Interfaith religious left

The damage the nasty guy is causing and the support for that damage he is getting from the religious right has prompted the growth of the religious left as a political force. NPR reporter Tom Gjelton brought us the story a few days ago. Their primary issues are immigrant rights, universal health care, LGBTQ rights, and racial justice. One might wonder what took them so long since the religious right has been politically active for 40 years.

The right organized as a political force because they felt their deepest values were being taken from them. Those on the left are now feeling the same thing.

An early leader in the religious left is Rev. William Barber, who started the Moral Monday movement in North Carolina. Barber has since expanded that into the Poor People’s Campaign. A new leader is Rev. Jennifer Butler, who founded the group Faith in Public Life, which includes the Poor People’s Campaign.

The religious left has a much smaller base than their counterparts on the right. A big part of that is because a large number of progressives are secular. However, an advantage is that the group has an interfaith emphasis. Yeah, there are mainline Protestants, progressive Catholics, and some evangelicals. There are also Muslims, Jews, and every sort of faith group. An interfaith approach makes sense in a diverse country.

This also means a commitment to bridge building. Alliances can be formed between pro-life and pro-choice because both sides want to reduce the number of abortions (though the proposed solutions can be quite different).

Butler says, “There are over a hundred verses of Scripture that say we are to welcome immigrants and welcome strangers.” Her work is driven by moral values and not by politics.

I’m delighted the religious left is getting organized and I’m also delighted to see they have chosen an interfaith path.