Trevin Wax points out a few things that people of faith can learn from the 2012 election. In summary, we need a constant reality check.
First, this means we cannot afford to ignore changing demographics:
The days when the “male white voter” dominated elections are over, which explains why Romney was able to maintain a substantial lead among white men and still lose the election. When your target is a shrinking number of people and your strategy is to keep them on board by alienating the rising urban ethnic groups (by, let’s say, failing to come up with a sensible immigration plan), it’s no wonder you lose elections.
Translating this into the religious sphere, “if your church is an upper-class, predominantly white congregation in a city that is no longer upper-class or predominantly white, then you’ve got a problem.”
“We can’t ignore facts that make us uncomfortable.” We must take care not to reinterpret polls and data to convince ourselves that we are in the lead, so to speak, as many Republicans did. We need to be aware of the reality of the situation. For Catholics, the HHS mandate, for example, seems to have fizzled as an issue. Despite much support and months of statements from the U.S. bishops in opposition, Obama still won the Catholic vote.
“A good leader will paint a picture of reality, however disconcerting it may be. It’s only when we see where we truly are that we get motivated with a sense of urgency to complete the tasks God has given us.” Christian churches can by no means be equated with a political party, but in this case, both the Republican party and people of faith should move forward with eyes opened.
h/t Touchstone
