Rocking the Vote

One of the biggest surprises of this election year for me has been the way that young people have turned out in droves to vote and get involved in the presidential campaigns. According to exit polls from the primary elections, voters aged 18-29 increased their turnout more than any other age group. Many analysts predict that young voters' participation in this fall's election will far surpass the increases set in 2004 and 2006.

Judging from what I hear from young adults and read in the news, it is Barack Obama's campaign that has particularly tapped into the young vote and motivated many young adults to political activism this year. But I also read an interesting commentary the other day noting that if one were to remove Obama's influence from the equation, young adults' use of the Internet would still play a significant role in their increased involvement in the political arena.

Facebook provides a perfect example. Politically-minded groups abound, from "1 million strong against Hillary" to "I endorse Barack Obama, and I'm telling my friends!" Young adults "friend" the politicians they support or proudly declare their party affiliation on their profile.  There are even religiously affiliated Facebook groups: "Catholics for McCain;" "Jews for Obama." 

Social networking sites provide a place for young adults to rally together (albeit virtually) with others who share their views or to argue with friends who disagree. As young adults' reading of newspapers continues to dwindle, the Internet has surged ahead as a source of information and forum for debate.

My concern is this: how are churches engaging young adults in questions of faith and politics? Many Christians struggle with how to vote from a standpoint of faith, but where do they get the information to make their choices? Our faith does call us to be involved in politics; in Catholic social teaching, popes and bishops have spoken out clearly about the need to work for justice through political systems. But churches need to help people understand how to form their consciences in faith in order to make sound political decisions. Churches certainly cannot support particular candidates or political parties, but neither can they sit back and let a new generation be formed by the kind of slanted information that seems to breed on the Internet.

So how can we reach out to young adults - on the Internet, where they are gathering and discussing and learning - and invite them to consider how their political involvement can be an expression of their faith?