“Democrats in America today are twice as likely as Americans in the Great Depression era to favor imposing heavy taxes on the rich as a means of redistributing wealth, according to data published today by the Gallup poll.”
These are the first words in Terence P. Jeffrey’s article on cbsnews.com about a poll of 1,077 adults conducted April 7-11, 2011. The wording of this question and the responses are shown in the image at right.
So What?
Most New Testament scholars agree that Jesus talked about money more than anything else apart from the reign (kingdom) of God. Terms like economic justice and God’s preferential option for the poor are in common usage in some Christian traditions, but unheard of in others. In this era of such strong party disagreement on the topic of government facilitated wealth redistribution (favored by 28% of Republicans and 71% of Democrats), it is important to evaluate more than just one’s party preference.
- How would you answer the poll question? Does your answer match with the dominant response given by those sharing your party affiliation? your income level?
- Would your congregation be likely to endorse the premise of government facilitated wealth redistribution? What about your denomination? Why or why not?
- How significant of a role does your faith play in your response to this question? Are your views on the topic informed more by your understanding of American government and capitalism or more by Jesus’ teaching?