Christian & Pro-Choice
Strayer University
Research Paper
May 22, 2011
Throughout the most recent elections in this country we have seen a number of news stories regarding the candidates take on “moral issues”. Political parties have chosen candidates based on the candidates’ stands on these topics. Voters have cast their ballots according to which candidate they believe has views similar to their own. One of the most hotly debated topics in the moral arena is the issue of abortion rights. Conservative Evangelical Christian leaders, labeling themselves and their organizations the “Christian Right”, have sought to portray pro-choice supporters as murderers and enemies of “traditional” family values. It is my belief that the pro-life Christian right is more of a political organization than one reflecting the teaching of Jesus Christ and that, as a Christian, the pro-choice movement falls directly in line with the responsibility of free will given to mankind. The first amendment of the Constitution delineates separation between church and government; therefore, being Christian and pro-choice should not be viewed as contradictory.
The “Christian Right” and Politics
During the 1970s, a group of evangelical ministers, lead by Jerry Falwell, formed an elite Christian Right organization named the Moral Majority (Dowland, 2009, p. 26).
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The Moral Majority sought to define the “traditional” family – one with two heterosexual parents – and framed opposition to the Roe vs. Wade ruling as “defense of the family”. The Christian Right succeeded, to a great degree, in presenting their views as the conservative Christian norm. Falwell’s decision to become involved in political activism following the Roe vs. Wade ruling actually stood in direct contradiction to the stand he and other Christians took against political lobbying during the Civil Rights Movement (Dowland, 2009, p. 4).
Because abortion was viewed as critical to the “erosion of the sanctity of human life”, diverse groups of Christians, including those formerly at odds with one another, joined forces to influence political agendas.
Though Falwell and the Moral Majority introduced the Christian Right agenda into the political arena, the Christian Right organization of the 1990s almost completely ingrained that agenda into the Republican Party. According to an article by Mark Rozell and Clyde Wilcox (1996, p.2-3) the Christian Right movement of the 1990s placed more of an emphasis on politics and adopted a more “moderate face in order to win elections”. In this way, these organizations focused less on individual salvation and sought to enforce Biblical principles through law and policy changes. The Christian Coalition of Virginia, for example, advances its dogma through local school board, city, and state elections (Rozell & Wilcox, 1996, p. 4).
On the national level, groups like the Christian Coalition and Focus on the Family provide assistance to local or state-level groups in terms of mailing lists to potential candidates and political scorecards to registered voters. In an effort to appear more moderate and gain broader appeal, the modern Christian Right movement attempts to downplay more controversial aspects of their ideology and focus on issues that can be spun as “family friendly”.
But What Does the Bible Say?
Jesus stated in John 18:36 that His kingdom was not of this world. Rather than trying to change the laws of His time, Christ focused on changing the lives and thinking of individuals. It would have been easy for the Son of God to coerce people into following Him through mandates or decrees. However, that was not the way He conducted His ministry. When questioned by the Pharisees about paying taxes to Caesar (Mark 12:13-17), Jesus’ reply insinuates that there is and should be a difference between the assets of the world (that which belonged to Caesar) and the possessions of God. In acknowledging the separation of the two, Christ gives Christians an example to follow in the area of politics. As it applies to those things which go against Biblical principles, the law of this world should not be the authority over the lives of Christians. Regardless of whether or not an issue is deemed legal, the law of God should be the overriding authority for all those that claim to follow Him. It is also noteworthy that Jesus did not impose laws against those who did not follow Him. Romans 1:16 states that it is the power of God that brings salvation to those that believe, not adherence to conditions set by men or government.
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More than Conservative
The views of the Christian Right, despite their desire for mass appeal, cannot be defined as merely conservative. In her 2005 article, Sabrina Ramet defines conservative as simply being “opposed to change or inclined to conserve established values” (p. 433).
A better word to describe Christian Right morals would be fundamentalist. Hartmut Krauss defined fundamentalism as “selective politicization of the religious for the purpose of establishing, carrying out or restoring, and defending or maintaining authoritarian-repressive relations of government” (Ramet, 2005, p. 434).
In its quest for moral absolutes, the Christian Right stands in contradiction to the freedom of the democratic principles on which America was founded. By making moral issues the center of debates and elections, these fundamentalists are putting into place an us versus them mentality. If a person is therefore not as extreme or traditional in their beliefs, that person becomes one of “them” and therefore opposed to the values of the Christian Right. With regard to the antiabortion movement, the Christian Right goes even further than influencing political policy. An example is Oklahoma where the law not only allows the withholding of any information that could potential lead a woman to consider abortion, it also protects those who “mislead or misinform pregnant women in an effort to impose their personal believes” from prosecution (Castle, 2011, p.3).
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... a strong view against abortion also to help change the law to make abortion illegal. Similarly, A Christian campaigning for choice may vote for somebody ... should follow pro or against abortion. Those opposing abortion may pray to God to save the foetuses. Those enforcing choice may pray to God that people ...
Deliberately lying or concealing important knowledge is seen as a perfectly acceptable alternative to the possibility of abortion. A ban on abortion purposes to criminalize anyone who does not fall in line with the antiabortion sentiment of Christian Right fundamentalism. This intolerance of those with different principles shows more than a resistance to change; it is the forceful imposition of one person or group’s will on others.
Meaning of Pro-Choice
If everyone thought as fundamentalists do, being pro-choice would be synonymous with being pro-abortion. The Christian Right absolutely equates being in favor of a woman’s right to choose as tantamount to being against families, motherhood, and Christian beliefs. And while the actual act of abortion may very well go against God’s plan for humanity, being anti-choice contradicts the free will that is the basis of God’s relationship with humans. In the beginning, God could have easily provided Adam and Eve with only trees He had sanctioned for their consumption. Instead, He told Adam and Eve what they could not eat and left them to follow His instructions. God knew perfectly well that Adam and Eve could choose not to do as He said, but allowed them to make the choice anyway. Rather than forcing others to follow rules set for them, as the Christian right prefers, permitting people to follow or not follow God’s laws has always been the way of Christianity. To me, that is what being pro-choice is about; allowing individuals to decide for courses of action for themselves. Trying to control the will of others, through political maneuvering or legal injunctions, only creates rebellion and discord.
The Christian Way
Jesus gave little thought to the laws of His time. Indeed, it was the political climate of His day that permitted His crucifixion. What Jesus did do however was to educate people about the ways of God, and to show them how God’s way and laws could make their lives better. I believe that the adoption of laws banning abortion, or any issue spoken against in the Bible, leaves people without the choice of following God’s laws and that force is not His way. To that end, drawing people to a relationship with Christ and obedience to God’s laws is better served by adopting a pro-choice attitude. More important than using Christian values to shape the face of politics, the primary goal of Christians should be to change lives for Christ. That, I believe, can only be accomplished when people choose to adopt Christian values on their own.
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References
Castle, M. (2011).
Abortion in the United States’ Bible belt: organizing for power and
empowerment. Reproductive Health, 8(1), 1-11.
Dowland, S. (2009).
“Family Values” and the Formation of a Christian Right Agenda. Church
History, 78(3), 606-631.
Ramet, S. (2005).
“Fighting for the Christian Nation”: The Christian Right and American
Politics. Journal of Human Rights, 4(3), 431-442.
Rozell, M. J., & Wilcox, C. (1996).
Second coming: The strategies of the new Christian right.
Political Science Quarterly, 111(2), 271.
Sifris, R. (2010).
RESTRICTIVE REGULATION OF ABORTION AND THE RIGHT TO HEALTH. Medical Law
Review, 18(2), 185-212
