April 14, 2008

As political parties and campaigns strategically court the so-called "faith voters" and the Internal Revenue Service increasingly investigates churches both locally and nationally for political activity, some people may wonder what is the appropriate role for people of faith in this year's United States elections.

Faithful Democracy, a web-based project, hopes to help people discern the answer this question.

Faithful Democracy is launching a non-partisan, online clearinghouse of resources, both practical and theological, from national, faith-based organizations to educate and engage people of faith about the role they can and should play in the democratic process. The coalition's goal is to increase the number of informed faith-based voters participating in elections.

"We are calling on faith leaders to urge congregants to fulfill their civic duty and moral obligation by casting an informed ballot on [Election Day]," said Bishop Jane Holmes Dixon, senior advisor for inter-religious affairs for The Interfaith Alliance and former suffragan bishop in the Diocese of Washington.

In 2004, the Episcopal Church was a founding member of Faithful Democracy coalition.

"We value our participation in the ‘Faithful Democracy' coalition to urge people of faith in congregations across this nation to faithfully engage in the democratic process by registering and voting on Election Day," said Mary Getz, grassroots coordinator for the Episcopal Church's Office of Government Relations. "Faithful Democracy provides great how-to resources and theological reflections that enable congregations to be successfully involved in non-partisan election year efforts."

FaithfulDemocracy.org is foremost a clearing house of resources created by the coalition's partners that discuss the legal guidelines on what political activity can be conducted by houses of worship during an election, provide how-to guides for people of faith wanting to get involved in non-partisan and permissible electoral activities, and issue analysis from many different perspectives digesting issues that affect the lives of people of faith across this country.

"God has called us into community. In a democracy, our vote is our voice, and it is a way that we express our concern about our neighbors in society. As Episcopalians, we believe that our faith calls us to fully participate and engage in democracy," said Diocese of Connecticut Suffragan Bishop Jim Curry, the convener of Bishops Working for a Just World, a group of Episcopal Church bishops committed to social justice. "We ask for guidance in our elections so that ‘by faithful administration and wise laws, the rights of all may be protected and our nation be enabled to fulfill God's purposes.' We ask all in our congregations to ‘Have Faith and Vote' so that democracy works and God's purpose is fulfilled."

As an interfaith coalition, whose membership represent a wide array of religious values, Faithful Democracy embraces and affirms the diversity of religious traditions and ideologies that exist throughout the United States. The Faithful Democracy website has created a safe and welcoming online space for people to discuss the value of a variety of different faithful expressions working to promote civic participation. To better facilitate an inclusive dialogue on the role of faith in public life, FaithfulDemocracy.org is equipped with blogging technology that will allow any reader to comment on all of the substantive content.

In addition, Faithful Democracy works to ensure that new religious leaders understand the importance of legally and ethically promoting the prophetic voice in discussions of national issues. Faithful Democracy will be sponsoring interfaith discussions this year among seminarians, religious leaders, lay leaders and others in the faith community. Interaction with the electoral process by people of faith adds a significant contribution to the country's democracy.

"This is a critical time for the voice of the church and our broader faith community to be heard," said Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. "It is not a time for people of faith to keep their faith private, but rather to step boldly into the public square to encourage participation in our democratic process for the common good."

Episcopal News Service