Dean Powery on How a Vote Can Be a Prayer
"In addition to being your metaphorical voice on a ballot, a vote is also a spiritual act," Chapel Dean Luke Powery says in his most recent column in the (Duke) Chronicle.
In the essay, he first points to the linguistic connection between the English word "political" and the Greek word polis, meaning city-state or broader society; he says, "In this sense, we are all part of the polis, and so we are all engaged in the 'political.'” He then cites the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" as an example of how this broad sense of politics intersects with the spiritual realm. He also presents the example of votive candles—short, thick candles sometimes used as part of a prayer—whose name shares a Latin root, votum, with the word "vote."
"A vote, therefore, is a votive act, a wish or desire. It is essentially a prayer," Dean Powery says. "Voting with this spiritual perspective in mind will remind us that it is a sacred moment, one in which polls can become altars for your votive prayer offered for the welfare of our fellow citizens."