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Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life

September 11, 2024

Faith and the Faithful and the 2024 Presidential Election

Political Realities and Catholic Social Teaching

This pre-election Public Dialogue explored the political and religious dynamics of this tumultuous U.S. presidential election year after the attempted assassination of former president and current candidate Donald Trump, the withdrawal of President Joe Biden, the nomination of Vice President Kamala Harris, and the selection of J.D. Vance and Tim Walz as vice-presidential nominees.

In this unprecedented context, our democratic institutions are being tested. As we approach this election and look to the future, Pope Francis’ warnings about the global “retreat from democracy” remind us that the goal of politics is “listening and serving people” and that “democracy always requires the transition from partisanship to participation, from ‘cheering’ to dialogue.”

Reflecting the latest political analysis through the lens of Catholic social teaching, this dialogue explored these and other questions: 

  • What is going on, and what should we look for in the final six weeks of the campaign?
  • How will faith and the faithful shape the campaigns and voters’ decisions in this election?  
  • How will these choices affect our democracy and our future as a nation? 
  • How do polarization, isolation, and lack of solidarity threaten our democratic norms and institutions? What can be done to strengthen them?
  • How can Catholic principles of respect for human life and dignity, solidarity and subsidiarity, a priority for the poor, and care for creation be reflected in the discernment and choices of believers?

Kim Daniels, director of the Initiative and member of the Vatican Dicastery for Communication, moderated the dialogue.

Resources

This Public Dialogue was part of the Initiative’s Faith and the Faithful series and was co-sponsored by the Institute of Politics and Public Service at Georgetown University.

Participants

Sohrab Ahmari

Sohrab Ahmari

Sohrab Ahmari is a founder and editor of Compact magazine and writes the “American Affairs” column for The New Statesman. His books include Tyranny, Inc.: How Private Power Crushed American Liberty — and What To Do About It (2023) and The Unbroken Thread: Discovering the Wisdom of Tradition in an Age of Chaos (2021).

E.J. Dionne

E.J. Dionne

E.J. Dionne is a professor at Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy, a columnist at the Washington Post, and a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution.

Nichole Flores

Nichole Flores

Nichole Flores is an associate professor of religious studies at the University of Virginia. Her work focuses on the relationship between Catholicism and democracy, emphasizing Latiné theology, ethics, and politics. She is the author of The Aesthetics of Solidarity: Our Lady of Guadalupe and American Democracy (2021).

Kristen Soltis Anderson

Kristen Soltis Anderson

Kristen Soltis Anderson is a pollster, commentator at CNN and the New York Times, and founding partner of Echelon Insights, an opinion research and analytics firm. She was a fellow with Georgetown University's Institute of Politics and Public Service in spring 2022 and is the author of The Selfie Vote: Where Millennials Are Leading America (And How Republicans Can Keep Up) (2015).

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