault at the individuality of the Church nor the Republican party. Rather I am aiming to cast a spotlight on the link between them and the power dynamic they share at this moment in history.
The Taxi Driver 