Voting our pocketbooks

Beliefnet, home of all things ecumenical, has done some surveys based on a classification of voters into one of twelve religious subgroups and published their findings in an article called The Twelve Tribes of American Politics in the '08 Election. I don't place a lot of stock in these clumsy classifications. For instance, I would fall into the "Religious Right" category based on my literal view of the Bible and more than once a week regular church attendance. But so would James Dobson and the later Jerry Falwell, and I have pretty divergent views in a lot of areas from them on salvation and eschatology which impact my worldview. But on basic issues of the inerrancy of the Bible, justification by faith and on most moral issues we are pretty close.

There is not much that should surprise you in the classifications, but what is disturbing is the extent to which voters who, in the last election, were strongly driven by moral issues (i.e. gay marriage and abortion) are now mostly concerned about economic issues.

Moral issues are dramatically less important this year than in previous years – even among the most religiously observant voters, according to the 2008 edition of the Twelve Tribes of American Politics.

Just 13% listed social issues first, half the number who did in the summer of 2004. 61% listed the economy first compared to 32% in 2004.
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(speaking of the religious right)
Compared to other groups, more likely to care about cultural issues (36% compared to 13% nationally) but even they have placed economics as a much higher priority. Now 42% list the economy as the top issue; in 2004, 18% did.

I get the concern, I have ten mouths to feed if you count mine and these are scary times. I also recognize and affirm that morality is not strictly a political issue and that God's sovereignty applies as much in the political world and in governments as it does anywhere. But it is troubling that in just four years, so many people who placed issues of morality as their top concern have turned to their pocketbook as their most important concern.

There are some who would argue that we shouldn't worry about politics at all. There are some for whom the political process is the means God uses to accomplish His will. Who is right? Maybe we shouldn't worry about gay marriage. It is an invalid marriage under God's law anyway, so why worry about it? Isn't more important to make sure that my family is fed? Or maybe be willing to sacrifice the unborn to give me a false sense of economic security is too great a sacrifice to make. These are conversations we need to have, because if we are so lightly grounded in our beliefs that a downturn in the stock market and trouble in housing makes us neglect moral issues, or at least give them less importance, that is a problem.