At their cores, capitalism and Christianity are two diametrically opposed ideals that contradict one another. Capitalism promotes the advancement of one's financial self-interest by any means possible, whereas Christianity is community-serving, placing one's self-interest on the back burner for the betterment of society. Yet both have been central to the foundation of American culture, a clear juxtaposition that spawned a new form of Christianity that, for lack of a better word, is hypocritical. It has created the contradictory Christian, who is more interested in the virtual signaling of the religion than actually living a life that is preached in the bible.

It's how a large swath of the country can be anti-abortion, yet are also vehemently against the idea of free school lunch & day care once those children are born. Would it not make sense for the party that insists all children deserve a chance at life to also then take steps to ensure those kids are well-fed and cared for? As if there were a world where Jesus Christ of the bible would stand against feeding all children.

It's how they can speak glowingly of Jesus Christ and his story as an immigrant, yet engage in violent anti-immigration rhetoric that demonizes refugees and other groups that seek a better life in the United States.

It's how they can litter their social media platforms with bible verses about loving all, yet vote against social-welfare programs that make life easier for the poor.

This is not a new phenomenon either; the bastardization of Christianity by capitalism is as American as Apple Pie, baseball, and hot dogs. It has existed since the foundation of the country. Look no further than slavery, which was mostly about race, but also the capitalistic urge to exploit free labor to maximize individual wealth. Well, we know that the overwhelming majority of slave owners at the time also identified as Christian.

Frederick Douglass, a black-American leader of the abolitionist movement, wrote about this very point in 1845, two decades before the Civil War. "Between the Christianity of this land, and the Christianity of Christ, I recognize the widest possible difference–so wide, that to receive the one as good, pure, and holy, is of necessity to reject the other as bad, corrupt, and wicked. To be the friend of one is of necessity to be the enemy of the other. I love the pure, peaceable, and impartial Christianity of Christ: I therefore hate the corrupt, slaveholding, women-whipping, cradle-plundering, partial and hypocritical Christianity of this land. Indeed, I can see no reason, but the most deceitful one, for calling the religion of this land Christianity."

The contradiction Douglas lamented in the 1800s has lasted the test of time, taking on one form after another. The early 19th century saw several American Presidents violently exterminate and relocate millions of Native Americans, hiding their capitalistic desires under the guise of 'Manifest Destiny,' the idea that God wanted the country to expand westward by all means possible. In the years after the Civil War, the Jim Crow laws that dehumanized black Americans and restricted access to wealth were largely based in the same South that was overwhelmingly the most religious region of the country. It is how we landed where we are now, where a Republican party that worships and promotes individual wealth accumulation also claims to be the party of the Christian man.

In truth, neither political party can claim to be fully in line with the Bible and Christian beliefs as preached. But on closer examination, one could argue that the modern Democratic Party is far more aligned with Christian values than the Republican Party. 

The push for free school lunch, fair taxation for the wealthy, Medicare for all, and social programs for the poor are all from the far left. All the ideals that Jesus Christ preached through his teaching.

In understanding the push for free school lunch, look no further than James 2:14-16, which states:

"What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and filled," without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?"

Concerning fair taxation and the importance of social programs, look to Psalm 82:3-4:

"Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked."

The modern Republican party will stand against every one of those yet claim to be the party of the Christian because of a few token stances. Religion is not the problem here; the bible itself warned against the dangers of the capitalistic love for money operating side by side with Christian values. 

As Matthew 6:24 states, "No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money."

It just all reeks of the hypocrisy that has turned many away from modern religion as the percentage of American Christians continues to plummet to decade lows. The truth is, capitalism and Christianity will remain intertwined as they have always been in American life, but maybe it is time we reconsider how we draw the political lines for the foreseeable future. Because, as things stand, the Democratic party, not the Republican, may be the party for the Christian man.