Faith and partisan politics

Glen Pearson has reflected on the implications of faith for political behaviour before, thinking in particular about Question Period.

This week, he has offered another rumination on faith and politics, asking more broadly what the implications of faith are for how partisan opponents interact.

"For people of faith, the imperative is there to combine our efforts to live honorable lives, especially among one another. We either set a new and noble example or we fail. Politics in Ottawa is hard, mean and downright oppressive right now. Faith, on the other hand, is meant to bring us together for a greater good, to transcend any particular political branding for the sake of making this world better. When the two come together, as they did this morning, there wasn’t one person there who wouldn’t have admitted that love for God and our fellow human being, as expressed in our faith, is meant to trump politics at each and every turn. We are meant to put that belief on the line by casting aside the meanness of partisanship to embrace, in humility, a common bond. We can disagree, but in respect. It’s not a love-in, but it’s not a rugby match either."

Pearson concludes, "If faith is going to matter, it has to matter in the House of Commons and be lived out in lives of humility and service."