2020 Dems Question Faith of Conservatives by Misrepresenting Scripture
As the race for the 2020 Democratic presidential nominee heats up, more and more candidates are using their religious beliefs to slam Republicans.
While Republicans may have cornered the market when it comes to the evangelical vote, Democrats haven’t been strangers to bringing up their faith.
What makes these candidates different, Politico pointed out, is the use of Scripture and their faith to justify positions that run contrary to what Scripture teaches, such as gay marriage and abortion.
Politico reported that presidential candidate and South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg gained an enthusiastic round of applause Tuesday when he said, “Faith isn’t the property of one political party.”
Buttigieg hasn’t been shy about his religious beliefs and made headlines in April when he slammed Vice President Mike Pence’s faith. In a clip that went viral, Buttigieg said if Pence had a problem with homosexuality, his “quarrel … is with my Creator.”
Buttigieg also questioned the faith of people who could “be on board” as “we see families being ripped apart at the border, when we see people’s health care put at risk, when we see policies designed to comfort the comfortable and afflict the afflicted.”
He said, “it calls into question how anybody on board with the current mess in Washington can claim to be doing so in accordance with their faith.”
Likewise, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand has touted her belief that since we all have a “free will, a core tenet of Christianity,” women should be able to abort their babies, according to Politico.
Additionally, New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker has often referred to “civic grace” when discussing the criminal justice system.
The Rev. Al Sharpton commented on this change of tactics saying that, in the past, it was thought that you couldn’t couple faith with “progressive policies.”
“In the late ’70s and ’80s, we let the right wing hijack the Bible and the flag, and Democratic candidates, to reclaim that, [are saying] that we have progressive ideas and we also have a firm belief in faith,” he said.
Before a church service in Iowa, Gillibrand echoed Sharpton’s sentiments by saying there is now a “reclamation” of faith among Democrats.
“I think there’s [now] a reclamation to say, well, if you really are driven by the Gospel, you should feed the poor, you should help the weak, you should help the vulnerable,” she said.
Other 2020 presidential candidates including front-runner and former VP Joe Biden, as well as former Secretary of HUD Julian Castro, have often discussed their Catholic faith.
Likewise, California Sen. Kamala Harris has often talked about growing up singing in her church’s choir.
Additionally, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren talked about her role as a Sunday School teacher in a video she released on Easter.
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