5 Things Christians Should Know about the Faith of Elizabeth Warren

5 Things Christians Should Know about the Faith of Elizabeth Warren

Editor's Note: This article is part of a series leading up to the 2020 presidential election highlighting the professed faith of several of the primary candidates, including Donald TrumpJoe Biden, Elizabeth WarrenBernie Sanders and Pete Buttigieg. Christian Headlines offers these faith summaries as a way of informing voters about the religious beliefs of the candidates.

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.) announced her presidential candidacy in February 2019, having built a reputation as one of President Trump’s top critics. She won election to the U.S. Senate in 2012 after teaching law at several schools, including Harvard University.

Warren also has been outspoken about her religion. 

Here are five things Christians should know about the faith of Elizabeth Warren:

Photo courtesy: Getty Images/Scott Olson/Staff

1. She Formerly Taught Sunday School

1. She Formerly Taught Sunday School

Warren, during a 2019 CNN Town Hall, told of how he formerly taught fifth-graders at her Methodist church in Oklahoma.

“All I can say is, nobody got hurt,” she joked. “It was a low bar for being a fifth grade Sunday school teacher at our church. And I raised my children in the Methodist church.”

Photo courtesy: Getty Images/David Becker/Stringer

2. She Says Matthew 25 Influenced Her

2. She Says Matthew 25 Influenced Her

Warren, during the CNN Town Hall, mentioned the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats in Matthew 25 as a passage that impacted her personal and public life.

“This is the one where the shepherd is dividing the world into the sheep and the goats,” she said. “And as we all know, sheep are going to heaven, goats, they're not. And the sheep ask him, ‘Why us? Why us, Lord? Why did you pick us? We look like those – like those guys.’ And the shepherd, the Lord, answers back by saying, ‘I was hungry, and you gave me food. I was thirsty, and you gave me water. I was in prison, and you visited me, naked and ye clothed me. Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of these, the least of thy brethren, you have done it unto me.’

“And what I hear in that is two things that guide me every day. The first is … there is value in every single human being – every single human being. And the second is that we are called to action.”

Photo courtesy: Getty Images/Sarah Rice/Stringer

3. She Disregards Religious Conservatives Opposed to Gay Marriage

3. She Disregards Religious Conservatives Opposed to Gay Marriage

Warren, at a Human Rights Campaign forum, was asked, “Let's say you're on the campaign trail and a supporter approaches you and says, ‘Senator, I'm old-fashioned, and my faith teaches me that marriage is between one man and one woman.’ What is your response?” 

“Well,” Warren responded. “I'm going to assume it's a guy who said that, and I'm going to say, ‘Then just marry one woman. I'm cool with that.’”

She then added, “Assuming you can find one.” 

The answer drew applause and laughter from the pro-gay marriage audience.

Photo courtesy: Getty Images/Sarah Rice/Stringer

4. She Says Her Faith ‘Animates’ Everything She Does

4. She Says Her Faith ‘Animates’ Everything She Does

Warren discussed her faith at the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition's annual convention in Chicago in June. Asked by reporters afterward why she spoke about faith, she said, “My faith animates all that I do.” 

“I could not come to the house of God without speaking about my faith because my faith animates all that I do,” she said. “I truly do believe in the worth of every single human being.”

The latter argument has drawn pushback from pro-lifers, who note she favors abortion rights, wants to codify Roe v. Wade into law and supports taxpayer funding of abortion. During a June debate, when asked if she favored any restrictions on abortion, Warren didn’t name one. 

“I would make certain that every woman has access to the full range of reproductive health care services – and that includes birth control. It includes abortion. It includes everything for a woman,” she said, according to Fox News

Photo courtesy: Getty Images/Sean Rayford/Stringer

5. She Believes God Is in Everyone

5. She Believes God Is in Everyone

Warren, referencing Jesus’ words in the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats in Matthew 25, said this summer, “There is God in every one of us. Not God just in those who look like the Lord, [but] God in every one of us. There is God in the children, there is God in the hungry, there is God in those who are in prison.” She also has called it “the divine” in every single person. 

“As I traveled this country and I hear from the American people they share their struggles, they share their fears, they share their concerns but the people know what is right and they are ready to act,” she said, according to CNN. “They know that they have been called for such a time as this. And they are willing to step up, I am here today to say that none of us is alone in this fight. When I am president, we will answer this call together.”

Michael Foust is a freelance writer. Visit his blog, MichaelFoust.com.

Photo courtesy: Getty Images/Sean Rayford/Stringer

5 Things Christians Should Know about the Faith of Elizabeth Warren