My take on life, and the very nature of reality itself, is firmly grounded in reason. For me, it was reason that made me receptive to faith. And, yes, it is my faith that guides my politics.

In the natural, material world, knowledge comes primarily from two venues, philosophy and science. In philosophy, we can use induction and deduction to arrive at truths. In science, we use the scientific method, under controlled conditions to test hypotheses and possibly, through painstaking repetition, arrive at some semblance of causality.

Truths may also come from the immaterial, supernatural world as well. A Catholic, such as me, calls this kind of truth, “Divine Revelation.” This, to the irreligious, is, of course, the “oogedy-boogedy” part. This is the part that some folks suggest is better left to Sunday mornings and should never be allowed to intrude during the rest of the week, least of all in the reality-based, “oogedy-boogedy-less” world of bare knuckles politics.

I happen to disagree and I’m doing something about it.

I teach 9th and 10th grade catechism at my local parish. I’ve been blessed with the trust of my parish priest. I do not teach from a textbook. Instead I’ve formed a series of lectures based on several sources. This freedom in curriculum, granted by my parish priest, has allowed me to begin at the very beginning with my students.

I do not begin with Genesis. Instead, I tell my students that I plan to make a lawyerly case for the faith. I start with Pascal’s Wager and why anyone would want to pay attention to religion in the first place. We proceed from there to making a case for the existence of God. From there, we discuss the Divinity of Christ by deliberating Josh McDowell’s “Trilemma,” in which we debate Christ as Lord, liar, or lunatic. We also discuss Frank Morison’s “Who Moved the Stone,” in which the author, Morison, tries to explain away the Resurrection of Christ, only to conclude that he can’t.

During these initial lectures, we have not yet ventured into the realm of faith. We are using only our faculties of reason. What I’m trying to show these students, these future voters, is that their religion is not illogic. Quite the opposite is true. No genuine “oogedy-boogedy-ness” is to be found here.

Divine Revelation comes into the lectures when we’ve firmly made the case that God exists and that Christianity is real. When conclusions about the existence of God and the veracity of Christianity are accepted, then the primacy of divine truths naturally follows. God is not just seen as a senile old man in the sky, just happy that everyone had a nice day. He is seen, instead, as He truly is: Lord, Creator of life, Lord of the supernatural and natural order, determiner of what is and is not moral, etc. In other words, God determines what the ultimate truths and rules are, not us. The students then come to understand a famous quote from the 19th century English poet, Philip James Bailey: “Faith is a higher faculty than reason.”

These students are eventually challenged to apply and live their faith beyond Sunday. After all, if God exists and their Christian faith is real, then they must answer to God for how they live during the rest of the week. This even includes politics. It is why I am a social conservative. And, it’s for reasons of reason. No “oogedy-boogedy-ness” here, thank you.

But, I will tell you where you may find oogedy-boogedy aplenty. It lies within the person that puts all his faith in reason alone, without ever realizing that for reason to be reasonable, it must recognize its natural limits. It would be wise for such an ultimate materialist, reason alone kinda guy to read Immanuel Kant. For the cheat sheet version, there’s Dinesh D’Souza’s book, “What’s so Great about Christianity.”

Finally, a note on religious freedom and respect for the dignity and free will of man . . . I always try to impress upon my students the need to respect people who hold differing views. If someone doesn’t want to discuss religion, then respect their wishes, but politely leave the door open for future discussion. If someone challenges your beliefs, then vigorously and politely defend them. And, most important of all, being respectful of the dignity of others doesn’t mean being embarrassed about your own faith and relegating it to Sunday only.

If one’s underlying motivation for being a social conservative lies within Christianity, then it rests firmly on a foundation of reason. It’s not oogedy-boogedy.