Church - Contemporary Issues

Should Christians Fill Out the 2010 U. S. Census Forms?

By Dr. Paul M. Elliott
If you're looking for excuses not to, you won't find them in the Bible.

From the TeachingtheWord Bible Knowledgebase

If you're looking for excuses not to, you won't find them in the Bible.

The Outcry Against the Census

Some political conservatives, most notably U. S. Representative Michele Bachman, a self-identified Evangelical,1 have stated that they will not complete the 2010 census form, and they are encouraging others to follow their example. They base their refusal primarily on constitutional grounds. The only stated purpose of the census in the U. S. Constitution (Article 1, Section 2, regarding the composition of the House of Representatives) is to determine how many people live in the country and where they live, so that congressional representation can be properly apportioned among the states.

Many people also object to the intrusive nature of the census forms' questions. The 2010 short form focuses on identifying the "race" of every individual.2 The long form's questions are far more intrusive, requiring detailed responses about your home, your personal habits, and your finances.3 The long form has been renamed the American Community Survey (ACS) and since 2001 has been sent to 250,000 households every month of every year, not just in decennial census years.

Refusal to completely fill out either form, or providing false information on the form, is a violation of United States Code Title 13, Section 221, and is punishable by a fine of up to $5,000. Those who advocate not completing the form are, in fact, advocating the violation of federal law.

Problems With the Census

The invasive nature of the census, especially the ACS, is egregious to many, both Christians and non-Christians. It is a straightforward matter to make the case that the census, not just in 2010 but for many decades, has collected information that is beyond the scope of the original intent of the U. S. Constitution's census clause (Article 1, Section 2). It is also easy to make the case that current and previous census questions collect data that is well beyond the scope of information needed for the federal government to perform its enumerated, limited functions.

Beyond this, some Christian philosophers and political theorists say that the census questions facilitate the expansion of civil government beyond the intent of Scripture. But they disagree among themselves on three points: 1.) whether Scripture clearly speaks to the issue of the limits of civil government; 2.) if so, what limits Scripture places upon it; and 3.) whether those hypothesized limits constitute general principles or explicit commands.

The Question for the Christian

The question for the Christian is this: Does the 2010 census present a situation in which I must refuse to obey a man-made law on the principle that "we ought to obey God rather than men" (Acts 5:29)? The answer is no. The census may be a conspicuous example of a bad law, but submission to it does not violate, either expressly or implicitly, a commandment of God found in Scripture. On the contrary, to refuse to comply with the census law would violate Scripture, in both example and explicit command.

The Biblical Example: Mary and Joseph and the Roman Census

As we look to Scripture, we have no less an example than Mary and Joseph, as the time approached for the birth of Jesus. At the beginning of Luke chapter two, we read that Caesar Augustus decreed "that all the world should be registered (NKJV, "taxed" in the KJV). The word that is translated "registered" or "taxed" is a form of the Greek apographo, which means "to enter in a registry" and not taxation specifically. The same verb is used in Hebrews 12:23, which speaks of those whose names are written in Heaven. In other words, what took place in Luke chapter two was a census - and an ungodly one.

The Roman Empire had taken censuses at previous times in its history, for a two-fold purpose: to register men who were eligible for service in the Roman army, and to account for all Roman citizens. (Paul, for example, was a Roman citizen, which was unusual among Jews. See Acts 22:25 ff.) Before the time of Jesus' birth, Israel had been excluded from the Roman census, because Jews were exempt from serving in the Roman army. However, the census at the time of Jesus' birth was for the additional purpose of establishing lists of people that the Roman government could use for taxation, and therefore Jews were included.

The Roman authorities subsequently used this census data to levy poll taxes that were used to enforce their unjust occupation of Palestine. Thus the Jews came to regard the census itself as a symbol of Rome's oppression and heavy taxation. But it was as a result of this census decree, and their obedience to it, that Mary and Joseph left Nazareth and were in Bethlehem at the time of Jesus' birth, in fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy.

The Biblical Commands: The Christian as Citizen

In addition to this example of obedience to God and man, Scripture explicitly states the duties of the Christian as citizen:

"Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. For he is God's minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God's minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. Therefore you must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience' sake. For because of this you also pay taxes, for they are God's ministers attending continually to this very thing. Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor." (Romans 13:1-7)

"Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake, whether to the king as supreme, or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men - as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God. Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king." (1 Peter 2:13-17)

Christians who are blessed to live in societies that still have at least a semblance of democratic or republican government also have the right - and I would say, the responsibility in the face of ungodliness in government - to seek to elect men to office who will uphold God's moral law. We must exercise the right to respectfully "speak truth to power" when those in authority act in ungodly ways and for ungodly purposes.

But we must remember that the weapons of our warfare are not those of mere flesh, and that having done all we can in the battle against evil, we are to maintain our stand for Christ and His Word no matter what the outcome (Ephesians 6:10-18) - and that means living in submission even to ungodly outcomes. The greatest antidote to ungodliness in government and society is righteousness in Christ's true church. The Western world is in its present crisis not primarily because governments have failed, but because the church has failed.

There's No Room to Say, "Yes - But..."

Your response may be, "Yes, that is all well and good - but look at the kinds of rulers we have today!" Well, consider the kinds of rulers of which Paul and Peter wrote under divine inspiration!

History records that the Roman emperor Tiberius, who reigned during most of the life of Christ on earth (14 to 37 A. D.) was notoriously paranoid, cruel, and vengeful. Historical accounts include lurid tales of his sexual perversity, both private and public. Tiberius arrested and summarily executed many of his political opponents without the judicial trial stipulated by Roman law. In many of his dominions he appointed the most corrupt governors imaginable. It was under Tiberius that the public persona of the emperor shifted from that of a priest of the pagan gods to that of a god himself. But it was of this emperor that Jesus said, "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's."

Caligula, who ruled from 37 A.D. to 41 A.D., was notoriously cruel. He engaged in and publicly promoted adultery and all sorts of sexual perversion, including homosexuality and incest. Caligula was one of the major figures in the establishment of the worship of the emperor as a god. Although it did not come to pass, Caligula made plans to have a statue of himself erected at the temple in Jerusalem so that he could be worshipped there.

Caligula's successor Claudius (41-54 A.D.) was likewise a cruel man, promoted the cult of emperor deification, and opposed the attempts of Christians to win others to their faith as illegal "proselytizing."

The emperor Nero (54-68 A.D.) instituted a program of extensive persecution of Christians who refused to say that "Caesar is Lord," including torture and execution by the most horrible means. According to later Christian writers such as Eusebius (late third century) the apostles Paul and Peter were both executed during Nero's bloody reign.

The Christian's Duty: Put Biblical Principles Into Practice

Christians in today's Western world "have not yet resisted unto bloodshed, striving against sin" (Hebrews 12:4). Unless the Lord is merciful, if the West's present decline continues that day may well come. But our constant duty as Christians under all kinds of rulers is to pray for our rulers, give them the honor they are due. We are also to obey God rather than men when man's law clearly conflicts with God's Word (Acts 4:19, 5:29). And Christians living under constitutional governments have a duty to pray, work, and vote for the election of those who honor God, and to pray that God in mercy would thwart the evil plans of evil rulers.

Clearly, our civil leaders have violated the underlying principle of God's law against bearing false witness, in making laws that are contrary to the nation's basic law, its Constitution. They will answer to God for their sin. But their sin regarding the census does not give Christians a reason to violate even unjust laws by refusing to complete the census form, or giving false answers. We too must answer to God.

 

References:

 

1. Rep. Bachman is a Republican representing Minnesota's 6th Congressional district, and a member of a church in the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, which is a theologically conservative branch of Lutheranism.

2. The full text of the short form can be found at http://2010.census.gov/2010census/pdf/2010_Questionnaire_Info.pdf. We should also note that the Bible does not make distinctions of "race" but says that God has, from the descendants of one common ancestor, Adam, "made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings" (Acts 17:26).

3. The full text of the long form can be found at http://www.census.gov/acs/www/Downloads/SQuest05.pdf.

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