Now that’s a volatile question, is it not? — since both conservatives and liberals (and moderates) in Christianity, including Catholicism, all profess worship of Him; claim Him as their own.
Let’s take some issues.
Jesus certainly would have been against abortion, and so that makes Him a conservative or moderate — in the general societal definition of liberals and conservatives.
Without serous question, He would have been against anything that harmed what His Father, the Creator, created, including the landscape and animals around those precious humans.
In some minds, this would have made Him more liberal or moderate.
Did Jesus oppose war?
Well, we all know the classic scene in which He reprimands an apostle for striking the ear off one of Jesus’s assailants — telling us to turn the other cheek. But can we turn the other cheek when our families or nations are severely threatened?
One could thus view Him as either liberal or conservative in this regard — though decidedly more on the liberal side, as He also clearly was when it came to riches.
It gets pretty straightforward: Jesus told the rich man to give up what he had if he wanted to follow Him. There are both rich and poor conservatives and rich and poor liberals (see especially Hollywood, or Paul Soros), though it must be admitted (by us conservatives here) that spreading around the wealth is more associated with liberals (albeit often liberals who, from their perches in places in Hollywood, or as sports stars, espouse socialistic ideals while holding onto their own money).
When it came to gender: Jesus clearly wanted men in charge (see those fishermen, and Peter) at the same time that He allocated a critical role in the salvation story to His mother Mary and Mary Magdalene. It seems He considered them equal but different, is the best way one can phrase this. Does that make Him conservative or liberal, or are there not those who violate the opposite gender (often literally) on both side of the political aisle?
It seems abnormal to picture Jesus smiling at a factory dumping wastewater into the Jordan. So when it comes to pollution: we’ll put it this way; all of the last three Popes — the conservative/moderate John Paul II, the decidedly conservative Benedict XVI, and the liberal Francis have ardently spoken against environmental degradation (especially when it is to benefit those who hoard money).
Racial issues? No question, Christ considered all races equal (and in fact Himself may have been darker than commonly depicted). While Jews in the West are Caucasian, they are also largely derived from Eastern Europeans (Polish and Germans) who converted to the Judaic faith in the Middle Ages, and are not progeny of a Middle Eastern lineage.
At the same time, it seems plain that conservative political candidates are more prone at least to overt Christianity than are liberals politicians (and judges). However: Franklin Graham, an ardent conservative evangelical, was once… pro-choice. The Catholic Church, to its credit, has had a balanced approach to social issues.
Liberal or conservative? Republican or Democrats? Tory or —-?
Jesus was Everything to Everyone — or should be.