Onward Christian soldiers?

Richard A. Sokerka

According to an analysis by Pew Research Center, among members of the 115th Congress, 91 percent describe themselves as Christians.

And the number of Catholics in Congress has shown a steady rise. Protestants in Congress have dropped from 75 percent in 1961 to 56 percent today, while the Catholics in Congress jumped from 19 percent to 31 percent in the same time frame.

So with such a high percentage claiming they live their lives according to their Christian beliefs, will their clout as a Christian majority get legislation passed that espouses Christian values?

That remains to be seen. According to the Catholic League, Trump, who ran on a pro-life platform beat Clinton, who ran on a pro-abortion platform, among Catholic voters by 52 percent to 45 percent, so he would certainly benefit by having more practicing Catholics in Congress. Catholic voters, as well as others, might reasonably expect that on the core public policy issues, Catholic members of Congress would cast their votes favorably. However, there are seven new pro-life Catholics in Congress, all Republican, and 13 new pro-abortion Catholics in Congress, all Demorats, thus actually decreasing the Catholic influence in Congress on pro-life issues.

And there’s the rub. We have too many elected representatives who do not abide by the faith they claim to have when they cast their votes.

And until they become like Christian soldiers who are willing to stand up for what their faith teaches, the Christian values upon which our nation was founded, will continue to be chipped away by secular society.