Posted on 02/17/2007 6:23:04 AM PST by NYer
As I have traveled around the country, one line in my speeches always draws cheers: "The monologue of the Religious Right is over, and a new dialogue has now begun." We have now entered the post-Religious Right era. Though religion has had a negative image in the last few decades, the years ahead may be shaped by a dynamic and more progressive faith that will make needed social change more possible.
In the churches, a combination of deeper compassion and better theology has moved many pastors and congregations away from the partisan politics of the Religious Right. In politics, we are beginning to see a leveling of the playing field between the two parties on religion and "moral values," and the media are finally beginning to cover the many and diverse voices of faith. These are all big changes in American life, and the rest of the world is taking notice.
Evangelicals — especially the new generation of pastors and young people — are deserting the Religious Right in droves. The evangelical social agenda is now much broader and deeper, engaging issues like poverty and economic justice, global warming, HIV/AIDS, sex trafficking, genocide in Darfur and the ethics of the war in Iraq. Catholics are returning to their social teaching; mainline Protestants are asserting their faith more aggressively; a new generation of young black and Latino pastors are putting the focus on social justice; a Jewish renewal movement and more moderate Islam are also growing; and a whole new denomination has emerged, which might be called the "spiritual but not religious."
Even more amazing, the Left is starting to get it. Progressive politics is remembering its own religious history and recovering the language of faith. Democrats are learning to connect issues with values and are now engaging with the faith community. They are running more candidates who have been emboldened to come out of the closet as believers themselves. Meanwhile, many Republicans have had it with the Religious Right. Both sides are asking how to connect faith and values with politics. People know now that God is neither a Republican nor a Democrat, and we are all learning that religion should not be in the pocket of any political party; it calls all of us to moral accountability.
Most people I talk to think that politics isn't working in America and believe that the misuse of religion has been part of the problem. Politics is failing to resolve the big moral issues of our time, or even to seriously address them. And religion has too often been used as a wedge to divide people, rather than as a bridge to bring us together on those most critical questions. I believe (and many people I talk with agree) that politics could and should begin to really deal with the many crises we face. Whenever that happens, social movements often begin to emerge, usually focused on key moral issues. The best social movements always have spiritual foundations, because real change comes with the energy, commitment and hope that powerful faith and spirituality can bring.
It's time to remember the spiritual revivals that helped lead to the abolition of slavery in Britain and the United States; the black church's leadership during the American civil rights movement; the deeply Catholic roots of the Solidarity movement in Poland that led the overthrow of communism; the way liberation theology in Latin America helped pave the way for new democracies; how Desmond Tutu and the South African churches served to inspire victory over apartheid; how "People Power" joined with the priests and bishops to bring down down Philippine strongman Ferdinand Marcos; how the Dalai Lama keeps hope alive for millions of Tibetans; and, today, how the growing Evangelical and Pentecostal churches of the global South are mobilizing to addresse the injustices of globalization.
I believe we are seeing the beginning of movements like that again, right here in America, and that we are poised on the edge of what might become a revival that will bring about big changes in the world. Historically, social reform often requires spiritual revival. And that's what church historians always say about real revival — that it changes things in the society, not just in people's inner lives. I believe that what we are seeing now may be the beginning of a new revival — a revival for justice.
The era of the Religious Right is now past, and it's up to all of us to create a new day.
Good observations. Thanks for the post and ping!
Everyone is religious. Now if he had said the "Christian Left" that would have been an oxymoron.
Oh...I understand. We can understand salvation, the purpose of man and our relationship with our Creator from college professors, Katie Couric and Britney Spears.
I like your analogy.
What I always told my kids - If you are standing on a table and your friend is on the floor - it's easier for him to pull you down than it is for you to pull him up. So choose your friends carefully.
How odd that that wasn't the case when the Democrats were espousing them. In fact, the Clintons' leadership in the push for abortion and gay rights was routinely cited as an example of the depravity and the decadence into which they were leading this country. And if you think the Guiliani boosters here are not enthusiastic about throwing the social conservatives to the sharks, then you haven't been following the numerous threads on which they post here.
President of the SDS while in college. Activist for "SOCIAL JUSTICE".
His other titles should be USEFUL IDIOT, COMMUNIST, STUPID TOOL.
This makes as much sense as when after the 2004 elections, there were those on FR claiming the Democrat party was dead.
He must be joking. No, lying, actually.
Just another liberal "Christian"
He actually got this right. The Left are not Christians they are New Age narcissists--The "God is me" crowd. Old dregs in new bottles.
They have lost the battle for the established churches, as the devout have voted with their feet. Wallis's own UCC no longer is willing to declare Jesus Christ as God incarnate. They will hollow out the husks of the moribund Mainline and set up shop as UN-type NGO's instead.
"Spiritual but not religious." Exactly. "Religious" implies the faith that there is a God worth worshipping somewhere.
Since the days of Wendell Willkie, the moderates and liberals in GOP ranks have been trying to sell their candidates as the lesser of two evils. RINOs, and their predecessors, the Rockefeller Republicans and the "me too" crowd have merely served as a junior partner for the New Deal/Great Society, the tax collector who did not dispute the rising bills for the welfare state, but who merely wanted to fund the bill through taxes and not borrowings from the Fed or private investors. The greatest triumphs the GOP has achieved were in 1980, 1984, and 1994 when the party had a clearly conservative message.
America does not need a Rudy McRomney. The borders would remain porous, we would continue waging a no win war in Iraq and Afghanistan, social programs would continue to expand, and new mandates would continue to be imposed. Would Rudy McRomney be better than Hillary or Obama? Maybe, if you think slow death via cancer is better than a massive heart attack.
The only cure for America's political problems is to return to the philosophy of our Founders - limited government, personal and financial liberty, and strong national defense. There is no substitute for victory.
And that is the sales pitch from the Rudy boosters this year. The problem is, they are simultaneously closing the gap between the two evils.
Nah I mean successful people of significant talents other than manipulation LOL Unfortunately its all subjective and the success we see is the success they want us to see :(
I would like to hear more from the many corporate Ph.D.s and successful MBAs who have constructive answers about society - people who work for a living as leaders in their fields. People who create jobs and fuel investment. All we ever get is people filled with anger at financial success, or moral deprevation. People who have few answers aside from condemnation for their enemies.
From my experiences working with such people, with all due respect, that is the last thing we need. I'd rather hear from self-made businessmen who learned sweat lessons than who got received a brainful of academic business views and then inflicted them on their respective organizations.
What? The mooselimb terrorists have stopped packing their C-4 belts with ball bearing and are now using M&M's? Sure sign of moderation.
Apostates have been trying for 2000 years to take Christ out of Christianity. My bet is on God.
It's just a repackaged "relativity" argument
From Wikipedia: Raised in a traditional evangelical (Plymouth Brethren) family [4], as a young man Wallis became active in the civil rights movement. He graduated from Michigan State University, where he was President of Students for a Democratic Society and then went on to attend Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Illinois where he joined with other young seminarians in establishing the community that eventually became Sojourners.
His books include God's Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn't Get It (2004), Faith Works: How Faith Based Organizations Are Changing Lives, Neighborhoods, and America (2000), and The Soul of Politics: Beyond "Religious Right" and "Secular Left" (1995).
His writings are regularly published as op-eds in major media outlets, and he teaches a course in religion and politics at Harvard University. He is also the convener of Call to Renewal, an interfaith effort to end poverty.
In discussing the 2004 American presidential elections, Wallis said "Jesus didn’t speak at all about homosexuality. There are about 12 verses in the Bible that touch on that question ... [t]here are thousands of verses on poverty. I don’t hear a lot of that conversation." [2]
Jim was invited by Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) to give the Democrats' weekly radio address on Saturday, December 2, 2006. He spoke about the importance of moral leadership in Washington, and touched on a variety of social concerns.
ping for later
.....so God has spoken and jim is informing the masses in this book?
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