By Paisley Huang
Boston University News Service
Many Christians across the nation were trying to vote in a way that aligned with the Bible’s teaching, but this doesn’t always mean one thing.
Olivia Sinclair, who regularly attends King’s Hill Church, said Christians’ political views are “filtered through the lens of the Bible,” which shape their judgment on certain issues, like abortion.
For Christians, abortion is one of the intensely debated topics, as 73% of White evangelical Protestants think abortion should be illegal in all or most cases. By contrast, 86% of religiously unaffiliated Americans say abortion should be legal, according to Pew Research Center.
“We are like the enemy a lot of times, and we’re not trying to be,” Everett Sinclair, Olivia’s husband, said. He said churches should do a better job of explaining Christian beliefs to the general public.
When the contentious race between the Republican and Democratic Party split society due to arguments and hostility, the presence of churches was important, Sinclair said.
“The church can be a great reminder that a political candidate isn’t going to save us, isn’t going to bring lasting change,” he said. He said that serving society is the responsibility of both governments and churches.
Keilana Pang, a Boston University student and member of Cru, a Christian organization on campus, said she sometimes finds it hard to engage with non-Christian friends on political issues. “It doesn’t mean that I can’t hold them close to my heart,” she said.
As an 18-year-old first-time voter, Pang said she gathered sufficient information about all the candidates before she casted her ballot. While she was in this process, she said churches could help to inform their members, but not to necessarily push their members towards a certain decision.
A Chaplain at BU Marsh Chapel said churches should hold a space to facilitate conversations.
“Who Jesus encountered and sat with weren’t always his followers, but he still sat with them,” she said. Different backgrounds and experiences shape people’s views, and Christians should learn to “invite everybody to the table,” she said.
“Grant to the President of the United States, the Governor of this State and to all in authority, wisdom and strength to know and to do thy will,” she said in a prayer for the nation.
