Baptist News Global
Sections
  • News
  • Analysis
  • Opinion
  • Curated
  • Storytelling
    • Faith & Justice >
      • Charleston: Metanoia with Bill Stanfield
      • Charlotte: QC Family Tree with Greg and Helms Jarrell
      • Little Rock: Judge Wendell Griffen
      • North Carolina: Conetoe
    • Welcoming the Stranger >
      • Lost Boys of Sudan: St. John’s Baptist Charlotte
      • Awakening to Immigrant Justice: Myers Park Baptist Church
      • Hospitality on the corner: Gaston Christian Center
    • Signature Ministries >
      • Jake Hall: Gospel Gothic, Music and Radio
    • Singing Our Faith >
      • Hymns for a Lifetime: Ken Wilson and Knollwood Baptist Church
      • Norfolk Street Choir
    • Resilient Rural America >
      • Alabama: Perry County
      • Texas: Hidalgo County
      • Arkansas Delta
      • Southeast Kentucky
  • More
    • Contact
    • About
    • Donate
    • Associated Baptist Press Foundation
    • Planned Giving
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Advertising
    • Ministry Jobs and More
    • Transitions
    • Subscribe
    • Submissions and Permissions
Donate Subscribe
Search Search this site

Governments have worldviews, too

OpinionJonathan Waits  |  December 10, 2015

By Jonathan Waits

So apparently John Kasich, Ohio governor and longshot Republican presidential candidate, wants to create a government agency tasked with spreading the values and morals of the Judeo-Christian worldview. Let’s start by calling this what it is: a really bad idea.

There are a host of reasons for this. For starters the government tends to not do much of anything well. This would be no exception. Second, given the relative worldview diversity among both Jews and Christians, exactly who will serve as the worldview promoters in this new agency? Perhaps most importantly, in our representative democracy, it is not at all clear that a majority of the country is interested in seeing this kind of thing promoted.

So Gov. Kasich’s idea is bad and would probably be disastrous if implemented (consider which governments have had official propaganda agencies in the last hundred years). But — he is on to something. And here’s why: Governments have and are created out of specific worldviews. Without that worldview in place, the government cannot any longer exist as it was created.

Let me explain what I mean. Our Constitution, which is one of the most brilliant political documents ever written, came out of a specific worldview framework. It is the special outcome of a particular confluence of ideas which came together at a single point in history in such a way as never before or since. These ideas resulted in the enshrining of concepts like fairly tight limits on government, personal freedom, personal property ownership rights, republicanism, freedom of religion, and so on and so forth — ideas which, again, had never appeared all in one place like this in any other nation in history, and which, by the way, have resulted in the freest, most powerful, most prosperous and most generous nation that has ever existed.

Here’s why this matters and why in spite of his bad idea, Gov. Kasich was on to something. The foundational ideals of our nation are not themselves our nation’s foundation. It is instead the worldview which gave rise to them. Without that worldview the ideals never would have come into being in the first place, or at the very least they would not have been collected together in a bunch and made the foundational points of a brand new system of government which had theretofore existed only in theory. The point here is that ideals such as these do not exist independently. They always come out of a particular worldview context and absent that worldview context cannot stand on their own. Now, they may remain standing for a time even as a house with a crumbling foundation remains standing for a time, but eventually, as the wear and tear of a new worldview continues to weaken their foundational structure, they will be phased out in favor of ideals more consistent with whatever the new worldview is.

Allow me to be even more specific. The ideals which served as the animating force behind the founding of our nation 239 years ago were born out of the Judeo-Christian worldview as Kasich rightly identifies. Absent that worldview these ideals cannot last. More to the point, the worldview comprised of equal parts secularism and postmodernism which is increasingly supplanting the Judeo-Christian worldview as the dominant one in our culture cannot sustain most if not all of these ideals.

A single example will perhaps suffice to show how troublesome this could potentially be. Consider our particular and rather ferocious commitment to religious liberty as a people. No other nation has had something come even close to this. Religious liberty the likes of which is practiced here, even if imperfectly, had never existed before we put it into place, first colonially and then federally. It existed in theory to be sure and our founders drew heavily from an invaluable body of philosophy, but no government had ever put it into practice. It was not until a government was created from the ground up resting on the foundation of the Judeo-Christian worldview that genuine religious liberty was made real. Or perhaps to put that another way: no other worldview had allowed for its creation before and no other worldview has allowed for its creation since.

The evidence of this is manifold. While the nations of Europe today may give lip service to freedom of religion most of them still have state churches which receive government financial support. To wit: if the government recognizes and financially supports one religion and not any others you can’t very well say that the others are as free to pursue their ends as the one is. Certainly no government erected on a foundation of secularism has ever achieved religious liberty. Consider the explicitly secular French Revolution. Or how about the various Marxist revolutions in the 20th century? Hinduism has never produced a nation committed to religious liberty. The recent rise of nationalist Hindu political parties in India is threatening to roll back recent religious liberty advances in “the world’s largest democracy.” Buddhism never has. Islam does not even have a category for such a thing. Postmodernism can’t handle it. New Ageism can’t take it from the realm of theory to practice. On and on we could go.

The simple truth is that no other worldview is capable of sustaining a commitment to religious liberty, not without borrowing heavily on the Judeo-Christian worldview anyway. Like it or not, while our government is officially neutral when it comes to matters of religion it does have a worldview and we should be grateful for and supportive of that.

So what’s the point here? I already made it: Kasich is on to something. As our nation’s worldview shifts away from anything recognizably Judeo-Christian many of the freedoms we have long enjoyed will no longer have the worldview foundation they need in order to be maintained. And without such a foundation they will gradually fade or at the very least transform into something entirely less desirable than their historical forebears. This is not simply a tension to be managed, but a problem to be solved. Kasich’s proposal to create a government agency to address it isn’t any good (and not terribly conservative for a Republican presidential candidate). But if we do nothing, we will eventually lose the treasure we have long since enjoyed. It may not be in our generation, but it will go.

If you enjoy things like freedom of religion — and I know the Baptist News crowd tends to be pretty high on at least that one — then my suggestion would be to get to work sharing not simply your passion for freedom, but the worldview necessary to sustain it.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • More
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Skype (Opens in new window)

OPINION: Views expressed in Baptist News Global columns and commentaries are solely those of the authors.
Tags:Religious LibertyreligionJonathan WaitsPublic PolicyReligious FreedomgovernmentAn 8-Track Church in a CD WorldJohn KasichJudeo-Christian
More by
Jonathan Waits
  • Get BNG headlines in your inbox

  • Featured

    • Two days after filing suit against SBC, ‘Pastor Johnny’ was preaching in Georgia

      News

    • How can we say thanks? Reflections on the influence of Andrae Crouch

      Opinion

    • This Women’s History Month, complementarianism is trending on TikTok

      Analysis

    • Amid rampant antisemitism, most Americans think highly of Jews 

      News


    Curated

    • Charter school movement divided over religious Oklahoma proposal

      Charter school movement divided over religious Oklahoma proposal

    • Racial Justice Leaders Are Calling For An End To Deadly Traffic Stops

      Racial Justice Leaders Are Calling For An End To Deadly Traffic Stops

    • Russian Christians Make Theological Case for Peace

      Russian Christians Make Theological Case for Peace

    • Preemptive Love Coalition to merge with Search for Common Ground

      Preemptive Love Coalition to merge with Search for Common Ground

    Read Next:

    Thirty years later, no one has reshaped the SBC more than Albert Mohler

    AnalysisMark Wingfield

    More Articles

    • All
    • News
    • Opinion
    • Curated
    • Karen Swallow Prior to leave Southeastern Seminary

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Acting chair of Northern Seminary board resigns in protest of board’s ‘official silence’ about Shiell

      NewsElizabeth Souder

    • This Women’s History Month, complementarianism is trending on TikTok

      AnalysisMallory Challis

    • Stranger in the Village: James Baldwin and inclusion

      OpinionGreg Garrett, Senior Columnist

    • Amid rampant antisemitism, most Americans think highly of Jews 

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • How can we say thanks? Reflections on the influence of Andrae Crouch

      OpinionDoug Haney

    • Two days after filing suit against SBC, ‘Pastor Johnny’ was preaching in Georgia

      NewsMaina Mwaura

    • ‘Pastor Johnny’ sues the SBC and Guidepost

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Eating disorders in religious communities: The benefits, and consequences, of assigning moral value to food

      AnalysisMallory Challis

    • UMC agency asks to monitor bishop’s case as suspicion rises

      NewsCynthia Astle

    • Polling is shifting on conservatives’ attitudes on immigration

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • The SBC: ‘They are who we thought they were’

      OpinionKris Aaron

    • Denny Burk pushes back against Rick Warren’s new understanding of women in ministry

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Blowing the whistle on wedding fouls

      OpinionBrad Bull

    • Akin apologizes for tweet about slavery but is chastised by the SBC’s far-right

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • ‘Grandmas make the best banana bread’

      OpinionJustin Cox

    • 80,000 Jews have fled Russia since Putin invaded Ukraine

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Africa’s freelance prophets are breaking free of denominations

      NewsNyasha Bhobo

    • Troubling the water, a gospel for the ‘unmet’

      OpinionBill Leonard, Senior Columnist

    • Thirty years later, no one has reshaped the SBC more than Albert Mohler

      AnalysisMark Wingfield

    • Transitions for the week of 3-17-23

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • CeCe Winans believes it

      NewsMaina Mwaura

    • BSK seeks input on youth and children’s ministries

      NewsPat Cole

    • What has happened to suspended UMC Latina bishop?

      OpinionCynthia Astle

    • Alliance of Baptists and others urge Congress to divert military funds to social services

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Karen Swallow Prior to leave Southeastern Seminary

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Acting chair of Northern Seminary board resigns in protest of board’s ‘official silence’ about Shiell

      NewsElizabeth Souder

    • Amid rampant antisemitism, most Americans think highly of Jews 

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Two days after filing suit against SBC, ‘Pastor Johnny’ was preaching in Georgia

      NewsMaina Mwaura

    • ‘Pastor Johnny’ sues the SBC and Guidepost

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • UMC agency asks to monitor bishop’s case as suspicion rises

      NewsCynthia Astle

    • Polling is shifting on conservatives’ attitudes on immigration

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Denny Burk pushes back against Rick Warren’s new understanding of women in ministry

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Akin apologizes for tweet about slavery but is chastised by the SBC’s far-right

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • 80,000 Jews have fled Russia since Putin invaded Ukraine

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Africa’s freelance prophets are breaking free of denominations

      NewsNyasha Bhobo

    • Transitions for the week of 3-17-23

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • CeCe Winans believes it

      NewsMaina Mwaura

    • BSK seeks input on youth and children’s ministries

      NewsPat Cole

    • Alliance of Baptists and others urge Congress to divert military funds to social services

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Less talked about: Clergy sexual abuse on the mission field

      NewsDegracias Kalimo

    • Stimpson pours lifetime of skill, compassion into Welcome House refugees

      NewsMarv Knox

    • Inflammatory language of Christian nationalism is a real threat, Hollman and Tyler say

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Scripture changed his mind on women in ministry, Rick Warren tells Russell Moore

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Ministry jobs and more

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • Shiell resigns as Northern Seminary president

      NewsElizabeth Souder

    • Three hate groups drove spike in antisemitism and racist propaganda last year

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Jenna Ellis, lawyer to Trump and MacArthur, censured in Colorado, admits to lying about 2020 election

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Facing financial investigation, embattled Fort Lauderdale pastor exits

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Untold numbers of churches have unclaimed funds sitting in state treasuries

      NewsElizabeth Souder

    • Stranger in the Village: James Baldwin and inclusion

      OpinionGreg Garrett, Senior Columnist

    • How can we say thanks? Reflections on the influence of Andrae Crouch

      OpinionDoug Haney

    • The SBC: ‘They are who we thought they were’

      OpinionKris Aaron

    • Blowing the whistle on wedding fouls

      OpinionBrad Bull

    • ‘Grandmas make the best banana bread’

      OpinionJustin Cox

    • Troubling the water, a gospel for the ‘unmet’

      OpinionBill Leonard, Senior Columnist

    • What has happened to suspended UMC Latina bishop?

      OpinionCynthia Astle

    • When we can’t hear our children’s cries

      OpinionSusan K. Smith

    • How I realized I had been shaped by patriarchal views of pastors

      OpinionTambi Brown Swiney

    • My home state is no longer safe for my family

      OpinionLucas Land

    • Saying the quiet part out loud

      OpinionLindsay Bergstrom

    • Tennessee representative who proposed execution by ‘hanging by a tree’ needs a history lesson

      OpinionRodney Kennedy

    • Letter to the Editor: Call out leaders’ bad behavior

      OpinionLetters to the Editor

    • Three years ago today, our world changed

      OpinionMolly Brummett Wudel

    • Sometimes it’s not a good idea to quote the Bible

      OpinionMark Wingfield

    • Shelter from the storm: The Asbury revival as Woodstock 2.0

      OpinionAlan Bean

    • Lessons from a Hindu wedding: What if the point of evangelism is friendship?

      OpinionSusan M. Shaw, Senior Columnist

    • Paved A Way: Why we need to relearn the history of infrastructure

      OpinionCollin Yarbrough

    • The one thing that unites the world’s religions

      OpinionRobert P. Sellers

    • The rest we must have

      OpinionLaura Stephens-Reed

    • Living before it’s too late

      OpinionBrett Younger

    • Better to have fasted and failed than never to have fasted at all

      OpinionJakob Topper

    • Dear church people, work toward church vitality

      OpinionMark Tidsworth

    • Bless your heart for producing professionals and satisfied saints when radical prophets are needed

      OpinionJustin Cox

    • Jesus Revolution helps us remember and calls us to hope again

      OpinionPatrick Wilson

    • Charter school movement divided over religious Oklahoma proposal

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Racial Justice Leaders Are Calling For An End To Deadly Traffic Stops

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Russian Christians Make Theological Case for Peace

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Preemptive Love Coalition to merge with Search for Common Ground

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Buddhism Went Mainstream Decades Ago. US Churches Still Aren’t Ready.

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • AR-15 lapel pins are more than political provocation — they’re symbols of the violence at the heart of white Christian nationalism

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • US tribes get bison as they seek to restore bond with animal

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Tennessee’s drag ban rehashes old culture war narratives

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • US Hispanic Protestant churches are young, growing and largely new to the country

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Pope Francis’ Decade of Division

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • For American Zionist LGBTQ group, Israel’s right-wing government has created an urgent crisis

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Bizarre Tweet About Girls’ Bathrooms Backfires On Oklahoma Education Czar

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • How A Faithful Catholic In Congress Turned Into A Heretic

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Trump vs. DeSantis: Florida pastors mull conservative issues

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Far-right Israeli minister urges loyalty as his US visit draws protests, boycotts and arrests

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • I went to CPAC to take MAGA supporters’ pulse – China and transgender people are among the top ‘demons’ they say are ruining the country

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • With Her Newsworthy ‘Firsts,’ Don’t Ignore Religion Angles In Nikki Haley Vs. Donald Trump

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Arizona Christian University sues school district for religious discrimination

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • French church abuse victims get reparations, and recognition

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Pope Francis discusses revising priestly celibacy in new interview

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Raquel Welch Found Some Personal Peace In A Church Pew

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Reform rabbis will not stop working to build the Israel of our hopes and aspirations

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Francis is the first Jesuit pope – here’s how that has shaped his 10-year papacy

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • West Virginia GOP governor signs ‘religious freedom’ bill

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Don’t sleep on Trump’s CPAC speech calling for ‘the final battle’: this was southern strategy as apocalyptic promise

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    Conversations that Matter.

    © 2023 Baptist News Global. All rights reserved.

    Want to share a story? We hope you will! Read our republishing, terms of use and privacy policies here.

    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • RSS