“and I’m not really concerned about whether my clergy are political liberals/moderates. God doesn’t endorse one political brand, after all.”
We humans seem to like an Aristotelian model with a sensible center and wings stretching away in two directions, an assumption being that the further away you get from the “sensible center” in either direction, the whackier you are.
I don’t buy it.
It’s one continuum leading from Satan on the left to God on the right. It’s not possible for a human to get far enough to the right, and God does disapprove of the left.
It’s verifiable, if you choose to observe.
I don't assume that. In fact, I hate the concept of a 'center'. But I'm not going to demonize people who are otherwise orthodox Christians simply because they believe that socialism is a better system than capitalism, or because they vote Democratic. Theology is not politics, and politics is not theology.