(from the University of Dayton’s Campus Report)

RELIGION, POLITICS AND VOTING

At a forum held Sept. 29, four faculty members offered insights on the issues facing Christians this election.

Catholic citizens are curious how their faith should affect their vote in the 2004 presidential election.

Four faculty members met to address the factors they said thoughtful Christians must consider when thinking about “Religion, Politics and Voting,” at a forum held Sept. 29.

“We must be both Christians and citizens at the same time,” political science department chair and forum moderator Christopher Duncan said. “This is an important topic; one too important to be left to 30-second television commercials.”

The four addressed such issues as abortion, the environment, the war in Iraq and foreign relations, social concerns, and the economy. Panelist and political science professor Father John Putka, S.M., stressed the responsibility the University has to help politically inform its students.

To make such a decision, history professor Una Cadegan urged audience members to study and read about political issues and candidates, in order to fulfill their duty as a “reflective people of a University community.”

The moral potpourri of American society has created chasms in recent years when it comes to issues like abortion, gun control and same-sex marriage. Putka said Supreme Court decisions have carried moral implications that do not always follow Catholic teaching.

“Moral issues cannot be effectively addressed without moral consensus,” he said.

Political science professor Jefferson Ingram said the candidates in the 2004 election have not indicated a definite stance on abortion and gun control “with both feet” because it does not help them electorally in any particular state.

“Abortion is not enough to decide a vote,” University chancellor and professor of faith and culture Father James Heft, S.M., said. “When it comes to presidential elections these days, any thoughtful Catholic is politically homeless. This country needs more pro-life Democrats and more social justice Republicans.”

A question to the panel on foreign affairs sparked a hot button. Putka said the president would have been failing as a leader had he not taken action to protect the American public; and Cadegan said she had never been convinced the war was justified.

“As a historian, the idea of preventive war is one of the single scary things I’ve seen in my lifetime,” Cadegan said.

“[Deciding] whether the war is just or not is the responsibility of every citizen…Peace and freedom are so valuable we have to do something to protect them,” Putka said.

The question of social concern and welfare programs brought the conversation off of an international focus and back to the national level. Ingram said tithing, rather than high taxes, is beneficial and warrants a tax cut he feels not enough citizens take advantage of. Heft and Cadegan said it was a Christian duty to give even more than government asks, in order to ensure that more people enjoy economic well-being.

“You cannot map Catholic social teaching easily on a political landscape today,” Cadegan said. “If I’m really thinking like a Christian, I would give up a lot more [than the government asks]; this is the Gospel version of our responsibility to each other.”

“Our obligations as people of faith are after we punch the ballot,” political science professor Jason Pierce said in a comment to the panel.

In closing remarks, Cadegan quoted journalist I.F. Stone: “The only kinds of fights worth fighting are those you’re going to lose, because somebody has to fight them and lose and lose and lose until someday, somebody who believes as you do wins. In order for somebody to win an important, major fight one hundred years hence, a lot of other people have got to be willing - for the sheer fun and joy of it - to go right ahead and fight, knowing you’re going to lose. You mustn’t feel like a martyr. You’ve got to enjoy it.”

Each panelist challenged the audience to make an informed decision and to vote Nov. 2.

“If you don’t vote, you can’t really complain,” Ingram said.The forum was sponsored by UD’s department of political science and the Center for Social Concern.

--Kailyn Derc