Some Evangelicals supporting Obama ----------------------------------------------- Some evangelicals drifting away from GOP, despite abortion question Younger evangelicals more likely to vote based on wider range of issues, polls show By Eileen E. Flynn Sunday, October 19, 2008 In past presidential elections, Geno Hildebrandt usually voted Republican, driven in part by his opposition to abortion. But this year, the pastor of Hope Chapel in North Austin is reconsidering what it means to be pro-life and breaking ranks with his conservative Christian peers. He said he's voting for Democratic Sen. Barack Obama, a candidate known for his liberal support of abortion rights. "For me politically, I think it's difficult in the extreme," said Hildebrandt, 53, who describes himself as a charismatic and theologically conservative Christian. "I would not be tepidly pro-Obama unless I was pretty fed up with what is presented to me on the other side and by the other ticket." For too long, Hildebrandt said, the Republican Party has taken his vote for granted, believing that its stance against abortion will keep conservative Christians on its side. Among his close friends, Hildebrandt is the lone Obama voter. And he's gotten an earful from folks who think he's abandoning his convictions about protecting unborn children. But Hildebrandt's views are more readily accepted by a growing number of younger evangelicals who, while also opposed to abortion, are mapping out a broader Christian agenda that includes concerns about poverty, war and the environment.Abortion hasn't disappeared from the list. It's just no longer a deal breaker for some evangelicals. And that means they're not automatically voting for the anti-abortion candidate, something the GOP has been able to count on in previous elections. White evangelicals have been crucial to GOP presidential candidates in recent elections. They cast nearly one-fourth of all votes in the 2000 and 2004 elections, and President Bush won 68 percent of their votes in 2000 and 78 percent in 2004, according to the Pew Research Center for People and the Press. According to a survey released by the nonprofit group Faith in Public Life, 93 percent of African American Protestants planned to vote for Obama in November. But white evangelicals aren't jumping to Obama's side in great numbers. Overall, Republican nominee Sen. John McCain tops Obama by a wide margin among white evangelicals — 68 percent to 25 percent — according to the Faith in Public Life report, which surveyed voters in August and September and noted that Democrat John Kerry captured about 21 percent of the white evangelical vote in 2004. But a poll conducted in September for Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly, a PBS television program, showed younger evangelicals (ages 18 to 29) were less likely to vote for McCain than their elders were. Sixty-two percent of evangelicals younger than 30 planned to vote for McCain, compared with 73 percent over 30, according to the poll. According to the Faith in Public Life survey, younger evangelicals are more likely than their elders to support bigger government with more services and show more support for diplomacy versus military strength abroad. In a telephone press conference following the release of Faith in Public Life's poll, scholars and culture watchers weighed in on how this shift might show up on Election Day. D. Michael Lindsay, a sociology professor at Rice University who interviewed thousands of evangelicals for his book "Faith in the Halls of Power," said the broadening of the issues that matter to Christians will distinguish this election from 2004. "Younger believers — including Catholics and white evangelicals — are significantly more supportive of bigger government and expanding diplomatic efforts abroad," he said, noting that they are embracing the Gospel's call to help the poor, serve as peacemakers and be good stewards of the earth. "It's not surprising, therefore, that they are supporting some of the ideas put forward by the Democrats in 2008. It may very well be that in this election, the conventional wisdom about the 'values voters' — who they are and what they want — gets turned on its head." Hildebrandt is particularly upset with what he sees as a mishandled prosecution of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Bush's "go-it-alone" approach to potential threats in Iran and North Korea and a "deregulated market allowing predatory practices which injure the middle class." Dan Davis, a longtime nondenominational church leader, said he has seen this shift in views recently in Austin. He helped start the Pastors in Covenant in Austin, a group of ministers from different racial and denominational backgrounds. There's a distinct generational shift among evangelicals on issues such as the environment and the war, he said. Even at 71, Davis said he has reevaluated his reasons for voting for a candidate and grappled with the idea that being pro-life involves more than one's stance on abortion. It's a revelation that he said has caused some uncomfortable moments with fellow Christians who don't understand how Davis could criticize the Republican party on moral issues or even consider voting for a Democrat. "In a couple of (discussions), I've felt our friendship is going to be at stake," said Davis, who declined to say for whom he will vote on Nov. 4. "This guy thinks I've fallen out of a tree ... that I would dare talk about that." Mark Proeger, 36, who pastors college students at Hope Chapel, said he has a harder time stomaching the idea of his fellow evangelicals casting their ballot for a candidate who has liberally supported abortion rights. He sees abortion as "the most significant issue facing America ... because any nation that refuses to protect their most innocent and most helpless is in a very precarious place morally and ethically." He asks his Obama-supporting friends, "What does it mean to be pro-life if you're not going to vote pro-life?" Courtney Carlson, a 31-year-old minister to college students and young professionals at Hillcrest Baptist Church, a Southern Baptist congregation in North Austin, opposes abortion but said she has a broader set of Christian concerns that will inform her vote. "Jesus is constantly talking about taking care of the poor, taking care of 'the least of these,' " she said. Carlson said she thinks Obama's platform better reflects the Gospel. Her political leanings put her in the minority at her church, but she said Hillcrest leaders and members are respectful of her views. Tom Goodman, the church's senior pastor, knows there are plenty of other evangelicals energized by Obama. He posted this advice on his blog to supporters: Make sure the Obama campaign and the Democratic Party know you aren't happy with their positions on abortion. Join Democrats for Life of America. And, if Obama's elected, watch him closely on the abortion issue. "If you help put Obama in the White House and he proceeds to ignore your pro-life convictions until he needs your vote in the next election, refuse to give it to him," Goodman wrote. The fact that these conversations are happening at all is a healthy sign, said Don Vanderslice, pastor of Mosaic, a congregation that draws people in their 20s and 30s to a warehouse sanctuary on Airport Boulevard. Most of the members of Mosaic, many of whom identify themselves as "pro-life evangelicals," appear to be voting for Obama, Vanderslice said. Then again, he noted, this is left-leaning Austin. Their evangelical peers in Dallas and other cities don't necessarily share their views. Vanderslice, who grew up in a conservative church in Dallas, said some of his friends and family members have tried to argue that Obama is a secret Muslim or at least isn't a good Christian. And his fellow pastor, Sam Myrick, 28, encounters anti-Obama rants from old friends from his Baptist college every time he logs onto his Facebook account. They are often shocked to learn that Myrick could back a candidate who supports abortion rights. But as Myrick sees it, "neither candidate will ever line up 100 percent with the Gospel." Myrick and Vanderslice live in a struggling neighborhood, ride their bikes instead of drive and create after-school activities for low-income children, all part of what they see as championing life. They also support Obama. Hildebrandt said he also sees efforts like theirs as important. But he said the abortion issue will still stick in his throat when he votes Nov. 4. "It's a very difficult thing to come to," Hildebrandt said. "But I feel abandoned by what I would have considered Bush's sell on compassionate conservatism." With that in mind, Hildebrandt said that if Obama is elected, he'll be watching his policies just as closely. -------------------------------------------------------------- See Iroc it, there is hope for you yet. DD
My favorite line from this whole article: "...being pro-life involves more than one's stance on abortion." antecdotally, i'm seeing a lot of this. i'm part of a church that's very young...both in years we've been around and average age of people involved with it....so that probably explains that. That article describes me, despite the fact I'm over 30. (only by 4 years!!!! ) THERE IS NO ONE WAY TO VOTE CHRISTIAN, THOUGH!! NEITHER THE SIDE WHO WOULD VOTE OBAMA IN THE CHURCH NOR THE SIDE WHO WOULD VOTE FOR MCCAIN IN THE CHURCH HAS IT NAILED!! THESE AREN'T EASY ISSUES...AND PEOPLE VIEW THEM IN VERY DIFFERENT WAYS.
I am just glad that some people can get past the one issue vote and look at whom is the best leader for this country. DD
Not me. I view the issues the way Christ would. Anyone who disagrees with me, isn't viewing the issues the way Christ would.
Spoken just as Jesus would have you say it. I'm sure you're sporting your WWJD bracelet right now listening to Christian radio.
Spoken like a smart man Im tired of hearing Gods party when it comes to politics. It simply nothing but manipulation of religion. I can say Im a man of God all day and some religious people will actually believe me even if my policies dont say the same. Politics are about contrictions and thats not what God is about.
How would Christ veiw the issues Would he go for the party who filled with greed for power and will lie cheat and manipulate to win by any cost. Who thinks to solve issues by flexing ur muscle using military force on every issues that should be diplomatic. That thinks those who opposes this veiw is against in everay veiw. Who thinks in the eys of revenge of you must die becuase its an Eye for an Eye society. Or would he go for the side who feels that its ok to aloow those to do wrong thats around you without giving any guildence. That would not aloow sin to lead into another sin which should have been prevent in the 1st place. Thats more concern about making people feel confortable instead of convincing them of their mistakes. I see Christ not voting at all and moving to another country!!!
And I see him insisting over and over again that this isn't his kingdom and lamenting the mess we've made for ourselves. And then the world's dominant power would probably crucify him. que est veritas?
I can completely identify with this article, and like I have intimated before, the days of the Republican party taking this conservative's support for granted are over. I severely oppose Obama's stance on abortion and I am as concerned about the rights of the unborn as anyone else. But the Republicans have lied to us for decades about supporting pro-life and here we are with nothing to show for it, other than increasing societal decay, an economy in ruins and a tarnished image abroad. America used to be the nation that immigrants like myself looked up to, a shining beacon in a dark world. What happened? How long do we continue to assume that the Republican party manifesto is the 67th book of the bible? What's wrong with fighting for the common man? The way I see it, trickle-down economics doesn't even line up with biblical principles, which state that the heart of man is deceitful and desperately wicked--making it a fallacy to provide benefits to the most powerful and wealthy and somehow expect those benefits to trickle down to the poor and downtrodden. We've seen the Republican platform in operation for 8 years, and the results have been as unchristian as unchristian gets. I try to tell my friends to wake up and smell the coffee: the truth is abortion is nothing more than a wedge issue that politicians use to steal our votes and then carry out their selfish and wicked agendas when they arrive in office. And we have to start re-thinking what our values really are, and whether they truly line up with Christianity or not. Gun rights are great and I'm all for them, but that has nothing to do with Christian values. Lower taxes and small government are good conservative ideals, but I don't see those in the bible either. What I do see in the bible is a clear condemnation of those who enrich themselves and make themselves powerful and wealthy at the expense of others, especially those who are unable to fight for themselves. Some of the harshest condemnations in the bible are against those who engage in buying and selling the "souls of men" (Revelation 18). What I also see in the bible is a clear message against people who intentionally sow discord among friends and brothers, people who divide rather than unify, and warmongers. There are many problems facing America today, but the greatest crisis that nobody talks about is the crisis of leadership, or the lack thereof. America needs leaders, and right now we have none. Dividers, liars and rumor-mongers do not leaders make. Enough of it. We want change. Give us a leader. It's time for something different.
I think there is a good dose of this. Pro-lifers have given the Republican Party opportunity to get rid of abortion and they haven't done it -- and worse, their sincerity in wanting to do it seems suspect. And, though McCain says he's pro-life, there's distrust that he's really all that committed to it. So, why vote for yet another administration that won't do jack about abortion? At that point, there are other Christian concerns that look to have a better risk:reward ratio than sticking with an abortion-fight non-starter.
I don't really mix Christ and voting in any direct sense. I was totally joking in my post. As a follower of Christ it has influenced me, and so I'm sure the policies I'm drawn to may be in some way subconsciously influenced by my understanding or lack of understanding on the matter, but it's definitely not a direct correlation. I would never in a million years be so arrogant to think that I could determine how Jesus would vote or not vote.
Politics divide I don't like the republican party and I don't like the democratic party. But I am sure I like many republican voters and democratic voters. I don't like Christians generalizing other Christians in a condescending fashion. I do not like the movement that is called the "religious right"- the method and message, not the listener's to James Dobson or John Hagee I do not like most of what I see on 'Christian' TV- but I have no problem with the people who watch it. I know far too many Christians that are lumped into categories because they vote republican or because they vote democrat I see more dividing than ever before. Now days if you are not voting Obama you are somehow not a socially concerned Christian or if you are voting McCain you are the old intolerant religious right I see good people criticizing good people I really don't know or care how people are voting at church, the kingdom where Jesus is king isn't even American.
I know alot of Christians may not agree with me but I think Jesus is pro choice. He is pro choice about everything he did not put a gun to any ones head and say follow him. People who value the life of unborn children and think that having abortions is a sin can raise their family that way and thats fine. The Government is not forcing anyone to have abortions. The bible clearly says to worship no other god but god the father, but you dont see the rnc trying to pass laws to ban the worship of islam or any other faith. Sin is a choice, you either follow Christ and his teachings or you don't. And for the record I am a born again believer and raise my family to be Pro-life. But I respect the free will that Christ has given Man. The moment when the world trys to force my self or my family into sin then thats where i draw the line.
You're absolutely right. To the extent I was condescending, I'm sorry. Not proud of that. I'm deeply frustrated with the church in America...and no more so when I read, here and elsewhere, the perception of Jesus and the Church from those on the outside looking in. If you asked me to rank issues I care about, I think that's #1. So I have to work on not raising my own view of myself above them...or lowering them below me....because there's no Jesus in that, and then it all turns on itself like the French Revolution.
Let me take a moment to express my admiration. I'm frustrated with church in America as well. But you fight through it, search, and try and make it better. I haven't really done that. I have belonged to churches that I did feel connected to, and helped me, but they changed pastors, or I moved and that ended. I had to search hard to find those churches in the first place. Since then I've gone occasionally to different churches but I haven't been searching with any real dedication because I get so frustrated. I really like churches for the sermon. That's the main thing I want. Secondly, I hate the part of service where you have to greet your neighbors especially when I'm a visitor. It's just awkward for me. I don't mind meeting people after church as long as they aren't overly/unmotivated friendly. That stuff turns me off, but that's very important to a lot of church goers. It's hard to find a place that's right. So even though your frustrated, I admire your willingness to persevere. You are a better man than I.
