Religion and Politics

1
Religion and Politics

• Should Christians be Involved in Politics?

2
Tasks

• Use slides 2 3 to support students explanations
  what politics is about and what religion is
  about.
• Issue handouts of quotations ( slides 6-18 ) and
  show slide 5 with instruction of what to do
• Show slides 6-18 and take students feedback
• Identify with students key quotes
• Put quotes into context
• Use slides 19, 20 21 to discuss historical
  examples of Christian involvement in politics
  and the current case of the dilemma facing
  Catholic MPs voting on the embryo technology
  bill.

3
Politics and Religion Dont Mix

• Politics is to do with the governing of a country
  and the organising of its affairs
• Religion is concerned with an individuals
  spiritual development the soul - and the
  worshipping of God not with how the country is
  governed
• You will be judged on how you have loved God and
  their neighbour not on their politics

4
Religion politics Cant be kept Separate

• Some Christians believe that Christianity is a
  whole way of life.
• It is about loving your neighbour and making sure
  the country is run in a loving way
• Christians should decided who to vote for on the
  basis of Christian principles

5
Quotations Task

• Read the following quotations and for each one
  indicate whether you think it means Christians
  can be involved in politics or not by circling
  yes or no.

6
Quotation 1

• Jesus said, Give to Caesar what is due to Caesar
  and give to God what is due to God. Mark 12
• 
  Yes / No

7
Quotation 2

• What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to
  have faith but has no deeds?
• Can faith save him? Suppose a brother or
  sister is without clothes and daily food. If one
  of you says to him, Go, I wish you well keep
  warm and well fed but does nothing about his
  physical needs, what good is it? In the same
  way, faith by itself, if not accompanied by
  action, is dead.
• James 2 14-7
  Yes / No

8
Quotation 3

• Everyone must submit himself to the governing
  authorities, for there is no authority except
  that which God has established.
• Romans 13 1
• 
  Yes / No

9
Quotation 4

• We are Christians not only in church on Sunday.
  Our Christianity is not something you put on,
  like our Sunday best, only for Sunday. It is for
  every day. We are Christians from Monday to
  Monday. We have no day off.. It is not either
  worship or trying to do all the good works in our
  community. It is both.
• Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
• 
  Yes / No

10
Quotation 5

• No one can serve two masters. You can not serve
  both God and money.
• Matthew 6 24
• 
  Yes / No

11
Quotation 6

• In preaching and religious instruction, as well
  as in the activities of the catholic
  organisations and private conversations, anything
  which could be construed as criticism of the
  leading personalities in state and community or
  of the political views they represent should be
  avoided. Archbishop of Freiburg. June1933
  after the Nazis had come to power in Germany.
• 
  Yes / No

12
Quotation 7

• Jesus said, Do for others what you want them to
  do for you.
• Matthew 7 12
• This is known as the golden rule.
• 
  Yes / No

13
Quotation 8

• Jesus said, Do not store up for yourself
  treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy,
  and where thieves break in and steal. But store
  up for yourselves treasure in heaven.
• Matthew 6 19-20
• 
  Yes / No

14
Quotation 9

• Jesus said, I tell you the truth, whatever you
  did
• for the least of these brothers of mine, you
  did for me.
• Matthew 25 37-40
• ( Parable of the Sheep and the Goats)
• 
  Yes / No

15
Quotation 10

• I submit that Christians ought not to be scared
• of a moral issue just because someone has
  stuck a political flag in it.
• Gerald Priestland.
• BBCs religious affairs correspondent.
• 
  Yes / No

16
Quotation 11

• From the Report Christianity and Social Progress
  the Catholic church called its members to action
  for the common good .. which means all those
  conditions living, economic, political, cultural
• 
  Yes / No

17
Quotation 12

• The church exists/ to proclaim the good news to
  the poor and freedom for the oppressed.
• Pope John Paul 11.
• 
  Yes / No

18
Faith without works?

• The idea that having religious faith on its own
  is not enough and it needs to be accompanied by
  good works

19
Historical Perspective Christians involved with
politics

• Martin Luther King civil rights activist who
  campaigned for rights for black people
• William Wilberforce campaigned in parliament for
  the abolition of slavery
• Lord Shaftsbury campaigned against poor working
  conditions in factories
• Archbishop Desmond tutu campaigned against racism
  in South Africa

20
Clash of faith and politics

• The new law being voted on by parliament on
  embryo technology proposes
• permitting the creation of human /animal (hybrid)
  embryos for research
• Ending the necessity for a father for children
  created using IVF
• The creation of saviour siblings
• Three catholic cabinet ministers and a number of
  MPs objected to voting on party lines in support
  of the law requested a free vote according to
  conscience
• Eventually they won the right to vote according
  to their conscience
• Is this a matter of individual conscience or are
  MPs elected to represent the electorates views
  or vote how their party tells them?