Spiritual tides overcome political divides

We have all heard the colors red and blue used to describe the political leanings of different states. For example, California is said to be a blue state, meaning it is politically liberal. On the other hand, Mississippi, my home state, is conservative and is referred to as a red state. It’s interesting to note that the overall red/blue map of the nation shows approximately a 2-to-1 advantage for red states. An even closer look reveals a sharp divide between urban and rural areas: Urban areas are blue and vote for Democrats, and rural areas are red and vote for Republicans. Several states are mixed, based on the dominance of one big city. Take Illinois, for example. By far, the largest city is Chicago, which is politically as blue as the ocean. However, outside the city, Illinois is red. But the sheer size of Chicago gives it a veto vote over the rest of Illinois when it comes to statewide elections and liberal public policy that impacts all areas.

So, why does the rural/urban political divide exist in our country? I believe it’s because many rural people believe in God and go to church. That informs their view of the world and causes their politics to be more conservative. They have a clearer view of right and wrong, especially when it comes to moral values.

Urban areas are less religious and more cosmopolitan (worldly), and therefore, what the Bible has to say about morals and values makes little difference. In fact, some liberals in blue states consider red-state people to be unsophisticated and uneducated.

Now, I am speaking broadly, but I don’t know how else to explain it. The parts of the country that are red (conservative) are also the same places that have a higher percentage of churchgoers – in particular, evangelical churchgoers. The connection is obvious to me.

Statista (statista.com) writer Veera Korhonen reported that “74% of Americans in the United States said that they believed in God. In comparison, 87% of Americans who identified as Republicans and 66% of Americans who identified as Democrats shared this belief.”

That tells me that it really doesn’t matter where you are from or what political party you identify with. If you reject the teachings of the Bible, such as the Ten Commandments and the Sermon on the Mount, then you believe that man – not God – has the answers to life’s big issues (including politics). That eventually leads to disastrous results for both the individuals and society.

If you go back in America’s history, there were periods when areas of the country with more Democrats than Republicans had strong church attendance, belief in God, and reverence for the Christian religion and its teachings. Those values were predominant even among people who were personally irreligious. Despite the Christian consenus in the culture, we still had political divides; however, the division was over what role the government should play in our lives – for example, the country may have been divided on how much to spend on military or public assistance programs, but we were not divided over the definitions of man and woman.

Believe it or not, in 1892, the U.S. Supreme Court even said, “This is a Christian nation.” Now, Christianity is under siege from the political Left, and Christians are targets of persecution in the liberal media and by the government in some blue states.

American Family Association believes in fighting against the spiritual darkness of this age while spreading the life-changing truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ, both far and wide. We pray that more of our fellow Americans come to the Lord – and in some cases, come back to the Lord – so we can see real, substantive change for good in our country.