We are told every day to fear the rise of the “Christian nationalists,” you know, those religious extremists who believe their rights come from God rather than from the state.
But when they can catch their breath from their hyperventilations about theocracy, our media minders inform us that conservatives — pro-lifers, for instance — have no special claim on the Christian faith.
That latter argument, the reminder that many Christians are politically on the Left, turns out to be more salient in our politics than the warnings of right-wing Christians “imposing their morality.” You see, the most politically active denomination in America is … the Episcopalians.
And you can guess that they aren’t railing against gender ideology or the abortion pill.
Ryan Burge, the best scholar studying religion in America, dug into the data from the Cooperative Election Study and found that three of the four most politically active denominations are liberal denominations.
People were asked if they had donated to a candidate, put up a yard sign, or worked for a candidate. Episcopalians outpaced all other Christian denominations in all three categories. The United Church of Christ and the Presbyterian Church U.S.A. were also among the most active.
Southern Baptists, Assemblies of God, and the Lutheran Church — Missouri Synod, the famously conservative denominations, were all much less political on basically every score than the more liberal denominations.
Put another way, the churches imposing their morality on others the most are the ones with rainbow flags flying out front. The PCUSA is one of the most prominent Christian churches to embrace gay marriage over traditional teachings on marriage. The Episcopalian Church effectively chased out its members who didn’t sign on to the sexual revolution.
This data shouldn’t surprise anyone who follows American politics. Former President Barack Obama never hesitated to lay out biblical justifications for his politics. Feeding the hungry and clothing the naked is very Christian, and those who argue that Washington needs to carry out these acts of mercy often argue as much from a Biblical perspective.
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The news media never complain about Christian influence in calls for more government spending or gun control.
For good measure, Burge reported that the single most politically active “religion” in America is atheism.