Whether we choose a movie nightover a new pair of boots for our kid, giving to our church over a new magazinesubscription, or taxing food over tobacco, those actions reflect our personalvalues. We use our values in evaluating the decisions we make. Decisions that we make when wevote, and that legislators make on our behalf in adopting policies, all occurwithin some sort of values frameworks, whether we identify them as such ornot. If we claim that we do not consider our values when we make apersonal budget or form an opinion on taxes we are not being intellectuallyhonest with ourselves.
For those of us who considerourselves religious, our values system is informed by the values of ourfaith. Choosing to prioritize education over military spending is a valuesbased decision, a moral decision. While religious voters' motivations may be different from those ofnon-religious voters, the act of making decisions within a values system isnot. All decisions are made inside some values framework. People andgovernments who set our priorities make implicit judgments about what theybelieve has a greater value.
This is not to say that governmentshould adopt a specific policy because of scripture or the teaching of aparticular religious tradition. When I explore my faith in the publicdiscussion it is in order to convey how the value is arrived at. Among peopleof my faith group, the scripture offers an important base to beconsidered. Yet even among people offaith, the way our tradition informs our values differs greatly.
The value, however it is derived,has a place in the broader public debate. Voters who explicitly state thattheir values are informed by their faith are working well within the acceptableprocess for making a decision within a values framework just like every othercitizen. After all, in a truly pluralistic society, how can it be lessvalid to name one's values because they are based on the teachings of Jesusthan on those of Nietzsche or Adams? Or is the debate any less if I bringforward my values to be tested because they come from my faith?
When we call for a moral budget weare calling for a budget that reflects the values of a common good as weunderstand them, for many of us, informed by our faith. Let those values be testedin the context of democracy, and let none of us fear to state our values in thedebate
