It’s worth keeping in mind that the worst idols come from the best material. Thus, each political ideology begins by seeing especially clearly the beauty of one aspect of God’s creation. But ideologies never rest by pointing out something true; instead, they assert that this partial truth is the entire truth, and therefore distort what they value by giving it an ultimacy it doesn’t deserve. This distortion has negative political consequences.

Given the increased polarization of American politics and public life, the question is frequently raised as to whether Christians should identify themselves with either major political party or—by association—the political ideologies undergirding them. I answer that it is permissible and often wise to participate in party politics, but we must be circumspect in doing so, making clear that our allegiance to political parties is tentative in light of our allegiance to Christ. We should never allow our witness to be undermined by inordinate allegiance to a political party or inappropriate forms of activism on behalf of that party’s agenda.

In order to make the case for this view, we must discuss the proper relationship between both religion and politics and church and state, before going on to discuss the legitimacy of affiliating with America’s major political parties and ideologies.

RELIGION AND POLITICS

“Never discuss religion or politics with those who hold opinions opposite to yours, wrote Thomas Haliburton in 1840. “They are subjects that heat in handling, until they burn your fingers.” Haliburton, a Canadian politician and judge, expresses the view of many modern Westerners: we shouldn’t talk about religion and politics in polite company, especially if the two subjects are joined together and even more so if the people in the room don’t agree. A similar sentiment is that religions shouldn’t be brought into the public square at all, especially not into politics.

This common wisdom is well-intentioned but wrong, unhelpful, and, ultimately, impossible to put into practice. There are at least two reasons why Christians shouldn’t reduce Christianity to the private realm, or separate it entirely from politics.

First, Scripture teaches that human beings are deeply and inescapably religious, and that “religion” cannot be defined restrictively as “the worship of a supernatural deity” (Rom 1:25). Although true religion necessarily involves the worship of a supernatural deity—the Triune God—“religion” in the broad sense is humanity’s inexorable tendency to ascribe ultimacy to Someone or Something. That Someone or Something sits on the throne of a person’s heart, commanding his loyalties and shaping his life. This object of worship might be the Triune God or the Allah of Muhammad. Alternatively, it might be sex, money, power, or success. Either way, we all serve functional gods and our absolutization of them is religious in nature.

Second, Scripture makes it clear that we cannot separate our private self from our public self. If religion were merely the mental and mystical acknowledgement of a supernatural deity, then we could more easily relegate that belief to the confines of our private lives and to certain religious ceremonies. But a person’s true religion cannot be confined.

Indeed, more than 800 times, the Bible locates religion in a person’s heart. The Bible defines the heart as the unifying center of a person’s entire existence, the central organizer of his feeling, thinking, willing, and acting. Thus, the poignancy of the divine command, “My son, give me thy heart!” (Prov 23:26). As the central organizer of our affections, thoughts, volitions, and actions, a person’s “private” religion will inevitably radiate outward into his politics and public life. We cannot disintegrate the person by separating religion from politics.

CHURCH AND STATE

Even though religion and politics should not and cannot be separated, church and state can and should maintain an appropriate separation. As Abraham Kuyper, Herman Bavinck, and others have argued, God’s normative order for the world involves different “kinds” of culture, with each having its own reasons for being and corresponding limits of jurisdiction. Or, to use a spatial analogy, God’s world is organized into different cultural “spheres”—such as family, church, art, education, or politics—each of which has its own center (reason for being) and circumference (limits to its jurisdiction).

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