In the past 2 weeks my goal was to break down as simply as possible why many in Christians in general vote for either of the two major parties in elections. But what about third parties? The Libertarian party has grown more popular in recent elections. Why do so many Christians choose to vote for this third party? Christians who are staunchly Republican or Democratic may wonder why anyone would dare vote for a party that has yet to put a President in office.

[Click here for my treatment of Christian Republicans
here for my treatment of Christian Democrats
and here for Christian non-voters]

WHY SO MANY CHRISTIANS VOTE LIBERTARIAN (OR INDEPENDENT)

Although many Christians who participate in political elections swing for Republican or Democratic parties, many also advocate and vote for third party candidates. The most prominent one is Libertarian. In short, Libertarians believe in small government, leaning economically past conservatives and socially past progressives. One of the most important values of Christians who are libertarian is being consistent in how we define liberty as laid out in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, trusting less in man-made government to legislate and regulate any Christian values beyond liberty.

Party History and America’s Founders
Founded in the 1970s over issues of military conscription, entanglement in Vietnam, and the gold standard, the Libertarian party stances have always remained fairly the same, emphasizing limited government and private freedom in both fiscal and social areas. Running with the slogan “there’s no such thing as a free lunch,” most candidates have run on a platform that the government should tax as little as possible and provide only the services necessary to run the small government the founders envisioned.

Members of the party  must sign a pledge that they will adhere to the Non-Aggression Principle, agreeing not to use force to achieve their political goals, but rather endorse the party’s respect for personal liberty. Party leaders tend to vote for measures that preserve individual liberty to make their own sacrifices, and prevent government measures that take any sovereignty from individuals and private groups.

Opinion is somewhat divided among all Libertarians as to how little the government should govern, or whether there should be a government at all. But all Libertarians have in common a strong belief that the government should protect as much personal freedom as possible. For Christians who are Libertarian, the distinction is drawn between legalizing something and condoning it. They do not seek to legalize sin so that they wish to practice it without penalty, but because they believe the government’s role is restricted only to sins that directly harm people (murder, kidnapping, stealing, fraud, etc.).

How They View The Issues: Let us generalize and summarize a conservative Christian stance on major issues. It is important to understand that not every Christian Libertarian aligns with all of these stances on all these issues, or for the same reasons. I will represent these as from a generic Christian Libertarian viewpoint.

Church and State—Church and State are to remain separate for the good of the Church. The Bible does not give us authority to use the powers of men to try and carry out the agenda of the Church and the home. God allows man to govern for the sole purpose of protecting our rights and carrying out just laws, punishing offenders when they harm or limit others. Our kingdom is not of this world, so we shouldn’t expect government to “do Christianity” for us. But since the U.S. Constitution protects freedom of religion, protecting our right to worship and evangelize is consistent and good.

The Market—God has blessed us with hands and minds to provide industry and wealth. An open and free market provides better business than one heavily regulated by a tyrannical government. Let citizens control the economy of businesses by participating in it and exercising free speech, rather than running to the government to limit trade. The government should only provide laws that provide a framework for criminalizing fraud. Companies should decide themselves whether to acknowledge unions. God wants us to have “honest weights and measures,” and using the gold standard over paper money will enforce a more measurable money system.

Weapon ownership—Whether or not Christians should own weapons, the Second Amendment permits owning weapons privately, and any measure of government infringing on that violates the spirit of the law and hands more power to the government.

Welfare—The Bible teaches we must help the poor, and that people need to be taken care of. Examples in scripture show us that individuals and churches are to carry out this holy task. Charities and para-church organizations have done wonders to help the needy. Government  using our tax money to make decisions about giving money to people claiming to be poor is at best clumsy and at worst unethical. Welfare programs cannot distinguish between those who need more and those who need less, cause lazy and ungrateful people to look to man and not God for blessings. Private institutions can creatively help the poor when not restricted by the government, and should be given freedom to decide how and when to help people claiming to be in need.

Reproduction— Most all Libertarians agree that abortion laws should be a state issue, not a federal one. To Christian Libertarians, this perspective will save more infant lives, regardless of their view on abortion. Christian Libertarians tend to agree that states should make abortion illegal because it permanently ends all the freedoms of  child, even if it temporarily infringes on the freedom of liberty and pursuit of happiness of the mother.

Sexuality—Sexual activity in private is just that: private. Moral or immoral, the U.S. government is only responsible for regulating public exposure to sexual conduct. This does not count pornography and prostitution, so long as such involves adults in agreement who make their own sexual choices. Adults should have the right to engage in any binding contract, including marriage. Churches and families can decide which of any of these activities to approve or not approve.

Public Education—The Church and the home are the places where children must be educated with Christian values. The Constitution does not lay out a plan for the government to educate children. More freedom to private institutions and families to educate children is needed. Ideally, only private institutions in a free market can give a fair and high quality to children across the states. Parents should have as much freedom as possible as to how their children will be educated, and how their money will be used to carry it out.

Crime—Regardless of what actions are moral or immoral, actions should only be crimes if they violate the rights of others through force or fraud. The accused should have more rights until they are found guilty.

Drugs—All drugs can be abused, and can potentially harm society. But adults should be given the freedom to choose what they will put in their own bodies. The drug war is classist and racist, and draws attention away from worse crimes.

Illegal Immigration—The government should make it easier for sojourners to enter America. However, if someone enters illegally, they should be constrained, especially if they pose a real, provable threat to security. It is consistent with freedom to place few limits on immigration and trade between nations.

Warfare—Christians are not fighting for an earthly kingdom. The U.S. government should not exercise power overseas. Open trade between countries will foster positive relationships and pathways for Christians to evangelize better than bombing countries into submission. Christian missions, and not tax money, should be used to give aid to people in other countries.

Race and Class—Racism is wrong. The government should not try to enforce anti-racism through clumsly laws that seek retribution for past misdeeds or try to even the playing field by giving favor to minorities simply for being minorities. Rather, government intrusion, like the drug wars and unfair immigration laws, are institutionally racist. If a business doesn’t want to serve blacks, for example, the government should let them, and let society decide whether or not to patronize a racist business establishment. But if a crime is committed against a minority, it should be tried as a crime, regardless of motive.

The Environment—God made the earth, and we should care for it. Damaging the environment is wrong. Regulated creation care is only greed and corruption in disguise. Landowners, industries and conservation groups should use free speech and trade to invest a common interest in a healthy environment. The government should not be tasked with trying to regulate this. A free market, free press, and freedom of assembly will encourage technology, social pressure, and individual cooperation that help clean up the environment.

_________________________________________________

Why do they NOT vote for Democrats or Republicans?
At best, Christian Libertarians view both Democrats and Republicans as too inconsistent, too reliant on the state. Republicans rely on government to enforce social morality, and Democrats rely on government to control economic welfare. In both cases, the Constitution is being violated and the wisdom of scripture is being forsaken. This is also why some may go as far as to view Democrats and Republicans as fascist.

What do they fear?
Godless tyranny, intolerance of liberty, terrorism, persecution, corruption, society crumbling, God being put in a box.

What do they love?
At the heart of Christian Libertarianism is, I think, the belief that God wants us to serve him and not man, and that man-made government is something God only allows to exist because he uses it to maintain law and order in a world of chaos. God gave us free will, and consequences should flow naturally from them. Because of this, a government that preserves the freedom to make personal choices will preserve the rights of Christians to be Christian, and church that seeks to use government to try and make other people Christian will only fail at doing so. Trusting in the Church to spread the word, preach morality and justice, and educate its own people about God demonstrates our faith in God regardless of what man does. The question of a godly government is only a question of how godly its people are, and how fair they are even to those who have different beliefs and values. We must honor our vows and promises, and likewise so should our nation. If the U.S. declares that it will protect our liberty, we want to be consistent with that, and let the Spirit move to accomplish God’s will.

Christians who vote Libertarian distance themselves from Republicans in that they do not believe Christ called upon man’s governments to enforce moral piety. Christians who vote Libertarian distance themselves from Democrats in that they do not believe Christ called upon man’s government to carry out his mission to the poor. In this way they tend to see their own views as more consistent than those of either party. They stress that to legalize a behavior is not the same as to condone it, but merely to grant the freedom to make the choice. They stress that to cut social services is not the same as to forsake the poor, but merely to grant churches the freedom to choose how to carry out their ministry.

If you area a Christian who is staunchly Libertarian, I invite you to share your reflection. How much of this represented you?
If you are a Christian who is staunchly Democratic, Republican, another party, or a non-voter, do you better understand why so many Christians vote Republican?

In the next post, we do the same thing with Christians who choose not to vote in political elections.