By Grace Vuoto
There are approximately 212 million Americans who regularly attend religious services and define themselves as people of faith. They consist of Christians, Jews, Mormons and Muslims. This year, they have an outsize role in determining the outcome of the presidential election. The destiny of the nation is in their hands. Yet, vast numbers of them are willing to sit at home rather than vote.
A recent study by Arizona Christian University discovered that approximately 104 million of these devout Americans, or 49 percent, are not likely to vote due to the fact they are not interested in politics or they dislike both Republican nominee Donald Trump and his Democratic opponent Vice President Kamala Harris. Among those surveyed, 57 percent said both leaders are detestable, 55 percent report their values are not reflected in these two candidates and 52 percent are convinced their vote will not make a difference.
This is a stunning result when we consider that religious Americans often lament the increasing secularization of society, the erosion of traditional values in the wider culture and decry the overall moral decay of our time. This is a moment when, action rather than apathy, can determine whether or not we continue to slide further into degeneracy or reverse course to restore the moral order that is the bedrock of all our institutions.
Indeed, Trump is by most religious metrics a deeply compromised man. Yet, he is singularly responsible for great strides in advancing the culture of life—far more than any president since the cultural revolution of the 1960s. It was his appointees to the Supreme Court that resulted in overturning Roe v. Wade, allowing each state to draft abortion laws for its citizens, rather than through a decree by the federal government.
For some pro-life voters this is not enough. But it should be. Trump does not have to promise a national abortion ban or offer even more concessions to win the support of all pro-life voters. He deserves this in droves in gratitude for the monumental achievement of freeing each state from the abortion shackles imposed since 1973. This was a promise made, and a promise kept that merits applause, recognition and validation in the form of enthusiastic voter turnout in support of him. If politicians are not rewarded for keeping promises, why should they do so?
During his presidency, Trump also liberated Arab Christians from the bloodthirsty persecution they endured at the hands of ISIS. He stood firmly as a friend of Israel; he brought stability for both Muslims and Jews by supporting an international framework that kept bad actors in check. By contrast, the Biden-Harris presidency has culminated in emboldened terrorist activity, a vicious Oct. 7 assault on Israel by Hamas that will live in infamy, the slaughter of tens of thousands of Palestinians as Israel seeks security from future assaults—and a region careening into ever-widening war. On the question of peace and war, one candidate is clearly more effective than the other.
Furthermore, among the greatest victims of the Biden-Harris years have been teens and children. The open-border policy of the last few years has resulted in thousands killed in violent crimes by illegal aliens, such as 22-year old nursing student Laken Riley in Georgia, and an explosion in the sex trafficking of children. Human traffickers are flourishing, preying on the vulnerable travellers into America and the frail who struggle to thrive after they have crossed into the United States without documentation. Lawlessness is the fuel of the evil cartels who reap vast profits from trafficking drugs and selling defenseless kids and teens into the sex trade.
People of faith are justifiably appalled at Trump’s flagrant shortcomings. They have every right to recoil at his three marriages, infidelities, associations with unsavory characters, lascivious language, bombastic nature, celebration of greed, bullying tactics on social media and his repeated use of coarse, insulting language. However, devout Americans still have a moral obligation to weigh his flaws against his considerable achievements in support of human life—born and unborn, at home and abroad, among citizens and migrants. And then contrast these life-affirming successes to those of the catastrophic alternative.
The temporal world consists of a battle by imperfect people to advance the greater good—even if only by a few inches at a time. In election 2024, the choice is clear. Trump preserves human lives; Biden-Harris policies are the harbingers of instability, lawlessness, exploitation of the weak and countless deaths of both the born and unborn.
How many more reasons do religious people—Christians, Jews, Muslims and Mormons—need than these to reject apathy and to go vote?
-Grace Vuoto, Ph.D. is a political commentator and columnist. She can be heard Wednesday mornings at 9:00 am on The Kuhner Report WRKO-AM 680.
-Photo courtesy of Getty Images