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How Jimmy Carter Influenced my life as a Christian, a Democrat, and a Justice Advocate

By Lisa Rea, President, Restorative Justice International (RJI)

January 9, 2025

In 1976 I was a college student at the University of California, Santa Barbara.  I heard of Jimmy Carter’s campaign for the presidency, and when he said, “I am born again,” I was thrilled. As a Democrat, I had never heard a candidate, or politician, declare his faith in Christ so directly. I committed myself to Carter’s campaign and remember sitting in front of our student center at a table with a stack of Carter brochures announcing his candidacy. I sat alone at that table. One or two other candidates were represented at their own tables, Teddy Kennedy was one, but I sat alone. Carter’s candidacy attracted me not only because of his clear outspoken faith but also his deep commitment to civil rights and justice.

In 1976, if you spoke of being an evangelical most would respond to this statement and recoil, largely because being an evangelical then was considered as support for Jerry Falwell’s Moral Majority. When I had conversations with fellow students, I’d say, “Well, I’m not a Falwell evangelical. I’m a Jimmy Carter evangelical.” To that, some would be relieved to hear of the distinction, and often it would lead to a longer conversation about faith and political activism. Often, I would speak of Carter’s advocacy for justice, civil rights, the environment, women’s rights and helping the poor and needy. Whereas, at the time, the Moral Majority’s biggest fight was over abortion. The issue of abortion, and Falwell’s “traditional family values” did not attract me in the least, especially in terms of my faith.

While I never met Jimmy Carter, I did get my “golden peanut,” after the campaign in Santa Barbara: political memorabilia from his campaign.  I also ran for office and was elected as a student to the Isla Vista Community Council, a small town near the UCSB campus. I became a Congressional intern in Washington D.C. in 1978 and knew after that I found my vocation and call for life—public policy and legislative change. Eventually, I worked in the California Legislature and became a lobbyist as well. Ironically, I did presidential advance work for Walter Mondale, and Geraldine Ferraro, when he ran for the president in 1984–Mondale having served as Carter’s vice president.

The values of President Carter, both as president and thereafter as founder of The Carter Center continued to affect my career, and my outlook on politics in the U.S. The Carter Center has done exceptional work in peace making, conflict resolution, global election monitoring, and human rights. Carter, of course, received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 for his life’s work and as a global humanitarian.  

My own legislative work took a turn in 1992 when I learned of something called restorative justice. I was hired by a national prison ministry organization, Prison Fellowship Ministries, founded by Watergate felon Charles Colson who served President Richard Nixon as his Special Counsel. Colson became a Christian while serving prison time for his Watergate crimes. I was drawn to the work of Prison Fellowship, and its sister group Justice Fellowship, which focused on criminal justice reform. Because Colson was still a Republican, many who knew me in the California Legislature were surprised I would go to work for a seemingly conservative organization especially founded by Colson. But I found it to be a “God-thing” because the work the organization was doing was national, nonpartisan and reflected my values as a Christian. As it turned out, Justice Fellowship had a small group of Democrats working for it, and I was one of those Democrats. I have invested in restorative justice since 1992, with a few breaks including running for Congress in California in 2006. I founded Restorative Justice International in 2008, which is still very active today working for systemic justice reform and human rights.

I wish I had been blessed to have known Jimmy Carter personally, and even to talk to him about Colson, restorative justice and peacemaking. But that was not to be. Carter would have supported justice reform based on restorative justice principles. The Carter Center mentions the work of conflict resolution, closely related to restorative justice. If Carter knew Chuck Colson, and I assume that they had met before Colson passed, he would have agreed that sometimes conservatives and liberals, and those in between, can do good work together when they put party aside, especially when they have common goals.

Today I remember President Carter, especially on January 9, the National Day of Mourning in the U.S. We who grieve the loss of Jimmy Carter in America, and globally, long for Carter’s truth, integrity, and his commitment to peace and justice. America can get back to these roots—reflecting Jimmy Carter’s deep faith in God. There is room for those of us who still to this day identify with Jimmy Carter’s words, “I’m a born again Christian.”

(photo credit: Carter Center, Nobel Peace Prize, 2002, Oslo, Norway)