Stupak Forming Fault Lines in Left-Leaning Faith Groups?
With left-leaning faith groups unable to agree on abortion issues, the religious right—with the help of anti-choice Democrats—were able to convince Democratic strategists that they spoke for people of faith. Will the inability to take a strong stance for women’s rights split religious coalitions?
Only when both sides of the abortion debate express their views will we find common ground. Restrained discourse helps nobody.
Will the Real Progressive Christians Please Stand Up?
A walk through recent Christian history—from the rise of evangelicalism, through neo-Orthodoxy, and on to Liberation theology—reveals the roots of the current debate among those who identify as progressives.
In the debate over what it means to be a religious progressive, the terms of the religious right have been adopted and a new way must be forged.
Arguing Liberally: Rift in Religious Coalitions Goes Public
A public row threatens to break out between the DC-based “Religious Industrial Complex,” which seeks new Democratic voters, and a small group of rabble-rousers who claim that they’ve compromised their progressive souls in reaching out to religious conservatives. How did it come to this?
Jesus Never Built a Bridge with a Pharisee: On Compromise with Conservatives
As the disagreement heats up between "religious progressives" and the "religious left" on the nature of compromise with centrists and conservatives, Candace Chellew-Hodge argues that you can respect your opponent and still refuse to compromise.
What Liberals Want: A Response to Susan Thistlethwaite
Theologian Susan Thistlethwaite suggested in Newsweek that liberals should respect progressive efforts to connect with evangelicals. Frances Kissling responds that the respect should begin with a sitdown between liberals and progressives.
A New Theopolitical Order: But What About The Women?
Even as they invite progressive religious groups to the table the leaders of the Democratic party shun religious feminism.
For several weeks a debate has been taking place between an author of a document seeking to “end the culture wars” and the editor of a collection of essays on the Religious Left. In this installment the editor responds to criticisms and details their divergent goals.
Come Let Us Reason Together: A Response to Critics of Evangelical/Progressive Initiative
“Come Let Us Reason Together,” which focused on building bridges between white evangelicals and progressives, unleashed strong criticism from the religious left, much of which challenged the initiative’s definition of "progressive." Robert P. Jones, an adviser to CLURT, responds.
Unlike the recent document claiming reconciliation between evangelicals and progressives the only way democracy has ever been expanded in the US, according to the Rev. Sekou, is by the defeat of conservative evangelical positions.
A recent RD article has sparked a conversation around the web...
In “Battling for the Soul of the Democratic Party,” journalist Sarah Posner examined the role of DC outfits like Faith in Public Life, who seek to find common ground among disparate religious organizations. Here, FPL responds.
In “Battling for the Soul of the Democratic Party,” journalist Sarah Posner examined the role of DC outfits like Faith in Public Life, who seek to find common ground among disparate religious organizations. Here, FPL responds.
Battling for the Soul of the Democratic Party
Since the 2004 defeat of John Kerry, a handful of religious Inside-the-Beltway Democrats—called the religious left by some—have seen their influence rise dramatically. But how progressive is their “broader agenda?” And what of religious left leaders who include reproductive justice and LGBT civil rights on their list?
A new survey reveals not only that church attenders and youth have swung back into Obama's camp, but that he's perceived as "friendlier" toward religion than McCain.