For most of 2024, voters braced themselves for an election between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump. So when President Biden dropped out of the race on July 21 and soon after endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to take his place—a call that was made official in early August at the Democratic National Convention—voters pivoted to weigh the possibility of a Harris presidency.
As Harris’ platform and priorities have been revealed over the past months, young Catholic voters have considered Harris’s stances on hot-button issues, such as immigration, reproduction rights, international affairs, and more. While some young Catholics disagree with some of Harris’s policies, many value her approach and find her candidacy a relief, especially in lieu of Biden and in opposition to former President Trump.
Despite regular references to the concept of a uniform “Catholic Vote,” a Pew Research Center study released earlier this year reported that Catholic voters range across party lines. Furthermore, according to the findings of a new EWTN News/RealClear Opinion Research survey, Harris leads among Catholic voters over Trump in every age group, with her biggest lead among Millennials.
Many Gen Z and Millennial voters tend to reject the idea of “single issue voting,” particularly in regards to what it means to be pro-life. Gen Z and Millennial sources adamantly asserted that a pro-life vote needs to expand beyond abortion to include consideration of other marginalized and vulnerable groups and concerns, such as immigration, policies on war, LGBTQ+ rights, access to health care, and care for the poor and elderly.
Some Catholic voters see abortion as the most important issue, and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops declared it the “preeminent priority.” Furthermore, in reference to abortion, President Trump has referred to himself as “the most pro-life president ever.” Still, some young Catholics are skeptical of his devotion to the “pro-life” ethic or even “anti-abortion” policy intentions. In addition, Trump’s repeated derision of marginalized groups like immigrants, racial minorities, and women evinces an overall posture that, in fact, strikes many as against life, as opposed to the inverted Christian value system of “last shall be first” and preferential option for the poor.
Gen Z cradle Catholic Katie Andrews, 25, is looking for a candidate with a “more consistent life ethic” versus simply being “anti-abortion” or “pro-birth.” In her view, Harris more integrally represents such an ethic. Andrews, who recently gave birth to a baby girl, explains that policies that are important to her are “anything that supports the dignity of a person and promotes the ability for people to have a good, stable family life: things like a higher minimum wage, and subsidized child care. . .anything that supports the person and the family unit. I would say those are things that people don’t necessarily realize that the church values. But the church does value that.”
For Katy Morlas-Shannon, a historian and 10th-generation Louisiana native, Harris’s choice of Minnesota governor Tim Walz as a running mate further solidified her faith that a Harris presidency would “more closely align with the teachings of Jesus.”
“Jesus healed the sick, befriended the marginalized, spoke out against oppression, and fed the hungry,” Morlas-Shannon says. Catholics, she says, are called to follow Jesus, and this means “affordable health care available to all, assistance to those who do not have enough resources to feed their families, advocating for a living wage, and actively opposing racism, misogyny, anti-Semitism, and hatred toward the LGBTQ+ community.”
Morlas-Shannon is adamant that Catholics cannot be “one issue voters,” a trend she sees among many of her Catholic peers. “I think there are many ways to be pro-life, and you can’t just look at just one aspect of what it means to be pro-life,” Morlas-Shannon says. “You have to look at many (pro-life) issues involving environmental justice and social economic issues, as well as helping people who are in poverty and supporting families. I think that Kamala Harris’s platform embodies that.”
For Greg Krajewski, a Catholic filmmaker based in Chicago, Trump’s tendency to exaggeration, mistruths, and negativity are counter to Catholic belief. “I don’t think he has the best intentions for the country; he seems to be very self-serving, and I don’t think that is a very healthy thing to have in a leader,” Krajewski says.
Krajewski, 35, says that while he doesn’t agree with all of Harris’s policies, he appreciates the “sense of joy and energy” Harris conveys. He references Pope Francis’s call to take the voices from the periphery and bring them to the center. Harris, he says, right now at least, is doing that “in a really tangible way, which I don’t see (from Trump).” As a Catholic, Krajewski adds, he wants to be able to trust the person in charge that they are “looking out for their neighbor.”
One appealing thing about Harris, for Krajewski, is that she offers a different perspective. If elected, she’d not only be the first female president and the second black president; she also brings a unique perspective as the daughter of working-class immigrants and has a diverse interfaith background that includes Hinduism, Christianity, and Judaism through her marriage to Doug Emhoff.
Filipino American Peter Joseph Arienza, 30, from Texas, disagrees. In his view, Harris has had more than enough time to prove herself politically but has fallen flat. While watching the presidential debate between Trump and Harris on September 10, Arienza found himself frustrated with Harris’s performance.
“She delivers in a very even tone, but the majority of her (current) stances have been switched and split from her previous stances,” Arienza explains. “As she was trying to point out the weaknesses of Donald Trump, it’s as though she was taking facts—things that we have seen from Joe Biden (such as) his weakness, his inability to be strong with foreign policies—and instead, almost like a mad lib she just put Donald Trump’s name in front of that.”
In Arienza’s opinion, Harris has failed to provide a real plan and instead relies on rhetoric that is often “extreme.” He says, “We’ve had three and a half years of her, and people know her record and her extremism as the attorney general in California.” Arienza adds that while he wishes there were viable alternative candidates to Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, voters have to choose between these options. For him, this choice begins with looking at the “facts.”
“We are talking about the prosperity of our country,” Arienza adds. He believes we should look at which policies are more beneficial to the prosperity of the United States. “Political leaders are not spiritual leaders; they’re not, at least in the United States, so there has to be a detachment from that idea,” says Arienza. “The president of the United States is meant to protect the Constitution, along with the Bill of Rights.”
Max Kuzma, 33, is a transgender Catholic writer who lives on a farm in Ohio. Kuzma points to the political shift some younger Catholics have experienced. Having grown up with the internet, Millennials and Gen Zers have had access to and connections to various perspectives and experiences in a way that past generations haven’t.
Kuzma believes that this evolving worldview has arisen from and further prompted deeper empathy among young Catholics. He is encouraged that Harris seems responsive to young people’s concerns, even when she conveys her interest through “silly” gestures, such as engaging in meme culture and jokes. Kuzma also expressed optimism with regard to Harris’s character, indicating that she has represented herself as someone who is willing to adapt and grow in areas where she might lack.
Kuzma is frustrated by the “myopic” way Catholic voters have narrowed in on abortion, seemingly ignoring other aspects of human dignity. “Diversity is better for us, and thinking in that way of, ‘it’s only black and white,’ or ‘it is one issue,’ that is a mistake,” Kuzma says. “Being able to broaden the way you look at something and see things in a more complex way is better.”
Nate Tinner-Williams, cofounder and editor of the Black Catholic Messenger, says that having another Black presidential candidate is historic but complicated. Tinner-Williams wouldn’t call Harris “a champion” of all those values, he says. He references her “spotty track record,” particularly regarding her stance on incarceration and response to crime during her time as attorney general of California. However, he also thinks that this is often misinterpreted and “weaponized” against her.
“The most important quality for me (in a candidate) is a deep concern for the poor and marginalized,” Tinner-Williams explains. “I think policies concerning social services are paramount, and that spans from welfare all the way to how to treat incarcerated people and things like the death penalty as well; all of those things are essential to me.” While he acknowledges that she is often portrayed inaccurately, he also thinks she has room to improve on many social issues, “including on how we treat marginalized people and people from marginalized communities.”
Tinner-Williams, who converted to Catholicism as an adult, says that being Catholic has inspired him to want to be a more active voter. He believes that voting comes down to individual conscience. “For me, there is not one pre-eminent issue—there are several, and you have to look at the candidate as a whole.”
Regardless of which candidate voters cast their vote for this November, Morlas-Shannon said that Catholics need to speak out and engage. “There is something to be said about more Catholics speaking out and having more in-depth and nuanced conversations about these issues. . .rather than just an immediate knee-jerk response,” Morlas-Shannon says.
Image: WIkimedia Commons/The White House, Kamala Harris meets with victims of Hurricane Helene
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