← News feed Pan-Orthodox

Faith is back in Democratic politics

July 24, 2026 · 1 min read

(RNS) — I recently found a years-old copy of a national political magazine with a cover story I had written, titled “Will Democrats Ever Get Religion?” It built off the subtitle of one of my books, “God’s Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn’t Get It.” I smiled as I looked at this piece from over 20 years ago asking the same question I still find myself wondering even now.

For decades now in America, the Republican Party has claimed to own religion and religious values. They proceed to use, abuse, co-opt and reduce religion for their own political agenda. Faith should stay private, they say, except in the cases of “moral values” issues like abortion and gay marriage. Of course, that is bad theology. It is unbiblical theology, ignoring the more than 2,000 verses in the Bible that focus on the poor and oppressed. But Republicans want to command religion in America.

That is made easier by the Democratic Party, which tends to ignore, dismiss or even discredit religion. Part of the reason why Democrats don’t talk much about faith is that they struggle to know how to express it without sounding like they are proselytizing or imposing their religion upon a…

Source: Religion News Service · Read the full story →

⚑ Report

💬 Comments (2) 🌐 Show original

Adrian Marin

Yes, I read the article too. The part with the more than 2000 verses about the poor and oppressed caught my eye - this is exactly what our father says at the service when he explains the Sunday Gospel. I wonder though if the US Democrats really want to change their tune or is it just an election tactic. What do you think, will it last?

Elena Barbu

Yes, that passage with over 2000 verses stuck in my mind too. Our Father really always emphasizes this in his sermons, especially when he talks about almsgiving. I doubt it's just tactics; I think some Democrats really feel the need to get back to their roots, but we'll see if it lasts after the election. What do you think, will it convince ordinary voters?