There has been massive political unrest in the 21st Century; not just in our country but around the world. A question has been circulating: “How can someone be a Christian and also be a Liberal politically?”
I find this rather troubling; questioning the genuineness of someone’s salvation because they embrace the Liberal mentality of our culture.
Christians should never sink to this level of misguided thinking.
The Two Truths
There are two truths which should be considered in this matter.
The first truth is that the moment someone believed in Christ as their Savior, they became a Christian. No matter what their background was, where they work or what their political affiliation may be. The Gospel of salvation is very clear: “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31). The offer has been made so simple, so that anyone, adult or child, might have eternal life freely given by God. In this way, God is democratic, making salvation available to everyone that will believe. But it does not infer that a person will automatically change their stance on social politics.
The second truth is that some tenets of Liberal thinking genuinely have some commonality with Biblical beliefs (and Conservative policies): love, charity, morality (however, not entirely), respect for your fellow man — in humanity generally, but not humanism.
For Christianity is in total opposition to the philosophy of humanism. Humanism is the belief that man is the center of the universe and there is no God — no Supreme Being, no Creator. The Oxford Companion to Philosophy briefly defines humanism as:
An appeal to [human] reason in contrast to revelation or religious authority as a means of finding out about the natural world and destiny of man, and also giving a grounding for morality…Humanist ethics is also distinguished by placing the end of moral action in the welfare of humanity rather than in fulfilling the will of God.1
Therefore, humanism is an atheistic and agnostic philosophy that is advocated “within non-Christian thought.”2 This philosophy permeates our culture and is advanced by some (but not all) on both sides of the political spectrum.
The Conflict
Let us consider a few specific issues that may cause one to question how someone can be a Christian and adhere to Liberal ideas.
First, the false notion that “all roads [religions] lead to heaven” is a belief that as long as one follows their preferred ‘god’ and does good deeds, this will gain them the approbation of ‘god’ and gain entrance to heaven. A Christian cannot embrace this, for it is refuted by Scripture:
For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus (1 Timothy 2:5)
And even the Lord Jesus declared definitively that:
“I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.” (John 14:6)
The new Christian must recognize that His Word is truth (John 17:17) — absolute “true truth,”3 as opposed to the “truth” espoused by the humanist. Therefore, anything which contradicts His Word is false.
Second, Scripture is clear concerning the marriage issue; that it is between a man and a woman becoming one flesh. Our Lord reminded the Pharisees that this was Gods’ original design for all mankind — believers and unbelievers alike.
“But from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother, and the two shall become one flesh; so they are no longer two, but one flesh.” (Mark 10:6–8)
God specifically created a female, Eve, for Adam; but He did not create another male, Steve, for Adam (Genesis 2:20-24).
Third, as related to the previous, the apostle Paul emphasized the Biblical prohibition of homosexuality and concerning those who reject God’s Divine objective for the sexuality of mankind:
For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error. (Romans 1:26-27)
This is not something new that Paul devised for the 1st Century church. Note also from the mouth of Moses in the 15th Century b.c.:
“If there is a man who lies with a male as those who lie with a woman, both of them have committed a detestable act…” (Leviticus 20:13a)
Conclusion
The bottom line is that the Christian’s primary responsibility is to maintain an allegiance to his Lord and not to a political party. This means that the Christian should understand the principles of God’s Word; to embrace His truths that will produce a godly manner of life. This will necessitate a committed stand against that which is contrary to God’s truth.
This could make it very difficult to decide upon various candidates who fail to maintain Biblical standards. In which case, the only recourse is to determine which candidate will represent the common sense needs of our society: freedom, justice, social welfare. And whether the candidate maintains the established principles of our Republic — specifically, that they are not corrupted by illegal undertakings and that they are not endeavoring in a subtle form of insurrection of our historic government.
The Christian’s responsibility as a citizen to their country was summarized by the apostle Paul when he charged Titus:
Remind them to be subject to rulers, to authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good deed, to malign no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing every consideration for all men. (Titus 3:1–2)
We have not been called for a crusade to make our country a “Christian” nation. Instead, we are called to be witnesses of His truth before all men with the intention of influencing others within our culture — socially and politically — with the gospel of salvation.
Finally, it is Satan who influences the recommendation that in polite company that we should refrain from discussing religion and politics. But contrary to this opinion, it is polite and civil friends that will openly converse and objectively consider all perspectives of politics as they relate to God’s truth.
[1] https://humanists.uk/humanism/ [Retrieved November 5, 2026]
[2] Francis A. Schaeffer, The Complete Works of Francis A. Schaeffer: A Christian Worldview, (Wheaton, IL: Crosswalk Books, 1985), 1.9