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In November 2007, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops issued quot;Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship - A Call to Political Responsibility from the Catholic Bishops of the United States.quot; This statement by the American Catholic Bishops provides guidance to Catholic voters on how to execute their responsibilities in accord with Catholic social teaching.Despite some flaws, quot;Forming Consciencesquot; has three major virtues that will aid American Catholics as they try to vote in good conscience. First, it reaffirms the need for American Catholics become more familiar with and to apply the broad range of Catholic social teachings when voting and exercising their other civic duties. Second, it explicitly rejects the notion that Catholics should be single issue voters. Third, Forming Consciences encourages, but certainly does not require, American Catholics to adopt a holistic ethical approach when evaluating candidates and issues. Such a holistic approach tends to provide better solutions, certainly on economic and environmental issues, than the narrow definition of issues and problems currently used in politics.This essay comments on how useful the document is in actually helping the average American Catholic, who is not already an expert in Catholic social teachings, discern how to vote. As part of this assessment, it focuses on how much weight Catholics should give to economic and environmental issues based upon the guidance provided by the Bishops' statement. These issues were chosen because they are growing areas of concern both for Americans and for the Vatican.This essay was written for the Journal of Catholic Legal Studies Symposium issue on quot;Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship - A Call to Political Responsibility from the Catholic Bishops of the United States.quot.
The 2016 presidential election provides voters with the two least popular nominees in polling history. Both come with a record of ethical scandals, flip-flops, and outright lies. Yet, many pastors and Christian leaders willingly risk their credibility and witness by publicly endorsing one of these flawed candidates simply because of party affiliation. Donald Trump's vulgar, bigoted, violent, authoritarian, and racist rhetoric and policies stand in stark opposition to biblical teachings. We must be politically engaged, but we must do so without ignoring our consciences and throwing away our principles. In this book, award-winning author Brian Kaylor addresses the moral issues at stake in the 2016 election, explores how the Christian faith became too closely tied to partisan politics, and considers the alternative political engagement called for in scripture. This book also includes practical steps to help Christians offer much-needed prophetic politics during this and future campaigns.
"Just tell me how to vote " That's the cry often heard from those who want to vote responsibly but feel caught between political ads and time to research the issues. "Voting With a Catholic Heart: Values That Shape Our Conscience" draws on the wisdom of Catholic tradition to offer guidance on voting as a faithful disciple and citizen in all elections, how to discern if candidates and legislation uphold Catholic beliefs, and what it means to participate in the political process. Reverend Larry Snyder and contributing authors offer easy-to-understand insights into key issues Catholic voters face. Reflection questions, ideas for how to learn more, and suggested reading from the Catechism of the Catholic Church provide ways to grow in faith and confidence as you vote as a Catholic citizen. "Paperback"
As Catholics living in a democratic society, teens have a responsibility to inform their conscience and their vote. During an election year they will be inundated with messages from candidates and interest groups urging them to vote for someone or for an issue. Their conscience, their experiences, and the teaching of the Church can help teens to cast their vote in a way that will respect the dignity of human life and support the development of the common good. In the pages of this book, teens will find an introduction to many of the issues they will have the opportunity to vote on, and guidance in discerning where to cast their vote. Faithful Citizen, Faithful Catholic is just the beginning of their journey to becoming a faithful citizen and a faithful Catholic.
What do we owe those in our communities? What do we owe strangers? In a sense, those who vie for political office locally and nationally do so, at least in part, from duty and obligation to their fellow citizens, to many they do not know and may never meet. In a democratic society, those who wish to participate in politics have the unbridled freedom to do exactly that: whether as leaders, or those who campaign for politicians, or as people who simply struggle to have their voice heard in everything from town hall meetings to protests. But by the same logic, we also have the freedom not to participate: the freedom not to care to be heard at all. Not so, says Julia Maskivker: such logic collapses when applied to the act of voting. Not only should we vote if we can--we must vote. Even when confronted with two unappealing candidates, or with ballot propositions whose effects we will barely feel, or with the fact that our single vote might never tip an election, we must vote. We have a duty of conscience to vote with care when doing so comes at so small a cost. Maskivker, a political theorist and philosopher, argues that those fortunate to live in democratic societies with freely elected leaders all share, simply, a moral obligation to vote. The book's argument adds a fresh and uncompromising perspective to voting ethics literature, which is dominated by views that reject the morality and rationality of voting. Maskivker's line of reasoning contends that the duty to vote is a "duty of common pursuit," which helps society to achieve good governance. She compares voting to Samaritan justice, showing that the same duty of assistance that would compel us to help a stranger in need also obligates us to vote to save our fellow citizens from injustice at the hands of bad or even evil leaders. The book further explores issues of voter incompetence, and how citizens' ignorance can be partly overcome through political reform. Although uninformed voting may lead to bad governance, voting judiciously can be an effective path to justice. In a time of polarization and political turmoil, The Duty to Vote offers a stirring reminder that voting is fundamentally a collective endeavor to protect our communities, and that we all must vote in order to preserve the free societies within which we live.
Ethical discourse about the institution of voting rarely includes the option of abstaining for principled reasons. This collection of nine articles widens the discussion in that direction by giving readers a new question: At what point and on what grounds might one choose not to vote as an act of conscience? Contributors offer both ethical and faith-based reasons for not voting. For some, it is a matter of candidates not measuring up to high standards; for others it is a matter of reserving political identity and allegiance for the church rather than the nation-state. These writers--representing a wide range of Christian traditions--cite texts from diverse sources: Mennonites, Pentecostals, and pre-Civil Rights African Americans. Some contributors reference the positions of Catholic bishops, Karl Barth, or John Howard Yoder. New Testament texts also figure strongly in these cases for "conscientious abstention" from voting. In addition to cultivating the ethical discussion around abstention from voting, the contributors suggest alternative ways beneficially to engage society. This volume creates a new freedom for readers within any faith tradition to enter into a dialogue that has not yet been welcomed in North America.
Cover; Contents; Acknowledgments; INTRODUCTION: Voting as an Ethical Issue; CHAPTER ONE: Arguments for a Duty to Vote; CHAPTER TWO: Civic Virtue without Politics; CHAPTER THREE: Wrongful Voting; CHAPTER FOUR: Deference and Abstention; CHAPTER FIVE: For the Common Good; CHAPTER SIX: Buying and Selling Votes; CHAPTER SEVEN: How Well Do Voters Behave?; AFTERWORD TO THE PAPERBACK EDITION: How to Vote Well; Notes; References; Index. - Nothing is more integral to democracy than voting. Most people believe that every citizen has the civic duty or moral obligation to vote, that any sincere vote is morally acceptable, and that buying, selling, or trading votes is inherently wrong. In this provocative book, Jason Brennan challenges our fundamental assumptions about voting, revealing why it is not a duty for most citizens--in fact, he argues, many people owe it to the rest of us not to vote. Bad choices at the polls can result in unjust laws, needless wars, and calamitous economic policies. Brennan shows why voters have duties to.