There is a growing effort by political forces on the Left to convince Christians that socialism and its “father” Marxism are closely aligned with the teachings of Jesus. Nothing could be further from the truth. Nonetheless, this lie is gaining adherents. Christians must be discerning to avoid being deceived.
Socialism is thought of as purely an economic system that redistributes wealth. Its followers claim that socialism helps the poor, promotes equity and fairness, and is built on compassion and empathy. Polling shows increasing numbers of young Americans are embracing socialism. This was evident in this year’s election of Zohran Mamdani as mayor of New York City in which 82% of women and 65% of men between 18 and 29 voted for the openly socialist candidate. Many American youths do not know the history of failed socialist governments.
Socialism’s platform today is much bigger than economics. For example, socialist parties and left-wing parties across Western Europe and here in the US are radically pro-abortion. The Democrat Party in the United States is the home of most socialists and is totally devoted to abortion on demand for any reason. There was once a pro-life “caucus” among Democrats in Congress. Unfortunately, there are no elected Democrat members of Congress or the Senate who call themselves pro-life today.
This pro-abortion stance is a complete rejection of scriptural teaching on the sanctity of life. Every child in the womb is created in “the image of God.” They should be welcomed into the world.
Socialist movements here and across Western Europe are also fully committed to LGBTQ ideology. Socialist Democrats promote that ideology in schools. The teacher unions here in the United States are controlled by far-left ideologues who demand children be taught the homosexual agenda at the earliest grades.
In any community where leftists and socialists take control of a school board, they relegate the parents to the sidelines. Socialists and Marxists believe the state should have the authority over children, not parents.
Socialism always translates into a bigger government that attempts to regulate every aspect of our lives. Big government sees the family as an impediment to its power. In 2022, parents stood up in school districts across the country protesting radical theories being pushed on their children. The Biden Administration promptly used intimidation, labeling dissenting parents as potential domestic terrorists. An FBI hotline was set up to report such parents.
Christianity teaches that we as parents have the right and responsibility to raise our children. We are called to protect our children from evil.
Religious liberty also suffers under socialist and left-wing governments. In socialist Europe, religious liberty is under constant attack. People have been arrested for praying audibly and even silently, “in their minds,” outside of abortion clinics.
Religious liberty in the United States has been under attack since the mid-1960s, when school prayer and Bible reading were ruled unconstitutional. The more left-wing/socialist a state or city is, the more likely the “free exercise of religion,” guaranteed in the First Amendment of our Constitution, is attacked. The tide here has hopefully turned, with President Trump having appointed three Supreme Court justices in his first term, providing a solid five or six vote majority to protect it. They have already overturned Roe v. Wade.
Of course, Marxist regimes, which are characterized by “socialism on steroids,” are even worse. Communist China is officially atheist. Christians have been ordered to remove images of Christ from their churches and replace them with images of President Xi. A major new wave of persecution has been unleashed by the Chinese communists in recent months.
All of this—pro-abortion, pro-homosexual ideology, hostility to parental rights, attacks on religious liberty—should be enough to understand that socialism is not in any way consistent with what God has revealed in His Word. No Christian can ignore these facts in deciding who they can vote for.
But let’s go back to the socialist economic program. Is it Christ-like or consistent with biblical teachings? After all, Christ cared about those in need.
Nowhere in the Gospels does Christ advocate for big government to take money and assets from one group of people and give it to another group. One of the Ten Commandments says, “You shall not steal.” All of Christ’s teachings on helping the poor and downtrodden are directed at Christians and the Church. He calls on His people to be kind and help the needy.
Socialist and left-wing candidates like Mamdani rely heavily on promises of “free” things and benefits to “buy” voters. But there is no such thing as free. Somebody has to pay for everything.
In addition, the evidence is overwhelming that many well-meaning welfare programs have not helped the poor but instead have created dependency on government handouts that undermine the chance of escaping poverty.
Jesus is praised with many names in the Bible. He is the perfect Lamb of God, Immanuel, the Word, King of Kings, Alpha and Omega, and the Way, the Truth, and the Life. It is heresy to suggest He is a socialist, a precursor of Marx, or a supporter of big government. All Christians should reject the socialist/left-wing agenda.
