With the 2020 elections coming up, I have found myself in many conversations with my Christian friends over political parties and beliefs that align with them. One friend and I, in particular, would sit and argue for hours bible verses that supported or went against big political topics. If you are someone who doesn't like a good argument, it can definitely get annoying to repeat over and over: yes, I am a Christian, and I'm liberal.

We live in a world that identifies highly with the political party we are part of. It's looked at as taboo and known to not be a dinner table or first date discussion. And when it does come up in discussion, it almost always leads to arguments. Small or large, people stand pretty strongly usually about their political opinions. As a political science major, I have seen firsthand how things can escalate quickly. But last semester, I learned that it's okay to disagree with other political opinions, and we can peacefully coexist, especially as Christians of different political beliefs.

I had a professor who put us in table groups for the semester based on our percentage of Republican beliefs from an online test. We were all varying in percentage, from as low as 36% Republican (me) to as high as 87%. Two of us were from also different states. At the beginning of the semester, I worried a lot about getting along as a group and being in agreement for our daily assignments. But honestly, it ended up being pretty easy for us. As the semester went on, I had some deeper conversations with a girl who was a Christian as well but leaned the farthest right of the group politically. Being from the Midwest and the area of Ohio I live in, I grew up in a Democratic family and knew to go to a southern school there would be more Republicans. While I didn't agree with my friend on some things, a lot of times we became really good at seeing the other side and defending each others' arguments. I learned that we aren't all that different and that Christians all have one thing in common: we should want to love others and live how Jesus did, even if we disagree on the smaller things.

So as we enter election season, I just want to say I'm a liberal Christian, and I'm proud of it too. I have my own set of beliefs and at the end of the day, God loves everyone, Republican or Democrat. So before you go start an argument that a certain political standpoint doesn't align with my religion, think about the millions of Christians across the United States that have beliefs just like mine. Don't invalidate them, and just be respectful.