Have you ever heard a well-meaning Christian use the term “politics” in a negative or derogatory sense?

Some Christians seem to believe that politics is inherently combative, uncharitable and vitriolic. They similarly assume that politics and politicians engage with amoral and subjective issues – think tax rates and trade policy, for example (though there are moral issues present even in both these).

A Christian with this perspective might give a disclaimer when referring to various topics and ideas by saying, “Don’t worry, this is not political.” Or they may assert, “Christians can engage in policy, but they shouldn’t do politics.”

While perhaps well-intentioned, this aversion to anything political is problematic. Let’s explore why.

The etymology of the word “politics” comes from the Greek politikos meaning “of citizens, pertaining to the state and its administration; pertaining to public life.” A polis was an “ancient Greek city-state.”

So “politics” means governing and ordering a society – for better or for worse.

In this sense, there is absolutely nothing problematic with politics as a discipline. When humans engage in politics, they are discussing, debating and deciding how best to order their society.

For the great Greek philosopher Aristotle, politics was the “master science” because it is the discipline upon which all other branches of human activity – medicine, law, engineering, architecture, scientific research, and more – depend.

Without a functioning government and society (i.e. without politics), all other disciplines are lost, and life becomes “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short,” to quote Thomas Hobbes’ Leviathan.

Aristotle wrote in his Politics that man is necessarily a political animal because of his ability to speak and his capacity for reason. Through speech, human beings interact, communicate and create societies and governments. Through reason, humans debate and collaborate on how best to order their societies.

The result of these two human capabilities is politics.

“The city-state is a natural growth, and … man is by nature a political animal,” the philosopher wrote.

In his book A Student’s Guide to Political Philosophy, Professor Harvey Mansfield summarizes Aristotle’s thinking:

Other animals are gregarious, bees for example, but they are not political because they do not speak or reason about what is advantageous and harmful, just and unjust, good and bad; they are confined to feeling pain and pleasure.

Human beings have to reason about these matters, as they are not perfectly clear. … We humans are by nature political, but there is no single, programmed way of life as with bees. Human nature includes both the freedom and the necessity to construct a regime.

Dr. Jerry Root, professor emeritus at Wheaton College and visiting professor at Biola University, Talbot School of Theology, has spoken about why politics is necessary for any society. His thinking mirrors Aristotle’s.

“If you are a sociological person by nature, you’re also a political person by nature, because we want our societies to be organized and orderly, not chaotic and anarchistic,” Dr. Root says, adding,

So, we are by nature political beings. Politics aren’t bad. Bad politics are bad. And we should be able to mark the difference.

Therefore, human being’s political engagement is a necessary and just activity. Humans engage in politics because we are political creatures. If we ignore our political natures, the result is bad politics – not no politics.

In modern society, politics almost always deals with issues that are moral, or at the least, have important moral implications.

Consider just the following – abortion, same-sex marriage, transgenderism, in vitro fertilization, adoption, physician-assisted suicide, embryonic stem cell research, forced sterilization, slavery and discrimination, and religious liberty. All these topics are political, but they are also very important moral issues.

While some argue that governments should not legislate morality, this is exactly wrong.

Activities that are illegal are against the law because they are immoral. Not only can governments legislate morality – moral issues are the primary things they should legislate.

There is no question that government will legislate morality. The only question is which moral code will be legislated.

Will abortion be legal or illegal? Will same-sex couples be able to adopt children? Can elderly people kill themselves through physician-assisted suicide? Will slavery be legal or illegal?

These are political questions, and they are deeply important moral questions that societies must decide.

Francis J. Beckwith, professor of Philosophy and Church-State Studies at Baylor University, has expounded on yet another quote from Aristotle: “Statecraft is soulcraft.”

“He meant by this,” Beckwith explains, “that the state or government, by its policies, procedures and actions, places moral ideas in the social and legal fabric of a political regime, and that these ideas serve to shape the quality of its citizens’ character.”

In this way, politics, being the pursuit of rightly ordered society, will affect the creation and implementation of laws, which seek to govern and regulate the people. The law, then, is a great moral teacher.

The Apostle Paul describes governing authorities in this way:

“For he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer” (Romans 13:4, ESV).

So, the next time you hear someone use the word “politics” with a negative connotation, remember that mankind is necessarily political. God created us as social creatures. Because we can speak and reason, politics will inevitably result.

And it is up to the Christian to impact, influence and direct society towards what is good, true and beautiful.

Related articles and resources:

Christians Have a Responsibility and Privilege to Get Engaged in Politics

Toward a Proper Theology of Practical Cultural Engagement

The Importance of Voting

Voting as a Kingdom Citizen

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