Atheists or Christians: Who's More Engaged in Our Government?

An online article recently asserted that atheists are the most politically active among all religious classifications in America.

Surprised, I looked it over – and sure enough, they had good data to back up the claim. For example, more than 40 percent of atheists had contacted a public official in the previous year, and nearly that many had donated money to a political candidate. That’s more than any other religious group and almost double that of evangelicals. Even accounting for other factors like education, the trend held.

In decades past, such numbers would have been culturally irrelevant, as atheists comprised such a small percentage of the American public. But their numbers are growing quickly. Combined with agnostics (who had similar numbers on political engagement), they now account for 11.4 percent of the population.

On one hand, perhaps it’s not surprising that atheists and agnostics are so involved in politics. After all, their only “kingdom” is this world. Without the good news of the Gospel, it’s natural that many of them put their hope in human constructs.

But for the Church, these numbers are a cause for concern. While it’s true that our hope is not in this world, it is precisely because of our heavenly minded “Kingdom perspective“ that we should be most engaged on behalf of the people around us.

After all, God established government as a means of “macro ministry“ to ensure that people have the best chance to thrive (Prov. 29:2) and to live in peace (1 Tim. 2:1-4).

Over the centuries, Christians have been deeply engaged in the policies of society – from stopping infanticide in the Roman Empire to ending slavery in the Western world. In America’s system of government, we arguably have an even greater responsibility to engage, as we choose the very leaders who make the decisions.

Thankfully, at Family Policy Alliance, we get to see examples every day of Christians engaging to make a difference – working to save lives, to protect kids from destructive ideas in schools, to counteract the lies of transgenderism, and so much more.

So thank you for being engaged on behalf of your fellow citizens. And thank you for your prayers and support that keep Family Policy Alliance® working to advance biblical citizenship throughout this nation.

Sincerely,

John Paulton
Mobilization Manager