Should pastors let people know their political position?

I asked two questions on Twitter, the first was about whether pastors/elders should declare their political allegiance in terms of party.

The second question was related but slightly different. It asked whether or not pastors/elders should express their political views. 

In both cases, the majority of those responding indicated that they thought that pastors should not be sharing their political position.  I tend to lean towards that position but I recognise that different pastors and elders will take different views on this.  So, this isn’t about a hard and fast rule but rather about thinking through carefully about what is wisest in your context.

It’s also worth observing that we are not talking about preaching a party political position from the pulpit.  Nor are we denying that there are applications of God’s Word that will be deeply political.  It is impossible for example for me to try and talk about what God would say about racism including antisemitism, or the asylum crisis without to some extent being what people would consider political. Furthermore, I don’t think that the issue is that congregations will be influenced by how their pastors vote. People are more than capable of making up their own minds.

Generally speaking, those pastors who I’ve heard argue in favour of talking publicly about their politics tend to share the political outlook of the communities where they are based and I think that’s the challenge,  You see, it is one thing to let people in the wider world know that you vote a particular way.  It is perhaps helpful for American Evangelicals to know that some pastors aren’t Republican just as it’s helpful for British ones to know you can be a Christian and centre-right/conservative.

However, in many contexts, political identity is tribal. It’s how families and entire communities have not only voted but identified for generations.  Now, perhaps that very identity needs to be challenged as part of discipleship because if it has become that important and that divisive then it seems to me that it has become idolatry.

So, what is the best way to challenge that?  The problem is that if I let people know that I support the same party as them, then that may entrench positions.  I may hold out the hypothetical possibility of a different political position but all the indications are that I’ve not been able to make the move myself.

On the other hand, if it turns out that I support another party or another political position, then I may well have shut the door to both pastoral and evangelistic opportunities because many people may not be able to see past that. Remember how in the Brexit aftermath, sons and daughters were refusing to even talk to their parents because of how they had voted.

So, whilst I recognise individual freedom of conscience on this, personally I think there is wisdom in holding your counsel in this area for the benefit of the Gospel.