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A New Faith and Politics Fight: Religious Progressives Vs. the Religious Left

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hotelbewertungen of 5:26AM January 15, 2010

This article probably overstates the division between liberals and progressives. I have always felt that the religious left was very wide and obviously there is a farther left and a more centrist left. There is room for differences of opinion on some issues and of course on strategy. However, we need to remember the words of Jesus that "A house divided against itself cannot stand." Let us not forget that the real enemy is the religious and political right. We need to stop the in-fighting and build a coalition that can defeat the fundies. We also abandon the LGBT community and other "outcasts" at our own peril. If we on the left don't stand up for them, then Christianity has abandoned the example of it's founder who once reminded the religious leaders of his day that tax collectors and prostitutes were entering the kingdom of God before the scribes and pharisees.

bigbear6161 of NJ 9:16PM June 08, 2009

Is it perfect proof of people who want to say they are more purfect than anyone else in religion? Is that their way of demanding they are perfect? Let's ask and be expressive...

Nancy of OK 8:51PM May 03, 2009

Find and luV GOD and all that comes to live. Completely. And you got it going forever. Do the best with your honesty and love...and GOD will show up with their luV, and the show of his luV for them. Proof forever.

Nancy of OK 8:41PM May 03, 2009

Whoa! Hold fast everybody. Religion is a personal choice, a personal experience, and a secret we hold between ourselves and our God.
What happened to the right to worship as we choose?
Do not make religion, which is our personal choice, a public issue to be mocked and derided by either side. Stop it once and for all. Prayer is a silent act, a conversation between you and a higher power done in private. So get out of my space with your religious questions and performances.
Deny those who make religion a public stage show. Walk away and be part of a civic minded group, if you are willing, who say no tho this religious hype and nonsense.
God must be weeping..

David Zegler of CA 4:52PM April 07, 2009

The danger in allowing leaders in the center who are not supportive of sexual justice to use the term "religious progressive" to define themselves is that it marginalizes those of us who are working as people of faith to assure that LGBT persons are fully included in the life of the faith community and society, that all young people receive comprehensive sexuality education that includes life saving information, and that women and men have access to reproductive health services, including voluntary contraception, abortion, and HIV/STD prevention and treatment. Let me remind the author that these are not extreme positions but that are supported by a majority of Americans.
I lead a network of more than 4500 religious leaders from more than 50 faith traditions (www.religiousinstitute.org) that publicly embrace sexual health and sexual justice. We work closely with partners on a wide variety of issues that span the religious landscape, such as sexual abuse prevention, education for parents, and ending violence against women and girls -- and we are avid partners on a broad range of social justice issues with many who do not agree with us on abortion and LGBT rights. Dr. Jones and Faith in Public Life know from direct experience that religious progressives like myself regularly reach out to them for support. I only wish the reverse was true.
As long as women and LGBT persons' lives are on the line, the Religious Institute is going to continue to work to assure their rights to their own moral agency around their sexual and personal lives and societal and faith communities full recognition. I just don't see how one can label oneself progressive without that commitment.

Rev. Debra W. Haffner of CT 8:01AM April 03, 2009

This article overdramatizes as "battle" and "fracture" what is essentially a disagreement over how to reach consensus on divisive religious issues. Faith in Public Life, Jim Wallis and other centrists believe there is much common ground to be found between the two extremes in the culture wars. To some extent, there is. The disagreements ensue as soon as one side decides it has given up enough ground. For example: there is clearly common ground in the abortion controversy when it comes to preventing unwanted pregnancies. But the left will never agree to certain "abortion reduction" strategies, such as parental notification laws, that make abortion services more difficult to obtain; and the right will never agree to comprehensive sexuality education as a means of reducing teen pregnancy rates. Come Let Us Reason together revealed that there is far less common ground when it comes to LGBT issues. A few evangelicals from the right are willing to concede a need for employment discrimination protections for gay men and lesbians (though not necessarily those in the military). The right will never concede marriage, and the left will never agree that civil unions are good enough. Fundamentally, this is not a "battle" within the religious left, but ongoing conflict on three fronts -- the left vs. the right, and the center, often as not, vs. the other two.

Tim Palmer of NY 4:50PM April 01, 2009

It seems to me the author has an agenda. The groups labeled "religious progressives" sound like "religious centrists," not "progressives" (unless the country is so right-wing that anything left of right-wing can be called "progressive"). And the author tries to radicalize the so-called "religious leftists" by labeling them "leftists" instead of "progressives." If wanting social equality is "leftist," then there is something very wrong with our country.

Joe of TX 12:36PM April 01, 2009