Tim Richards
The Denison Forum has grown rapidly since its launch in 2009. On average, 2 million of its emails are opened each month, and 90,000 podcasts are downloaded. For more than a decade, I have appreciated how they help Christians think critically about what is happening in today’s culture without demonizing those who have different viewpoints.
An example of Denison’s consistent fairness was published more than 10 years ago regarding a Washington Post article with this headline: “Conservative states are more likely to search for sex and porn online.”
In the Washington Post article, Cara MacInnis and Gordon Hodson, researchers at Brock University in Ontario, claimed people living in religious, politically conservative states were more prone to look at sexual content online than their liberal, less religious counterparts. The researchers identified states that were more religious and politically conservative. Then, using Google Trends, they pinpointed the states with the most internet searches for “sex” and “porn.” They reported that more sexual searches were being done in conservative states.
A closer look at their findings, however, suggested the research was not neutral. Denison pointed out that of the 15 states MacInnis and Hodson identified as significantly above the national average number of sexual searches, only five had voted conservative. He also observed that 13 of the 15 states with the highest number of internet searches for sexual terms were states with the largest populations.
Another example was Denison’s response to a study reported in The Chronicle of Philanthropy, which suggested that 17 of the most generous states voted for Republican candidates, and 15 of the 17 least generous states voted Democratic.
Denison asked, “Am I trying to say that Democrats are less charitable than Republicans, or that religious people are more caring than those who are not religious? Not at all. Rather, I’m suggesting that demographic surveys can be interpreted to reinforce the biases of those who interpret them.”
These two studies demonstrate how our personal biases can lead us to misjudge others. This is not a new challenge. In Jesus’ day, most Jews hated those who collected taxes for their Roman oppressors and viewed them as traitors. The Pharisees eagerly wrote off anyone who did not practice the Jewish law the way they did. In contrast, Jesus said, “I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.” (Luke 5:32, NIV)
May we be more like Jesus, eager to see the value of those with whom we disagree, to demonstrate compassion for those who sin and passionately care for those others have written off. Let us show mercy to the fallen and demonstrate God’s grace to everyone who needs to know God loves them, whether they think the same way we do.
