It would be really keen to see liberal / progressive / non-legalistic Christians actually create a voice that could be heard and would have as much impact as the Religious Right has had — pushing ideas of tolerance, of social service, of caring for the poor and vulnerable, of inclusion.
We've heard these aspirations before. And, in a sense, that very sense of loving-kindness, that idea of bringing people together, that reluctance to impose rules and laws and bright lines to toe, acts against both twisting politicians arms and in getting much media publicity ("Love your neighbor? I can't make a headline out of that!"). That, and the way the Religious Right have poisoned the waters on the Political Left against any sort of theistic beliefs (creating the perception that any believer is a lunatic theocrat in disguise), make it difficult for liberal Christians and their allies in other faith traditions to get much traction.
Still, hope springs eternal. And, to the extent that there are a lot of people who are still believers, these effort may bear some fruit in a society that increasingly takes on the Randian sense of a war of all against all, where "I've got mine so you go pound sand."
Religious Liberals Sat Out of Politics for 40 Years. Now They Want in the Game.
Faith leaders whose politics fall to the left of center are getting more involved in politics to fight against President Trump’s policies.
Maybe.They need to stop talking and start doing and then we'll see.
+Cindy Brown Well, there seems to be a lot of doing, but it's scattered. It's the overall coordination that's an issue, both as a "big tent" and because there's a reluctance to actually wield the power of a political movement.
That's a fine way to win people to your cause. Whine about how they haven't been doing enough. That would turn me off immediately.
http://stateofbelief.com/
Is this a corollary to the UK imams who are refusing burial rites for terrorists? I hope so. It's is well past time that religious progressives push back against "Bigotry as Religion"
Amusing, considering that the only church that has been doing any heavy lifting/fighting for liberal causes is the Church or Satan. I guess I'd believe there was anything to this if any of the liberal churches had sued on behalf of their members during the ACA fights, abortion fights, or any of the religious fights of just the past 8 years.
+Linda Tewes Given how well religion has fucked over women, minorities and LGBT, I have every goddamn right to be wary.
+Stan Pedzick Most of the suits regarding the ACA, or abortion, were by conservative groups trying to stop it by claiming they were particularly harmed (had standing). Now that the political action in these areas is shifting the other direction, I expect to see more from the Left.
That said, I know the Episcopal Church has filed any number of Amicus briefs on matters ranging from transgender bathroom access [http://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/ens/2017/03/02/curry-jennings-take-lead-in-supreme-court-brief-on-transgender-bathroom-policy/] to the Travel Ban [http://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/general/2017/04/19/17-15589%20Amicus%20Brief%20Episcopal%20Bishops.pdf] to the Obergefell case [https://www.aclu.org/legal-document/obergefell-et-al-v-himes-amicus-brief-dioceses-and-bishops-episcopal-church-oh-et-al].