Divine Election: A Christian Guide to Irish Politics
Welcome to Divine Election, a podcast from the Jesuit Centre for Faith and Justice, exploring what it might mean to approach elections from a Christian perspective. I am Cherise McClean. I direct Communications for the Jesuit Centre for Faith and Justice. And as the Republic of Ireland goes to the polls in a General Election on November 29, we thought it was a good time to think theologically about the opportunities and obligations that fall to us as Christians in a democracy. While these issues are especially timely for Irish people, we hope that this series will be of general interest even after the election is completed and a new government is formed and that while it has Ireland as its context, it will be relevant for Christians anywhere.
Over the course of the series we pair big theological ideas with questions of applied public policy. We speak to experts in their fields to inform our reflection on a Christian approach to political life. And we argue that regardless of your particular political persuasion, there are common - and exciting! - commitments that Christians across the spectrum share around what it means to seek the common good. The Christian faith is about love and justice is what love looks like in public. So join us as we invite you to think deeper about these issues
Divine Election: A Christian Guide to Irish Politics
Richard Carson - Place | Diving Election: A Christian Guide to Irish Politics
Welcome to Divine election this episode, we encourage you to think about place. Even a brief familiarity with the Bible reveals how important place is to the whole story Christians find themselves within. Loving your neighbour involves loving your neighbourhood! Our guest, Richard Carson, helps introduce the implications of this idea and can testify in his own life to how thinking about this has made a difference in his faith.
One of the core pillars of Catholic Social Teaching - the rich theological tradition that guides how Catholics think about political issues - is subsidiarity. This is a complex word for a simple idea - that decisions should be made at the lowest possible level. Many of our most relevant political issues are fundamentally local in nature - questions about where we put schools and what kind of medical infrastructure should be built, do we offer kids a way to cycle to school, and whether the library is open on Saturdays. The tendency is always to centralise every decision in the national government, but Catholic Social Teaching instead suggests that you should push decision-making down as far as possible to regions, counties, and towns and ultimately leave some things for family units to decide for themselves. This idea rests on a love of place, a commitment to the location where God has placed you. It is a big idea, with direct implications for how we think about politics.
But instead of having me ramble about it, let's hear from Richard, who is interviewed here by Kevin Hargaden, the Director and Social Theologian of JCFJ.
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