It’s now only three weeks until polling day. The result is uncertain. Until the polls close, the political parties will do all they can to secure your vote.

I’m not going to make any predictions about the outcome except to note that political apathy will probably be the principal winner. In 2005, the Labour Party won the election with 35.3% of the popular vote, compared with the Conservatives’ 32.3%, but only about 22% of those eligible to vote were responsible for putting Labour into power. To coin a phrase, Houston, we have a problem.

What’s a Christian response to all of this?

The place to start is to ensure that our understanding of Christianity is correct. In Desiring the Kingdom, James K.A. Smith rightly argues that “Being a disciple of Jesus is not primarily a matter of getting the right ideas and doctrines and beliefs into your head in order to guarantee proper behavior; rather it’s a matter of being the kind of person who loves rightly – who loves God and neighbor and is oriented to the world by the primacy of that love.”

On the basis that Christianity is about loving God and loving neighbour rightly, what are the implications for politics? The principal consequence is political engagement itself. Love of God and neighbour demands it. Political apathy simply isn’t an option. How can we love our neighbours today without being concerned about the public policies which affect so much of their lives, for better or worse? One theologian writes, “Love of neighbour today has an inescapable political dimension. To think we can love our neighbours without being concerned about the political policies which shape their lives is to live in unreality.”

Politics is the process by which people make decisions together. Politics is concerned with the Polis, the Greek word for ‘city’. In practice, our political engagement could involve being part of a residents’ association, being a school governor, campaigning, joining a political party or standing for the local council. In our democratic political context, engaging politically involves voting. Democracy offers us the possibility of sharing in political power and it’s difficult to disclaim that opportunity. Of course, we have a ‘right’ not to vote, but shouldn’t our vision be bigger than that? We should ensure that we influence which party gets into power instead of simply complaining about whatever party gets there.

This blog post isn’t designed to guilt trip anyone; it’s not even principally about getting us to the polling station on 6 May. It is intended to challenge us to recognise that politics is essential to Christianity and encourage us to respond accordingly.

Paul Wooley is the Director of Theos