According to Gallup polling results from 2023, 68% of adult Americans identify as Christians. However, this percentage has steadily declined since 1950, when it was a robust 96%. One Pew Research report indicates that 80% of Republican voters are Christian, while roughly 50% of Democrat voters identify as Christian. Pew also stated that 15% of Republican and 38% of Democrat voters identify as religiously unaffiliated.
A 2020 report from CBN News stated that a staggering 40 million registered Christian voters failed to vote in the 2016 presidential election. This number is a stark reminder of the potential impact of Christian participation in the political process. Furthermore, the report estimated that double that number of Christians are not registered to vote. Whether that is the current status among Christians today is uncertain, but a considerable number of professing Christians who do not vote probably does exist today. Imagine what the political landscape would look like if all these Christians voted.
Voter apathy among Christian voters is a cause for concern. Christians in the United States who do not vote should prayerfully reconsider their failure to vote. This is not just a privilege of citizenship but a duty for Christians. This obligation to God that we must support civil government is not optional (Rom. 13:5). Since our constitutional republic requires voting by its citizenry to function, our only option as Christian citizens in the United States of America is to vote. Not voting is an offense against God and a sin (Rom. 13:2, 5), just as not supporting civil government and not paying taxes is.
Christians have a God-given duty to obey, respect, pray for, and support civil government (Rom. 13:7). However, obedience is not without exception. There are cases in which disobedience is a duty. When civil authority conflicts with God’s will and requires Christians to violate God’s will, Christians must obey the will of God (Luke 20:25; Acts 5:29). God expects civil authority to act only within the legal sphere of their office. Christians must cheerfully support the government by paying taxes, voting, respecting, and obeying civil authority. However, we must understand that our duty to civil government does not preclude citizens from lawfully acting politically to effect changes in civil affairs.
Not only should Christians vote, but they should hold the candidates they vote for accountable to biblical standards and carefully choose for whom they cast their vote. The political functionaries who hold elective office have a God-given duty to administer their office in a manner that pleases God. The elected officials owe obedience to God in exercising their authority over the citizenry. No government exists unless God allows it (Rom. 13:1). Governments, regardless of their form, owe obedience to God in their civil practices.
God established civil government as an institution to repress evil and promote good (Rom. 13:4). Christian citizens are obligated to submit to civil authority as a matter of conscience and to avoid the wrath of God (Rom. 13:5). As Christians, we have a crucial role. We must obey, respect, pray for, and support the civil government (Rom. 13:7; Tit. 3:1; 1 Pet. 2:13-15). Our support for the constitutional republic of the United States of America should not be passive; it should be active through our votes, taxes, and other support. Moreover, we should decide for whom we vote judiciously and with discernment, ensuring that we do not support any candidate who desires to contradict the will of God.
Therefore, voting alone is not enough. We must vote for individuals who take their duty to God seriously. Our vote is not just a mark on a ballot but a solemn decision that can determine our nation’s obedience to God’s will.
Much investigation and consideration of each candidate available for the Christian’s vote is required. We must consider the individual as well as their political party affiliation. The candidate may seem okay in some aspects, but if the candidate is a political party member supporting one or more positions contrary to the Word of God, we must not vote for them.
For example, a candidate under consideration may support abortion on demand, be hostile to Christianity and biblical values, support aberrant sexual orientation and relations, hold a position that violates the sanctity of marriage between one man and one woman, lean toward socialist-Marxist economic ideologies, which are devoted to dethroning God, and any other unbiblical socio-political positions. Christians must not vote for such a candidate.
However, Christians may find themselves in a quandary, especially in a presidential election with only two candidates with a reasonable chance to win. Maybe neither candidate will govern in a way that pleases God. So, what do we do? Well, not voting is not an option. In such circumstances, the Christian voter may consider voting for the lesser of the evils to avoid giving the worst candidate an advantage by the Christian not voting at all. Another option is to vote for one of the ‘third-party’ candidates if the primary candidates are too evil to vote for. A third option is to ‘write-in’ a candidate of your choice. This is allowed in 41 states. Four other states allow ‘write-in’ votes with some restrictions, and five forbid ‘write-in’ candidates.
Ultimately, the issue must be presented to God in prayer before voting for a candidate. This vital matter requires the Christian to seek discernment by prayer to the Father, through Christ Jesus, by the power of the Holy Spirit. Only after this kind of due spiritual diligence can we make a proper God-honoring decision about which candidates for political office we will vote for.
CLOSING THOUGHTS
Most Christians in the United States of America have turned over to ‘Ceasar’ “the things that are God’s.” They have failed to fulfill their responsibility as citizens and have instead produced a ‘private Christianity’ that has removed God from the public square—from academia, the courts, legislatures, local governments, and the media. Many Christians in the United States have retreated within church walls and private homes. Christians have left this country to the unbelievers by failing to participate. By its acquiescence, apathy, and syncretistic gospel and worship, most of the Christian churches in the United States have sowed the seeds of its destruction. In many instances, the Christian church in the United States has seen the enemy of “the things that are God’s,” and the enemy is the church itself.
Christians! Regarding voting. We are not telling you who to vote for. That is a decision between you and God. But we ask that you consider this biblical truth: failure to vote is a sin against God. Stop looking upon your privilege to vote in this country as a choice. That’s for the unbelievers. For all Christians, the privilege to vote is a duty, a command from God. It is NOT optional. Your failure to fulfill this duty is a sin, and God will deal with this transgression like any other sin.
NOTES:
- A comparison of the platforms of the Republican and Democrat parties is available at this link: https://www.frc.org/op-eds/a-comparison-of-the-2024-republican-and-democratic-party-platforms (ctrl + click to follow link).
- More information regarding ‘write-in’ candidates is available at the link: https://www.eac.gov/sites/default/files/2023-10/Write_In_Voting_Designed_Report_508.pdf (ctrl + click to follow link).
- For more information about God’s command to support civil government, see two articles entitled “The Christian Duty to Civil Government” and “Government’s Duty to God” on the blog at https://christianinquiry.com.
