A Parent’s Guide to Talking with Kids About Political Engagement


Published October 19, 2024

Crossway

Wrong Approaches to Politics

We should be clear about something: as important as political engagement is, no earthly political utopia is possible. Politics on this side of heaven often amounts to mitigating the effects of sin more than it does to ensuring the perfect political community. But realistic expectations about what’s possible in a fallen age with lots of different people living in a community do not lessen the importance of being aware of what is going on in your community and fighting joyfully and doggedly for justice. Some may disagree with what we’re about to say, but we think being a faithful Christian means faithful stewardship and faithful attentiveness to where one lives and what is happening that affects the lives of everyone. You have an obligation to know what is happening in your world and your community and to work in the ways appropriate to you, to see justice and righteousness reign (Jer. 29:4–7). We do not see this as the mission of the church, but the mission of godly citizens to shape their cities, states, and nation for the good.

If you’re a Christian parent, we’re not saying that you need to be listening to talk radio, watching cable news, or doomscrolling on social media all day long for the most fevered political views that are out there, but you should not have your head buried in the sand either. There is as much caution necessary to protect yourself from being politically obsessive as there is the need to reject political apathy. Apathy and obsession are equally alike in being the wrong approach to political engagement.

Biblical Principles

Here are some basic biblical, theological, and philosophical principles related to political engagement that every Christian parent should know:

  • Christian participation in the public square requires pursuing justice, social responsibilities, and a concern for human rights.
  • Christians should be attentive to how political discussions impact public justice, the natural family, religious liberty, and public morality. The creation order categories of existence, identity, and family are three domains to be attentive to when it comes to the impact of politics on all three.
  • Politics is coordinated action for the sake of justice.
  • Elections have real-life consequences that affect society for good and for ill.
  • The best way to engage politically is by starting at the local level.
  • Christians should treat government officials with respect even if they strongly disagree with them.
  • In political debate, it is important to identify where the disagreement lies. Identifying where disagreement is really helps chart a path for mutual understanding of divergent perspectives.
  • Avoiding personal insults in political conversation is very important to maintain a spirit of civility.
  • While lamentable, polarization is inevitable as worldview differences grow more stark between competing political parties, platforms, and candidates.
  • There is no inherent virtue or vice in being in the political minority or the political majority. What matters is the moral content of what one’s politics are.
  • Romanticizing political persecution is tone-deaf and fails to account for how real-life involvement in law-making can affect politics and culture in positive ways.
  • As Carl F. H. Henry once remarked, it is the responsibility of the church to “declare the criteria by which nations will ultimately be judged, and the divine standards to which man and society must conform if civilization is to endure.”1

A Conversation Guide

Because we believe the home is central to the development of the next Christian generation, we call our sequence of conversational instruction “floors” that correspond to a home. Below you’ll see three “floors” of biblical truths and conversation starters. Instead of having strict age guidelines, we use “floors” to help guide you to determine where your child may best fit based on development, maturity, and age.

First-floor children are probably between the ages of four and eight, second-floor children are probably between the ages of eight and twelve, and third-floor children are probably between twelve and sixteen. If you think your child is ready for a more mature conversation, then move up to the next floor. If you think your child is not ready for a conversation, then move down to the floor below. The floors are not rigid and are intended to guide you in discussing the topics thoroughly as your child grows and help you to keep ahead of culture.

Remember that you want to be the first person to have the conversation with your child to be able to lay the biblical foundation. Otherwise, culture will form the foundation for you. Stay vigilant and keep ahead of culture.

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EPPC Fellow Andrew T. Walker, Ph.D., researches and writes about the intersection of Christian ethics, public theology, and the moral principles that support civil society and sound government. A sought-after speaker and cultural commentator, Dr. Walker’s academic research interests and areas of expertise include natural law, human dignity, family stability, social conservatism, and church-state studies. The author or editor of more than ten books, he is passionate about helping Christians understand the moral demands of the gospel and their contributions to human flourishing and the common good. His most recent book, out in May 2021 from Brazos Press, is titled Liberty for All: Defending Everyone’s Religious Freedom in a Secular Age.

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