Liberal Evangelicals Host Presidential Forum
Edwards, who has talked more than other candidates about alleviating poverty—a major focus of the event—has probably been most the most reticent about his own spiritual life. But he recently told the website beliefnet that his "faith came roaring back" after the death of his teenage son in 1996 and that it has helped him deal with his wife Elizabeth's struggles with breast cancer.
Next week's forum, part of the Sojourners' annual Pentecost conference, will be televised on CNN. Moderated by Soledad O'Brien, it will follow an unusual format, with questions coming from a panel of religious figures that includes Wallis; Hunter, who recently served a brief stint as president of Christian Coalition; Msgr. Kevin Sullivan, executive director of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York; and the Rev. Suzan Johnson Cook, head of the Hampton University Ministers' Conference, the largest coalition of black clergy in the country.
Candidates will appear before the panel one at a time to answer questions.
The broader Sojourners' Pentecost conference is expected to draw 700 attendees, sitting in on workshops like "how to put poverty on the agenda of your local church" and to participate in a Capitol Hill lobbying day to alleviate poverty.Sojourners says it is planning a similar forum for the top-tier Republican presidential candidates this fall.
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