The Catholic View on Voting and Politics

Jackie and Bobby give their thoughts on voting, backed by Church teaching.

As Catholics, we’re not meant to fit into any specific political group or party. We’re instead called to live in the world, but not of it, meaning we must participate in our life on Earth, knowing that the only things that can truly fulfill us are found in Heaven. So when it comes to voting, we’re never going to be 100% happy or fulfilled with a certain party or candidate, and that’s okay.

Lucky for us, the Church has clear guidelines that apply to Catholics all over the world, not just in America, that can help steer our decisions regarding certain policies in an election. Most of this advice comes from the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and can be found in Ascension’s new book, Clear Conscience: A Catholic Guide to Voting.

There are three duties that we as Catholics are called to:

1. To participate in civic duty
2. To inform our consciences
3. To uphold the Catholic faith

Above all, we are called to be Catholic before we’re Republican, Democrat, American, or any other nationality. Voting as a Catholic means recognizing that nothing in this life will ever be perfectly aligned with the Church, but doing our best to uphold her teachings and protect the sanctity of life in all situations.