What We Mean By “Common Good”

When the Hebrew Scriptures say to treat the alien and refugee as you would want to be treated, because God desires compassion for the widow, the orphan, the poor, and the vulnerable, they call people to seek the common good.

When Jesus says to love your neighbor as yourself, and when Paul says not to seek your own interests only but also the interests of others, and when John and James say that no one can say they love God or have faith in God if they fail to demonstrate love for their neighbor, they call people to seek the common good.

When the Quran says that no one is a believer until they desire for their brother or sister what they desire for themselves, and teaches that God made us different so that we would seek to understand and know one another, the Quran calls humanity to seek the common good.

When great leaders of Sikhism say to value others as you value yourself, and to avoid creating enmity with anyone because God is within everyone, when Taoists say to regard your neighbor’s gain or loss as your own, when Buddhists and Hindus say do not hurt others in ways you would find hurtful, and when secular humanists advocate the principle of reciprocity, they call humanity to seek the common good.

This means that good-hearted Christians, Jews, Muslims, and people of all traditions cannot simply vote for what is best for themselves as individuals or even what is best for their religion, party, race, or nation alone, but must be concerned for the common good. Or to put it differently, selfish people of every religion and tradition vote for self-interest or partisan interest alone, but good people of every religion vote for the common good.

Doug Pagitt is the Executive Director and one of the founders of Vote Common Good. Doug is an author, pastor, social activist and Executive Director of Vote Common Good. A leading voice for progressive Christianity, Doug makes frequent national media and speaking appearances. His new book, Outdoing Jesus, is available now. You can learn more at DougPagitt.com.

Vote Common Good is inspiring, energizing, and mobilizing people of faith to make the common good their voting criteria. And, we train and support candidates to connect with Evangelical and Catholic voters.

What We Are Doing

Many Evangelical and Catholic voters have been taught that to be faithful, they must vote for Republican candidates regardless of the candidate’s character or policy positions.

In recent years a significant percentage of these voters have watched the Republican party disregard a commitment to the common good as they support political and social movements rooted in white-nationalism, a misguided approach to “America First,” and practices of division.

This was highlighted by the treacherous insurrection and attack on Congress on January 6, 2021, and the continued spreading of the “big lie” about the 2020 Presidential election outcome.

Many Evangelical and Catholic voters are experiencing a reckoning of their faith and feel called to oppose policies and approaches of division, racism, selfishness, cruelty, and exclusion.

For many of these voters, their primary commitment is not to switch parties; it is to be faithful to their beliefs and convictions and make the common good their voting criteria.