United Methodists Compare Presidential Candidates to Church's Stances

by

Reprinted with permission from The Methodist Recorder, United Kingdom

As the 2012 U.S. presidential election heads into its final weeks, United Methodists and their fellow American voters face some clear choices between the Democratic incumbent, President Barack Obama, and the Republican challenger, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney.

Unfortunately, many of the 7 million U.S. United Methodists who are registered voters have little awareness of how their own denomination views issues in comparison with the two major U.S. political parties (candidates from other groups such as the Libertarian and Green parties are discounted for this article because of their marginal impact on American politics).

Yet many American voters publicly acknowledge themselves as believers whose faith will affect their votes. However, U.S. federal law prohibits tax-exempt religious groups from endorsing partisan candidates. Without an official endorsement to guide them, conscientious U.S. United Methodists now are comparing the Democratic and Republican platforms and their standard-bearers against official policies adopted by the General Conference, the only legislative body that can speak for the entire 11-million-member global denomination.

Because the United States is the world's most publicly religious nation, both candidates profess faith. Governor Romney is the first member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon) to be a presidential candidate. President Obama maintains his United Church of Christ membership, although he and his family attend a variety of churches around Washington, DC, for security reasons, according to The White House.

Here's how the two major presidential candidates stack up against the UMC's official stances on a few major issues that matter greatly to U.S. United Methodists.

Women's Reproductive Rights and Abortion

The candidates: According to CBS News' "Money Watch" website: "President Barack Obama supports abortion rights. His health care law requires contraceptives to be available for free for women enrolled in workplace health plans. Republican Mitt Romney opposes abortion rights, though he previously supported them. He says Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court ruling establishing abortion rights, should be reversed, which would allow states to ban abortion."

The official United Methodist policy: "Our belief in the sanctity of unborn human life makes us reluctant to approve abortion. But we are equally bound to respect the sacredness of the life and well-being of the mother and the unborn child. We recognize tragic conflicts of life with life that may justify abortion, and in such cases we support the legal option of abortion under proper medical procedures. … We cannot affirm abortion as an acceptable means of birth control, and we unconditionally reject it as a means of gender selection" (Book of Discipline Para. 161J).

Climate Change/Global Warming

The candidates:  Governor Romney outraged U.S. environmentalists when he said on the popular television program Meet the Press: "I'm not in this race to slow the rise of the oceans or to heal the planet" (Huffington Post, Sept. 10, 2012). The Republican platform opposes a cap-and-trade solution to excess carbon emissions that President Obama and the Democratic Party support.

The official United Methodist policy:  "We acknowledge the global impact of humanity’s disregard for God’s creation. Rampant industrialization and the corresponding increase in the use of fossil fuels have led to a buildup of pollutants in the earth’s atmosphere. … We therefore support efforts of all governments to require mandatory reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and call on individuals, congregations, businesses, industries, and communities to reduce their emissions" (BOD Para. 160D).

The Economy

The candidates: President Obama may be viewed as most vulnerable on economic issues given the so-called "jobless recovery." However, the Wall Street Journal's "Market Watch" reported Sept. 27: … "many voters seem to accept President Barack Obama’s argument that our economic problems result not from the failure of this administration but from the economic policies of his predecessor, George W. Bush. In a poll conducted by CNN in early September, 54 percent of likely voters said they think Bush and his Republican colleagues were more responsible for the sluggish economy, versus 38 percent who blamed Obama and the Democrats. … This is a problem for Romney, because his policies are pretty much the same as those espoused by Bush… ."

The official United Methodist position: "We claim all economic systems to be under the judgment of God no less than other facets of the created order. Therefore, we recognize the responsibility of governments to develop and implement sound fiscal and monetary policies that provide for the economic life of individuals and corporate entities and that ensure full employment and adequate incomes with a minimum of inflation. … We support measures that would reduce the concentration of wealth in the hands of a few. We further support efforts to revise tax structures and to eliminate governmental support programs that now benefit the wealthy at the expense of other persons" (BOD, Para. 163 IV).

The United Methodist Church also officially supports collective bargaining (unions) for both public and private employees, and the right of laborers to earn a "living wage" (BOD Paragraphs 163 B & C).

War and Peace

The candidates: According to the official Democratic Party website, President Obama and his party are committed to supporting the troops while sharing intelligence with allies to fight worldwide terrorism. Governor Romney and the Republicans oppose defense-spending cuts espoused by Democrats, even though congressional representatives initially voted for them in Obama's Budget Control Act, according to Washington Post columnist Ezra Klein. House Republicans have since recanted that position.

The official United Methodist policy: "We deplore war and urge the peaceful settlement of all disputes among nations. … We also acknowledge that many Christians believe that, when peaceful alternatives have failed, the force of arms may regretfully be preferable to unchecked aggression, tyranny and genocide. … We also respect those who support the use of force, but only in extreme situations and only when the need is clear beyond reasonable doubt, and through appropriate international organizations. We urge the establishment of the rule of law in international affairs as a means of elimination of war, violence, and coercion in these affairs" (BOD Para. 164.I).

For more in-depth comparison of official United Methodist stances on public issues, see the Social Principles, published on the website of the denomination's General Board of Church and Society, its Washington, DC-based social action agency.

This article originally was written for and published by The Methodist Recorder, publication of the Methodist Church in Britain, at its request.