OPINION:
The other night, I had a conversation with a close friend, a conservative Christian like me, who confessed that he and many other Christians he knew were struggling with the idea of voting for Donald Trump, citing his well-publicized moral and leadership failures. Current polling reveals that my friend’s frustration is shared by many Christians today, leading some to contemplate sitting out this election altogether.
This desire to disengage reminded me of another critical moment in American history — a moment that, in many ways, parallels the current struggle of disengagement among Christians.
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The Scopes Trial: A pivotal moment in Christian political history
In 1925, Dayton, Tennessee became the epicenter of a cultural battle that came to be known as the “Scopes Monkey Trial.” The trial pitted William Jennings Bryan, a devout Christian statesman, against Clarence Darrow, an agnostic defense attorney, in a case centered on the teaching of evolution in public schools. Mr. Bryan, representing traditional Christian values, became a symbol of those opposing modernism and secularism, while Mr. Darrow’s defense of science represented a growing tide of progressivism.
Though Mr. Bryan won the legal case, Christians were afterward portrayed by the media as anti-intellectual and out-of-touch with modern society. As a result, the trial had a significant symbolic impact, causing many Christians, particularly evangelicals, to retreat from public life, including politics and education.
SEE ALSO: Jeff Myers: Should Christians avoid politics?
The fruit of disengaging
For decades after the Scopes Trial, the Church’s retreat from the public square created a leadership vacuum, which was quickly filled by secular and liberal ideologies. We are still feeling the impact today; the political and judicial systems, especially the Supreme Court, have become dominated by Leftist views. Without the balancing influence of Christian values, decisions were made that dramatically reshaped American culture. Consider these landmark rulings:
1. Roe v. Wade (1973) – This decision legalized abortion nationwide, leading to an estimated 67 million aborted unborn children since its passing.
2. Engel v. Vitale (1962) – The Supreme Court ruling that effectively removed prayer from public schools, further secularizing the educational system.
3. Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971) – This ruling restricted government aid to religious schools, marginalizing religious education.
4. Obergefell v. Hodges (2015) – This decision legalized same-sex marriage across the country, reshaping the traditional view of marriage.
SEE ALSO: 4 biblical reasons all Christians should vote
These cases reflect the trajectory of a legal system — and by extension, a society — that had drifted away from biblical principles. The absence of Christian engagement allowed for ideologies that directly conflict with core Christian values to take hold, shaping the moral framework of the country in ways that many believers could not have foreseen.
The imperfect candidate dilemma
In the conversation with my politically conflicted friend, I shared how I too was conflicted but reminded him that no candidate is morally flawless. All of our presidents and most cultural leaders have had significant personal failings. Martin Luther King, Jr. and John F. Kennedy were notorious womanizers. Lyndon B. Johnson was a ruthless political operator and a committed racist. And Joe Biden is in the midst of several massive corruption scandals that have been ignored or buried by the media.
We are almost always given a choice of two very flawed human beings. Each political party polishes them up and hopes to get voters to believe they are the answer to all society’s problems. Anybody who believes their party’s messaging on such is drinking Kool-aid.
The responsibility of engagement
As Christians living under democracy, disengagement is not an option. John Adams famously said, “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious People. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” Mr. Adams understood that self-governance required a moral foundation, one grounded in faith and ethical principles.
For me, politics is unclean but a necessary evil. It’s like the sewer system and if you abandon politics or neglect the sewer systems under the streets of our cities, then the streets will be filled with filth. Disengagement ensures that those who do not share our values will dominate the political sphere and set the course for future generations.
Conclusion
To my fellow conflicted Christians, politics is a messy and noxious affair, and no leader will embody Christian morality. The simple truth is that we aren’t voting for a pastor; we’re choosing a flawed human being who we hope will respect and govern within a constitutional framework.
In the end, I very much identify with Winston Churchill who famously said, “Democracy is the worst form of Government, except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.”
For all his shortcomings, Donald Trump built a religious freedom team that was second to none in modern politics and appointed justices to the Supreme Court who have upheld religious freedoms and protected constitutional values that align with biblical principles.
Like you, I am conflicted by Donald Trump. But I’m much less conflicted by the Left and how they have marginalized and silenced Christians and sought to literally revoke our nation’s religious freedom for the sake of one of their factions. What worries me most though is that all the tricks I’ve seen used overseas by tyrants to marginalize and silence Christians are being practiced in the United States… by the Left.
We must learn from the past, and not retreat from the public square. For if we disengage, we will get what we deserve (just as we are now).
So, if you must, hold your nose, but vote.
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Jeff King has served as International Christian Concern (ICC) (persecution.org) president since 2003 and is one of the world’s top experts on religious persecution. He has advocated for the persecuted everywhere, testifying before the U.S. Congress on religious freedom. He has been interviewed or quoted by most of today’s leading media outlets such as the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post and The Washington Times. He is a three-time author and is available as a guest speaker. Jeff is also the host of Faith Under Fire, a podcast dedicated to helping Christians deepen and defend their faith. To learn more, go to the Jeff King Blog.
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