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Does government do too much? That could depend on your view of the Divine By G. Jeffrey MacDonald
People who strongly believe in an engaged G0d who "has a plan for me," were much more likely to agree that "the government does too much" and "able-bodied people who are out of work shouldn't receive unemployment checks," according to a just-released Baylor University survey.
By contrast, those who believe that G0d is more removed from day-to-day affairs — or who don't believe in G0d at all — are more likely to reject small government and economic conservatism.
The findings point to a dichotomy: right-leaning Christians want to rely on a providential G0d instead of government, while left-leaning Christians argue government has a pivotal role to play in fulfilling a Biblical mandate to care for the poor.
They also help explain, observers say, why Texas Governor Perry and Congresswoman Bachmann have caught fire at times this year with large segments of the Republican electorate. When these candidates refer to a hands-on G0d, they show they're on board with both a political agenda and its roots in a certain type of faith.
"Political candidates can promote economic conservatism and lack of regulation merely by reference to an actively engaged G0d," says Paul Froese, the Baylor sociologist who presented the findings. "This rhetorical strategy is used quite commonly by Rick Perry and Michele Bachmann. It works because many rank-and-file voters believe that lack of regulation and reduced taxation is part of G0d's plan."
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To David Woodard, a Clemson University political scientist and GOP pollster in South Carolina, the findings make sense, since economic conservatism can be an expression of faith in a G0d who provides for human needs.
"The worldview impacts willingness to undertake risk," Professor Woodard says. In this view, "G0d sets them free, and He's also dealing with his creatures. He's answering their prayers…. G0d's hand is upon us [as Americans], and so we try new things."
Believers in a divine plan for individual lives haven't always perceived G0d to be on the side of laissez-faire capitalism. Reinhold Niebuhr, the influential 20th century American theologian, regarded capitalism as incompatible with Christianity because, in his view, the system fostered exploitation of workers.
But in today's environment, believers in an engaged G0d seem to harbor few such misgivings.
For his part, Woodard suggests the antigovernment view stems from confidence in a G0d who wants to see certain traits flourish in humankind. Because G0d wants people to have faith, a risky world devoid of guarantees is seen as better than one where risks are minimized (and where faith is therefore not needed). And because G0d wants people to care for each other, volunteerism and free enterprise need to be unleashed, lest government bureaucracies usurp opportunities for serving neighbor with a faith-filled, personal touch.
If conservatives seem idealistic in all this, that's because they are, according to Baylor's survey. Eighty-one percent of conservatives believe in ultimate Truth, versus just 52 percent of liberals. And liberals are 44 percent more likely than conservatives to say it's useless to put effort into finding life's purpose.
But conservatives are also feeling chastened in this electoral cycle. After a financial crisis and a tough recession, voters are leery and need convincing that a candidate is trustworthy, Woodard says. Hence they yearn to hear not just acceptable policy positions, but also the deep theological roots that underlie philosophies.
"They're not asking for candidates to say, 'I'm born again,' " Woodard says of the 70 percent of GOP primary voters who say in his polls that they attend church weekly. "They want to know that because you see man as made in the image of G0d, you see less role for government, more freedom for human beings, more dignity, protection of life, that kind of stuff. And those things can kind of be taken for granted because of their Christian beliefs."
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