“As our nation changes, as we become more and more secular, candidates begin to reflect this reality. For the first time in living memory, we’re facing a diversity of beliefs represented among the candidates running for president.”

As Americans, we are blessed with the privilege and responsibility to choose our leaders from among ourselves. Our leaders come from our neighborhoods, cities and states. Before they were our governors, senators or presidents, these individuals were our neighbors and our friends.

This makes the American election experience uniquely personal. Kings inherit and prime ministers are chosen by their peers, but presidents must shake their neighbors’ hands, and look voters in the eye.

This close connection between the governor and the governed can be stabilizing for the country, but it can also be dangerous. A president is destined to reflect values of his/her time in a way that is unlike other positions of leadership.

Christians are called to be in the world, but not of the world. That calling is full of complexity and tension as we straddle two different kingdoms. The eternal heavenly kingdom has our hearts, the earthly kingdom our bodies. And where one kingdom begins and the other ends has been debated pretty much constantly during the last 2,000 years.

As our nation changes, as we become more and more secular, candidates begin to reflect this reality. For the first time in living memory, we’re facing a diversity of beliefs represented among the candidates running for president. Some are broadly Protestant, some Baptist, some Seventh Day Adventist, some Jewish, some Catholic, and at least one had no perceptible religious affiliation until he decided to run for office.

As Christians who are called to follow a heavenly Lord but also called on to vote for earthly leaders, how much should we demand of our candidates? To put it another way, does the faith of a presidential candidate matter?

Practically speaking the answer is, Yes. Poll after poll, election after election, the apparent presence of genuine faith among candidates has been consistently rewarded by the voters. A majority of Americans claim belief in God or a god, and contend that faith in that higher power is important to them, so any candidate who ignores this reality often does so at great risk to his or her national ambitions.

But beyond the practical and the political value, the faith a presidential candidate does matter. Now, this doesn’t mean you should vote for a candidate simply because he or she claims to follow a similar faith tradition to yours. But you should pay attention to what they believe—and how they live it out.

Here are three reasons the faith of a candidate matters:

Faith Matters Because of the Past

Whether you like to admit it or not, religious faith and specifically the Christian faith has played an indispensable role in the life of the United States from before its inception. I am not trying to paint the image that the founders were all Sunday school teachers, or that the first continental Congress was some kind of church meeting. But woven into the fabric of our laws and history are the threads of Christian virtue and providence.

The presidency is by intention, happenstance and providence a mold into which men and women of varying beliefs must conform, a heritage they must respect. Those who choose to break that mold have done so at great cost to their careers and great peril to the nation. Winston Churchill once said, “First of all, we need to learn that a nation that does not know its roots will die. Just like a tree. … And secondly, leaders who will not affirm that foundation will not properly serve their nation.”

We should care about a candidate’s/president’s faith because the presence of faith has almost always been important.

Read More