Somehow I received two letters in an envelope from Dr. Ralph Reed, founder of the Faith & Freedom Coalition. Just one would have been enough for a Twilight Zone experience.
The Faith and Liberty Coalition describes itself as a “national social conservative grassroots organization.” Before the 2022 midterm elections, the coalition planned to spend between $36 million and $42 million to rally the “Christian” vote. In 2024, they plan to spend even more.
Faith and Liberty events attract presidential candidates like Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence and of course former President Donald Trump. “No group has fought harder to defend the Judeo-Christian values that we all stand for and defend than the Faith and Freedom Coalition,” Trump said at the coalition’s “Road to Majority” conference in 2023. “And no group will be more crucial to our magnificent victory on Election Day 2024.”
So how the hell did I get on this mailing list? I am neither a social conservative nor a Republican.
The only thing Reed and his team understood was that I’m a Christian. Baptized at 7 years old. Seventeen consecutive years of teaching in a private Christian school (K-12 plus four years of undergraduate college).
Church was a weekly destination during my childhood. Both my parents were devout Christians.
My mother grew up in Poplar Springs Missionary Baptist Church in Marianna, Florida. My father was a PK – a pastor’s kid, one of seven – in the Faith Church of God and Saints of Christ. Both joined the Seventh-day Adventist Church as adults.
I am also SDA. Christianity is in my DNA. But that’s not Ralph Reed’s faith.
Headlines and scandals make it easy to forget that American Christianity is not monolithic. We can all worship the same Savior, but our beliefs about when, where, why, and how to do it are not all the same.
Christianity has many layers. Different aspects, looks and practices. Its differences are not only confessional. There are also ideological and philosophical differences.
You wouldn’t know it based on popular Christian media — or influential advocacy groups like Faith & Freedom — but many of us are Democrats.
Gasp!
Some of us are even pro-choice, pro-gay marriage, and pro-Black Lives Matter. Some even support the legalization of gambling and marijuana.
Blasphemy!
Not even. And that’s because we liberal Christians value this God-given attribute we call freedom of choice.
I think this is one of the main messages of the story of the Garden of Eden. The very human characters, Adam and Eve, had the freedom to choose. They were not depicted as algorithms or robots covered in flesh.
Humanity has always had the freedom to choose and think, to decide its own destiny. It was one of God’s first gifts to us. No government or corporation has the right to prohibit or prevent it.
Which means to me, as a Christian, people have the power to make their own decisions about the life they want to live. Who they want to love, how they choose to identify, and what hobbies they want to enjoy.
Live and let live, provided that the rights of some do not infringe on those of others.
So yes, I am a follower of Jesus Christ. But color me blue politically and ideologically.
Reed and his acolytes probably believe they have a monopoly on the faith because of the high percentage of Republicans in some Christian groups. For example, according to the Pew Research Center, 56% of evangelical Protestants identify as Republican or Lean Republican. Among Mormons, the GOP dominates with 70 percent to 19 percent.
But 44 percent of Catholics say they are Democrats or lean that way, compared to 37 percent of Republicans. With mainline Protestants, Democrats lead Republicans 44 to 40 percent. Among Orthodox Christians, Democrats win 54 percent to 34 percent. Finally, Democratic Party supporters dominate black Protestants by 80 percent, compared to 10 percent for the Republican Party.
That’s my kind of faith and freedom, Dr. Reed.
