The following column is the opinion and analysis of the writer:
Words like “conservative” and “liberal” dominate the discussion of religion’s influence, but little is said on the church’s active role in affecting participation in the electoral process. The separation of church and state guarantees government should remain apart but the influence of religion is understated.
One of the main reasons constituents are disconnected from voting is the lack of what cannot be built overnight — trust. Churches have a unique position in the community in that they are spaces of trust that channel information in a deep ideological way. What would otherwise take organizations and even politicians years to establish can be built in a few conversations mediated by church officials. It is powerful to be told by a religious figure that it is your duty to participate in the electoral process. Take for example the #lldmvotes movement. This trend was initiated by youth in the Light of the World Church motivated about increasing voter participation.
Weeks before the election, the church invited the students and professionals across the 50 states to promote civic engagement and to offer themselves as a resource to the community. Dozens of topics about civic participation as value in the church were presented in multiple languages and age groups. In just the first day, the Arizona spokesman Isaias Campos states there was an outpouring of interest by first-time voters to obtain information about how and where to vote. Across the country youth prepared voter education guides, videos and answered questions to be shared in multiple platforms administered by the local churches. Youth distributed shirts with “LLDM Votes” and entire families in the momentum held by the church went to the polls together.
When asked if the church directs the voters in whom to vote for Campos responded “the right to vote is an act of freedom and every member of the church exercises it with responsibility, freely and discreetly” accentuating the power churches have to influence participation rather than political ideology.
If the influence of one conversation is immeasurable, how much more when voting is held as a value in your religious community. As Salim Cobarrubias, 22, put it, “for me voting is part of what God wants from me, because I’ve been taught that a good Christian is a good citizen for the world.”
Religious communities around the United States should continue such work and recognize they are at the forefront of being pillars of civic participation.
