A major problem in politics is failing to see the human person behind the politics. When engaging in politics, we tend to depersonalize or dehumanize. Rather than seeing a human person, made in the image and likeness of God, we reduce others to political positions, labels or parties. Our faith, however, calls us to see in every person their inestimable dignity and value, that God is living within each of us – that we are called to see Christ living within every person we encounter.
This claim about depersonalized politics is apparent through a couple of examples.
First, consider political parties. Most people belong to one of two political parties, with some exercising the option to belong to some “third” party. Belonging to these parties often means ascribing to – or, at least, being associated with – a certain set of philosophical and political views.
By labeling someone a Republican, Democrat, Independent, Libertarian, Progressive, Liberal, Green Party or American Solidarity Party member, our minds adopt something of a shortcut for categorizing. They believe x if they are Republican or y if they are Democrat, so on and so forth.
Second, consider polls. Politics loves polling. Polling provides rich data sets for campaign managers, political consultants, politicians, advocates, researchers and others to get a grasp on beliefs and behaviors of voters and others involved in politics. Essentially, when you poll, you are trying to grasp people’s political identities and get a feel for “public opinion.”
In polling, you ask questions about age, sex, occupation, educational attainment and other basic demographic information. You also ask questions about how often a person has voted in previous elections, what they think of certain key elected officials and where they stand on any number of topics and issues. People are also asked how certain arguments or propositions would or would not change their minds on a particular matter.
With that data, people are then essentially bundled into certain categories. Their information and data are analyzed. And then the work of figuring out how to move and motivate these people begins.
While polling is helpful and can be ethically employed, it can also pose the risk and danger of seeing people as nothing more than a set of data points on the spectrum of political views and attitudes.
By using these data points and party labels, we begin making other assessments, such as: Are they with me? Or against me? Are they my political ally? Or my political enemy? The answers to these questions begin to form how we approach and relate to other people, for better or for worse, in our political encounters and interactions.
In short, we look at others as impersonal political actors and nothing more than a set of beliefs we either like or dislike, instead of looking upon other people and engaging with them for who they are and whose they are (human beings made in the image and likeness of God, with God as their Creator).
Saint Pope John Paul II once said: “We are not the sum of our weaknesses and failures, we are the sum of the Father’s love for us and our real capacity to become the image of His Son Jesus.”
We might say something of the sort in politics: We are not the sum of our political attitudes, behaviors, opinions and party affiliation; we are the sum of the Father’s love for us and our real capacity to become the image of His Son Jesus.
As children of God, we are heirs to the Kingdom of God – this is the same Kingdom we daily pray will be “on earth as it is in Heaven.”
What does a political order that sees and values this approach to the human person look like? Can we envision a society where this is our fundamental disposition and attitude toward others? Do we ourselves think we can adopt such an attitude in our own hearts? What would this do to our political conversations, debates, voting behaviors, etc.?
I know such a vision is a constant challenge for our team and me at the NCC, which is why several years ago, during strategic planning, we adopted as a core value, “Reverence for the Human Person.” We wanted to set an expectation that we would see Christ in every person we interacted with politically, whether we viewed them as a friend or an enemy, toward whatever effort we were undertaking.
This is not an easy endeavor in our highly divided and politicized culture, but may we ask God for the special graces to see with His eyes and to treat others in the way He would treat them.
Tom Venzor is the executive director of the Nebraska Catholic Conference, headquartered in Lincoln. Contact him at tvenzor@necatholic.org.
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PHOTO COURTESY OF NEBRASKA LEGISLATURE
Commentary
Are There People Behind Politics?
December 15, 2025
A major problem in politics is failing to see the human person behind the politics. When engaging in politics, we tend to depersonalize or dehumanize. Rather than seeing a human person, made in the image and likeness of God, we reduce others to political positions, labels or parties. Our faith, however, calls us to see in every person their inestimable dignity and value, that God is living within each of us – that we are called to see Christ living within every person we encounter.
This claim about depersonalized politics is apparent through a couple of examples.
First, consider political parties. Most people belong to one of two political parties, with some exercising the option to belong to some “third” party. Belonging to these parties often means ascribing to – or, at least, being associated with – a certain set of philosophical and political views.
By labeling someone a Republican, Democrat, Independent, Libertarian, Progressive, Liberal, Green Party or American Solidarity Party member, our minds adopt something of a shortcut for categorizing. They believe x if they are Republican or y if they are Democrat, so on and so forth.
Second, consider polls. Politics loves polling. Polling provides rich data sets for campaign managers, political consultants, politicians, advocates, researchers and others to get a grasp on beliefs and behaviors of voters and others involved in politics. Essentially, when you poll, you are trying to grasp people’s political identities and get a feel for “public opinion.”
In polling, you ask questions about age, sex, occupation, educational attainment and other basic demographic information. You also ask questions about how often a person has voted in previous elections, what they think of certain key elected officials and where they stand on any number of topics and issues. People are also asked how certain arguments or propositions would or would not change their minds on a particular matter.
With that data, people are then essentially bundled into certain categories. Their information and data are analyzed. And then the work of figuring out how to move and motivate these people begins.
While polling is helpful and can be ethically employed, it can also pose the risk and danger of seeing people as nothing more than a set of data points on the spectrum of political views and attitudes.
By using these data points and party labels, we begin making other assessments, such as: Are they with me? Or against me? Are they my political ally? Or my political enemy? The answers to these questions begin to form how we approach and relate to other people, for better or for worse, in our political encounters and interactions.
In short, we look at others as impersonal political actors and nothing more than a set of beliefs we either like or dislike, instead of looking upon other people and engaging with them for who they are and whose they are (human beings made in the image and likeness of God, with God as their Creator).
Saint Pope John Paul II once said: “We are not the sum of our weaknesses and failures, we are the sum of the Father’s love for us and our real capacity to become the image of His Son Jesus.”
We might say something of the sort in politics: We are not the sum of our political attitudes, behaviors, opinions and party affiliation; we are the sum of the Father’s love for us and our real capacity to become the image of His Son Jesus.
As children of God, we are heirs to the Kingdom of God – this is the same Kingdom we daily pray will be “on earth as it is in Heaven.”
What does a political order that sees and values this approach to the human person look like? Can we envision a society where this is our fundamental disposition and attitude toward others? Do we ourselves think we can adopt such an attitude in our own hearts? What would this do to our political conversations, debates, voting behaviors, etc.?
I know such a vision is a constant challenge for our team and me at the NCC, which is why several years ago, during strategic planning, we adopted as a core value, “Reverence for the Human Person.” We wanted to set an expectation that we would see Christ in every person we interacted with politically, whether we viewed them as a friend or an enemy, toward whatever effort we were undertaking.
This is not an easy endeavor in our highly divided and politicized culture, but may we ask God for the special graces to see with His eyes and to treat others in the way He would treat them.
Tom Venzor is the executive director of the Nebraska Catholic Conference, headquartered in Lincoln. Contact him at tvenzor@necatholic.org.
READ MORE FROM THE CATHOLIC VOICE: