BYUH students share their thoughts about the democratic process and its relationship to religion as Election Day gets closer
With Election Day on Tuesday, Nov. 5, Hannah Harding, a fellow for the Religious Freedom & Human Dignity Initiative, said it is important to learn how to have open and loving conversations with people of different opinions and recognize the difference between political policies and values. According to Britannica Dictionary, a policy is a, “set of rules or ideas about what should be done,” while political values are deeper and broader ideas such as community, respect, equality, justice, service, safety and freedom.
Harding, a junior political science and intercultural peacebuilding major from Utah, shared those types of conversations are one powerful way to reverse political polarization on the individual level. “We have to take a deep breath,” she said, and pray to God for love, humility and patience. Harding said listening sincerely looks like asking genuine questions about others’ underlying values and personal experiences behind their opinions. “When we go deeper, to our deep values… I think those are motivations that people have on both sides of the political spectrum.”
After listening to others share their values, Harding said people then can express their similarities in values even if they want different laws passed. “Then they are so much more likely to hear you when you say… ‘I think we should do this instead,’” she explained. She noted this is not a fool-proof tactic to influence others to change their policy opinions, but it is generally more effective at fostering cooperation than attacking them or even sharing statistics.
“All of the general conference talks about politics are about loving each other,” Harding noted. President Dallin H. Oaks, first counselor in the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, spoke about navigating political disputes in his recent October 2024 General Conference talk “Following Christ.” He said Christians need to apply Christ’s teachings about navigating disputes over religious doctrine to navigating conflict over “politics, public policy and family relationships.” Oaks quoted 3 Nephi 11:29, which reads, “He that hath the spirit of contention is not of me, but is of the devil,” and Matthew 5:44, which reads, “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.”
Aurelie van Duyse, an intercultural peacebuilding senior from Canada, said the book “Truth Over Tribe” by Patrick Miller touches on, “how as Christians, we can help bridge the divide between parties.” She said both the conservative and progressive political parties within the United States embody Christian values like respect for religious freedom and love of fellow man. Above all, she said, “Miller recommends we devote ourselves not to the elephant or to the donkey but to the Lamb.”
Belle Staree Divine, a hospitality and tourism management senior from North Carolina, shared, “I think my faith influenced my values because I was taught … human empathy and caring for other people and the world and the Earth.” She said for her personally, these values make her passionate about women's rights, religious freedom, affordable healthcare, and environmental protections.
An article in the official Church Newsroom of The Church of Jesus Christ says it is important for members to “[respect] that fellow members of the Church come from a variety of backgrounds and experiences and may have differences of opinion in partisan political matters.” The Church Newsroom article also encourages members to be Christlike and civil when speaking or writing, especially on social media, about political topics.
Extrinsic versus intrinsic religiosity
Harding shared two unhealthy extremes that arise from “the intersection between religion and politics.” The first is when people prioritize their political party over their religion, such as when, “church became a place to convert people politically [during COVID-19].” She defined the second extreme as being when religion is prioritized over politics. She said while people should, “let [their] religious values guide [them],” she cautioned against letting “religious community belonging” guide too much. The Church Newsroom says the Church, “recognize[s] a universal right to the ‘free exercise of conscience’” of individuals.
Harding said the mindset that people of the same religion should have the same political views is “not actually looking at religious values [inherent in doctrine] determining how we’re voting, but it is religious affiliation,” or the expected cultural norms of that religious community influencing members politically. She said this attitude of people caring more about their group's cultural membership than thinking critically and making decisions guided by their personal values can lead to conflict and sometimes that conflict can become violent.
The dangers of prioritizing group membership over personal values can be seen in any cultural group, including in most religions, Harding shared. According to a 2022 report on the U.S. Department of State website, Harding said the National Christian Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka, “documented 80 anti-Christian cases of intimidation of and violence against pastors and their congregations, obstruction of worship services, discriminatory actions and attacks on churches during the year,” by Buddhists, which is Sri Lanka’s majority religion. Harding said the best religious communities are those where individual members are most concerned with, “striving to live up to these religious ideals,” rather than maintaining a shared religious culture.
Religious communities are not inherently bad, and they can be one motivating factor to participate in religious activities, said Harding. “Why do I go to church? Is it because I feel like I belong there? [That] is a great reason to go to church, but it should not be your top reason,” she shared.
Harding said her experiences researching politics and religion for her political science and intercultural peacebuilding classes as well as for her job in The RFHD Initiative taught her religious people can be divided into two main groups: those who are intrinsically motivated and those who are extrinsically motivated. She defined extrinsic motivation as being part of a group because of community connections and the belief that they gain something from group membership. Intrinsically motivated people are, “motivated by their love for God” and their desire to give to the community.
Extrinsically motivated people’s strong desire to clearly define boundaries of who does and does not belong in the group can be damaging, said Harding. An example she shared is how some Jewish people during Christ’s mortal ministry cared more about their group than practicing teachings about how, “to love your enemy, to turn the other cheek, to reach out to the people who are outside of the group.” She said they might not have crucified the Messiah if their primary focus was their religious values. “The gospel of Jesus Christ does not have any borders,” she said, emphasizing the importance of creating more inclusive religious communities.
Political parties are imperfect institutions, so Harding said learning, “to vote based on what policy you think is best according to your personal beliefs… and [being] willing to do that even when it is not the party that you typically affiliate with,” is a powerful tool to weaken the control of a single political group over individuals.
Voting wisely
Utah has a high population of church members and the last time the people there voted for a Democratic presidential candidate was in 1964. However, Harding attributed this more to Church members’ desires to belong to the Church’s cultural group than conservative values being more aligned with Christ’s teachings than progressive values. The Church does not, “endorse, promote or oppose political parties and their platforms or candidates for political office… [nor] advise its members on how to vote,” says information on the Church's Newsroom.
Direction to vote a certain way, “has never come from doctrine,” she said. A 2023 letter from the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ to members says, “Some principles compatible with the gospel may be found in various political parties.” Harding also shared agency is a core belief in the gospel, and it applies to the political sphere as well.
Another thing voters should keep in mind is to consider the character of politicians rather than just their platform, shared two students. The 2023 letter says, “members should seek candidates who best embody [Christlike] principles. Members should also study candidates carefully and vote for those who have demonstrated integrity, compassion and service to others, regardless of party affiliation.” Julia Rigby, an elementary education junior from Texas, shared that though candidates’ political beliefs are relevant, “what kind of people they are” is also important.
Rigby said while it is essential to be informed and do research, people should also be willing to change their minds if they come across different research-supported ideas. “[Do] not vote for somebody because everyone else is doing it or culturally that is what seems right.” She said openness to new perspectives and being educated will help guide people to “what [they] feel best about.”
In the letter, the First Presidency discourages “merely voting straight ticket or voting based on ‘tradition’ without careful study of candidates and their positions on important issues,” and refers to doing so as, “a threat to democracy and inconsistent with revealed standards.”
Being involved
While people can disengage with politics due to how contentious it can be, “we should not go about… with our heads down,” said Harding. “The Church asks us to be good citizens… We have a responsibility to be involved.”
Van Duyse agreed, saying, “We have a responsibility to vote and to have an opinion.” She recommended reading the words of scholarly church leaders on topics from both sides of the political spectrum.
The Church Newsroom information says the Church “encourage[s] its members to play a role as responsible citizens in their communities, including becoming informed about issues, voting in elections, participating in governance processes and, as they desire, seeking for elected, appointed or voluntary office.”
Living in the United States, Harding said, “We like to think of ourselves as removed from a lot of problems as Americans.” In many ways, violent conflict might be less a part of the everyday experiences of an American than the experiences of someone living in a different country, she said. “We have stronger police systems. We have stronger institutions in place that prevent a lot of things,” such as civil unrest and conflicts, she shared. However, she explained, Americans are not immune to this issue.
Being peacemakers
Harding said political polarization is a “threat to our democracy,” even more than any one political party. Church members are encouraged to develop informed opinions and get passionate and creative about resolving various issues, but passion does not equate to acting in anger, she said. “Anger is a great catalyst but not a good companion,” Harding quoted from Brené Brown, which means while anger is a natural and healthy emotion alerting us to problems or injustice, trying to fix those problems from a place of anger is often unproductive.
Though being a peacemaker is sometimes viewed as a passive or complacent role, Harding said, “When someone comes at you with anger and contempt, the hardest and the bravest thing to do is respond with love.” In fact, she shared, “The bravest thing [Christ] did was suffer on the Cross and be willing to die. Nowhere there did He respond with anger or violence.”