For me this just completed campaign has been a theological battle rather than a political one. It has been a contest between the group in power who view God portrayed as destroyer of Sodom and Gomorrah against those whose God is portrayed as provider of grace, resurrection and salvation. This dichotomy results in a vast majority of unheard voices in society.

Two researchers, Professor William D’Antonio of Catholic University and Professor Steven Tuch of George Washington University, studied the religious affiliation of members of Congress from the 96th Congress up through the 108th. They then correlated religious affiliation on voting records. They found that since 1979, members of Congress increasingly vote on the extreme sides of any issue following their personal religious convictions.

They used the pro-choice profile issue as a measure. Democrats tend to favor full abortion rights while Republicans favor prohibiting abortion under any circumstances. The general public, however, is not as starkly split on the issue with only 25 percent favoring unlimited right to abortion and 20 percent in total opposition.

This, according to D’Antonio and Tuch, leaves 55 percent of the public who support a woman’s right to choose under some circumstances no voice in the present congressional makeup. While this is just one issue, it is indicative of a larger problem. The voices of moderation, peace and tolerance are being silenced by the extremes of either side.

This is not the fault of the arrogant extremes, rather the blame falls squarely on the shoulders of those of us moderates who abrogate our power allowing others to silence us. It is time for moderate liberals and conservatives to define ourselves through our churches and in our communities and again give voice to the underrepresented majority. We need to teach our communities that dismissing something as politically correct is in reality denying life force for those affected.

We need to teach our neighbors who are living in unfit housing that they have a voice. We need to show our children that we really care about them by not saddling them with a debt derived from the money we spend living high off the hog yet we must provide for those struggling to survive in our society. As a society, we need to choose a God of forgiveness, compassion and acceptance.

Above all, we must not speak against those who divide us as that creates more division. Rather, we must loudly speak in favor of affirmation, inclusiveness, tolerance and love remembering that Christ developed a ministry by attraction, not exclusion.

Max Soucia, a resident of Caribou, received a master of divinity degree from Bangor Theological Seminary. He currently is a student at the University of New England’s Master’s of Social Work Program in Presque Isle.