Swain is a junior marketing and writing double major and can be contacted at [email protected]
If religion affects every other aspect of my life, why wouldn’t it affect the way I view politics? I feel my religion is the leading reason for all my decisions, so I wouldn’t throw out my religious beliefs just to cater to the secular lifestyle of America.
I am conservative. Not just in politics, but in the rest of my life. I am a conservative Baptist, to be exact. I tend to lean on the Republican side of elections because, for the most part, Christian principles fall on the Republican end of the spectrum.
I don’t call myself a Republican. I don’t call myself a Democrat. I stick with the candidates that follow my religious beliefs and key principles the closest.
People automatically assume Christians are close-minded, bigoted jerks who know nothing about the real world and don’t deserve to have a say in the election process. In fact, many of my Christian friends are more well-read than my secular friends in terms of politics.
As a Christian, my beliefs won’t always coincide with the opinions of the rest of the nation, and I am perfectly OK with that. I am fine knowing people found Rick Perry’s infamous political ad offensive, but only because it is convicting, just like so many other Christian principles.
It is sad to think there are even options on the ballots for inhumane and unbiblical things like abortion or other controversial topics. Why would I ever want sin to be legal? I would never legalize lying or lust (if there was such a way), so I am certainly not going to support the legalization of any other sin.
I could go on all day about my beliefs, but honestly, they stem directly from the word of God. It isn’t about me trying to be offensive. I am just being a follower of Christ, so I choose to make my political decisions based on the only moral standard I know to be correct — the Bible.
I know many of you reading this will hate me. I am not trying to be an almighty power that does no wrong. I am not trying to say whoever believes a different way than me isn’t entitled to his or her own set of beliefs. I am merely saying I choose my political views based on my Christian beliefs, and I refuse to stray away from that.
To be honest, I have yet to vote in any election. I know it is my right as an American citizen to vote. It is also my right not to vote. I play a process of elimination among about five or so key principles in each election. Until I find a candidate that follows all of those principles, I won’t vote. I am not one to complain about our political structure, so I don’t see a reason for me to vote unless I am wholeheartedly set on a single candidate.
