Kevin Rudd – faith in politics
Jenny Stokes
Research Director, Salt Shakers.
Printed in Salt Shakers journal, April 2007.
Website:
Article posted at
The interaction between faith and politics is a matter of increasing media scrutiny. With the election of Kevin Rudd as Leader of the Opposition, we now have a situation where the federal parliamentary leaders of both major parties are professing Christians.
As we approach the next federal election, probably due in November, we must be very discerning. Not only do we have to consider whether a leader or MP is a Christian but we have to analyse their beliefs to see if they have a ‘Biblical Worldview’ and understand the policies promoted by their political parties.
Kevin Rudd began actively addressing the question of faith in the Labor Party after the last federal election. He said he was asked to chair the ALP Caucus Committee on Faith, Politics and Values because “of the emergence of Family First. We became very concerned at the last Federal election that Family First, with strong links to various evangelical and Pentecostal churches, decided to direct all of its preferences, in effect, to Liberal and National Party candidates at the last election.” 1. ABC’s Compass program reported on the establishment of this group in May 2005. 2 Even non-Christians such as Lindsay Tanner attended meetings, even though he had previously said Labor is “the party of the socially progressive secular society”. 3, 4
Mr Rudd says “God is not a wholly-owned subsidiary of any political party” and is clearly concerned that Christians may align with conservative politics rather than Labor.5 He claims the idea of discussing faith in the Labor Party is not a new initiative, saying the Labor Party, for 115 years, has been “this amalgam of Irish Catholics, of English Methodists or Christian socialists, and as well as enlightenment humanists. We’ve all come together, over the course of that 115 year history, on the common platform of social justice.” 6
He has said that he is a “Christian Socialist”. In a recent Radio National interview he said “the starting point with Christianity is a theology of social justice”. 7
We need to ask “What is ‘social justice’?”, “What is ‘Christian socialism’?” and “Who are the ‘enlightenment humanists’?” and how is all that interpreted by Kevin Rudd and by the rest of the Labor Party...
Biblical Worldview of Kevin Rudd
Kevin Rudd wrote about his Christian convictions, noting his admiration for German “pastor, theologian and peace activist” Dietrich Bonhoeffer, in a lengthy article titled Faith In Politics (5,500 words) in last October’s edition of The Monthly. 8 The Sydney Morning Herald said that, by writing the article, “Mr Rudd has in effect launched a major appeal for the Christian vote.” 9
He set out his views on faith and argued that churches and Christians should have a place in the political sphere.
We would all agree with that! However we must ask what sort of beliefs and values are being promoted. Mr Rudd goes on to say what sort of Christian influence it should be: “A Christian perspective, informed by a social gospel or Christian socialist tradition, should not be rejected contemptuously by secular politicians as if these views are an unwelcome intrusion into the political sphere (emphasis added).” 10
In the article Kevin Rudd gives five scenarios of how a politician might appeal for someone’s vote: the first was ‘Vote for me because I am a Christian’ which he says is ‘“repugnant”. The second is “Vote for me because I am a Christian and because I have a defined set of views on a narrowly defined set of questions concerning sexual morality”. The third is the first two plus “vote for me also because I chant the political mantra of “family values”.
The fourth, he says, is the first three plus the “offensive play” of attacking anyone who says Christianity has anything to say about broader political, economic and social questions”.
The fifth approach is his preferred model. He says “In the fifth approach, the Gospel is both a spiritual Gospel and a social Gospel, and if it is a social Gospel then it is in part a political Gospel, because politics is the means by which society chooses to exercise its collective power.” 11
Kevin Rudd repeatedly emphasises the social gospel, saying “I argue that a core, continuing principle shaping this engagement should be that Christianity … must always take the side of the marginalised, the vulnerable and the oppressed.” He questions the notion of “economic self-interest” and goes on to criticise market capitalism, the government’s workplace relations legislation, the Iraq war and various other Coalition positions in the second half of the article. He says “Social-democratic values are a check on rampant individualism, in part because rampant individualism, unconstrained by any responsibility for interests beyond the individual, is inherently destructive. That is why liberal capitalism, left unfettered, is capable of destroying any social institution that inhibits the maximisation of individual self-interest”. 12
Yes, rampant individualism is not a Christian characteristic, but it is at this point one needs to evaluate the meaning of “Christian socialism” because that sounds like a ‘socialist’ perspective - and it depends to what lengths you take ‘Social-democratic values’ as to what sort of society (and worldview) you end up with.
He went on to say “Apart from the great questions of wealth, poverty and social justice, a second area of long-standing contention in church-state relations has been the doctrine of the just war.” 13 Kevin makes it clear that he does not think the current war in Iraq meets the criteria for a ‘just war’ based on principles of “self-defence”.
We need to ask ourselves if ‘self-defence’ is indeed the only Biblical ‘principle’ for going to war. What about the protection of the vulnerable?
Rudd avoids discussing many of the key moral issues, noting that they are a matter of ‘individual conscience’; thus he does not address important matters such as abortion and euthanasia. 14
This would appear to say he is suggesting that there is no firm moral teaching in Scripture and that we are free to make up our own moral laws!
On issues of sexual morality he says “I see very little evidence that this pre-occupation with sexual morality is consistent with the spirit and content of the Gospels. For example, there is no evidence of Jesus of Nazareth expressly preaching against homosexuality. In contrast, there is considerable evidence of the Nazarene preaching against poverty and the indifference of the rich.” 15
This is a very shallow understanding of Christ’s many statements against sexual immorality. Most theologians would see sexual immorality as any sexual activity outside marriage including homosexuality.
Christopher Pearson summarised the tone of the article by saying “It’s of a piece with calls for social justice, which appeal only to the “social gospel” types who already vote Labor anyhow.” 16
The Political Party
Kevin Rudd is clearly utilising the discussion on faith in politics to re-align the Labor Party and tell Christians they can ‘safely’ vote for Labor because his party is genuinely concerned about ‘social justice’.
But what does the Labor Party really stand for? When Kevin Rudd announced his challenge to the Labor leadership late last year his running mate was Julia Gillard – perhaps one that was determined by internal party politics. Julia was remarkably quiet during that whirlwind challenge - in fact Paul Kelly called it a “political love-in”! 17
Whilst Kevin is a Christian, Julia is certainly ‘not religious’. She is an active member of Emily’s List which encourages the election of pro-abortion Labor women, and is from the far ‘Left’ faction of the Party. 18
The combination of Kevin Rudd with Julia Gillard means that the Labor Party is not suddenly adopting a platform totally consistent with Biblical Christianity!
Then we have to consider the beliefs of the party. Shortly after his election as Opposition leader, The Age declared “Rudd rejects socialism”. Kevin Rudd said “I am not a socialist. I have never been a socialist and I never will be a socialist.” The paper said “Kevin Rudd has decisively moved to modernise the Labor Party’s view of itself, rejecting socialism as an “arcane, 19th-century” doctrine and defining Labor’s values as equality, solidarity and sustainability.” 19
Does he alone have the power to re-define the values and beliefs of the party? What about Julia Gillard’s views? What about the ALP in general? These are questions that must be asked - and answered.
At the same time, Kevin Rudd declared in the Faith in Politics article that he is a “Christian socialist”. 20 Christian Socialism was founded by James Keir Hardie, a Scottish politician who founded the British Labour Party. 21
What are James Keir Hardie’s views? In a speech to the Melbourne Prayer Breakfast in 2003, Kevin Rudd said that Keir Hardie believed in the “Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of Men”. 22, 23
In his book From Serfdom to Socialism (1907) Hardie wrote, “This generation has grown up ignorant of the fact that socialism is as old as the human race.... When the old civilizations were putrefying, the still small voice of Jesus the Communist stole over the earth like a soft refreshing breeze carrying healing wherever it went.” 24
‘Jesus the Communist’? Is ‘Christian Socialism’ really communist?
Examining the party itself, the National Constitution of the Australian Labor Party say that “The Australian Labor Party is a democratic socialist party and has the objective of the democratic socialisation of industry, production, distribution and exchange, to the extent necessary to eliminate exploitation and other anti-social features in these fields.” 25
So Kevin Rudd saying that he or the ALP is not ‘socialist’ at all goes against the party constitution. It is not for him to say what the ALP stands for.
Kevin Rudd has been focusing on particular issues, appealing to those who oppose the war in Iraq and the workplace relations changes. In his Faith in Politics article, and more recently in the media and parliament, he has spoken about climate change, the treatment of asylum seekers and global poverty as key matters of ‘social justice’ that Christians should be concerned about and that Labor will champion in the lead-up to the election.
He followed up the first article with a second one in the November issue of The Monthly. Titled Howard’s Brutopia, he began by saying he had previously “discussed how right-wing Christian extremism has become John Howard’s religious handmaiden in his political project to reshape Australia”. The article went on to claim that there are competing forces within the “right” – “traditional conservative values” and “an unrestrained market capitalism”. 26
As one might expect from the leader of a political party, Kevin Rudd concluded that the issues are only being properly addressed by his own party.
In the last few months, the battle to claim the high ground in representing Christians has begun in earnest. We must remember that NO ‘party’ has a monopoly on Christian Values. No single political party has all the answers or is the only ‘Biblical’ party. It is imperative that we analyse all the policies and general direction of each party and its leader, as well as assessing individual candidates, as we approach the election. We need to assess all policies and parties against a total Biblical Christian worldview, not just think that because politicians claim to be ‘Christian’ their policies are Biblical.
The article and live links are posted on our website at
References:
1. Lateline, ABC, 02/10/2006 -
2. The God Factor, ABC, Compass, 8/5/2005.
3. Compass, ibid;
4. Interview: Lindsay Tanner, Sunday Ch 9, 28/11/2004,
5. Acting on Conscience Canberra Launch Speech - Kevin Rudd MP, 5/12/2006.
6, 7. Values, policy and public life, Radio National Interview, 4 November 2006
8, 10-15. Faith in Politics, by Kevin Rudd. The Monthly, Oct. 2006
9. Rudd seeks church role in politics, SMH, 2/10/2006.
16. Christopher Pearson: Play for God and country, The Aust. 7/10/2006.
17. A market for ideas, Paul Kelly, The Australian, 16/12/2006.
18. Wikipedia – Julia Gillard,
19. Rudd rejects socialism, The Age, 14/12/2006,
20. Faith in Politics, op cit
21. James Keir Hardie, Wikipedia -
22. Kevin Rudd talks about his faith, The Melbourne Anglican, Nov 2003.
23. See the article “Inter-faith BOMFOG” by Murray Adamthwaite in our April 2003 journal.
24. Quoted in “Socialists”,
25. National Constitution of the ALP,
26. Howard’s Brutopia: What the prime minister doesn’t want to talk about, Kevin Rudd, The Monthly, November 2006.