Religious Does Not Always Mean Conservative: The Faithful Progressive Interviews

I received two very nice e-mails relating to our interview series this past week. I'll probably post one if I get the okay from its author, a distinguished theologian who suggested dozens of potential new interview subjects. The other was a request that I link the Interviews and our series on the Christian Right permanently somewhere on the blog. I will do so the next time I visit Blog-Template Land. Until then, here are some interview highlights.

Over the past year or so, I have been interviewing interesting progressive and moderate people of faith as part of a series on this blog. The Faithful Progressive Interviews have convinced me that the progressive and moderate faith community is alive and well. These interview subjects represent a thoughtful, values-based world view that can inform debate about our politics as well as deeper questions about our place in the world. The FP Interview subjects are full of fresh ideas that are getting active support from people of many faith traditions. Take a minute to listen to the voices below, and I'm sure you'll agree.

Rev. Jennifer Kottler, Protestants for the Common Good

I have a deep commitment to justice and the common good, which my Christian faith leads me to understand can best be used in influencing public policy. I believe deeply that it will take structural change, at least changing the hearts and minds of many Americans to bring justice to our public debate. Poverty and deep economic injustices that go hand in hand with racism keep me awake at night.

Father Jake (Episcopal priest)

I think we have to stop allowing the ultra-conservatives to frame the argument. The progressive Christians need to find their voice and take the offensive position. This might mean having to challenge the secular fundamentalists as well as the biblical fundamentalists, which means being willing to be as critical of Democrats as we are of Republicans. When Democrats claim that religion is a private matter, they’re playing right into the game of the conservatives who want to make private morality the only issues that are important. Public morality, which would include war, poverty, the environment and health care, are essential issues for any Christian who knows their bible. It’s not an either/or thing. Private and public moral values need to be taught and lived. And, because of the public nature of many moral and ethical issues, we can never separate religion from politics; they are made of the same cloth. So what can we do? We can start by honing our communication skills; by proclaiming the Good News in innovative ways that will move us all toward caring action; toward becoming the healing hands of Christ in the world today.

Dr. Bruce Prescott
Mainstream Baptist Leader

The most important thing that moderate and progressive religious people can do to change things is to start standing up and speaking out on behalf of separation of church and state. Religious liberty for everyone – not just Christians – is our first freedom. It’s the first freedom because it is the bedrock foundation upon which every other form of freedom rests. It secures our right to a free conscience and protects the rights of minorities.

Ms. Jacqueline Trussell, Founder BlackandChristian.com and Harvard Divinity School Graduate

The simple answer is to pray--I do believe that prayer changes things. Whether it's Bush, Reagan, Nixon, Clinton, Lincoln or George Washington, this nation has persevered and survived through good leadership and not so good leadership. Black people, led often by Black Christians such as Nat Turner, Denmark Vesey, Harriet Tubman, Henry Highland Garnet, Sojourner Truth or Martin Luther King, have survived. If we, as Black folk have learned nothing else, we have learned how to survive…There is potential for great things to happen around an agenda that speaks of "uplifting the race" through social, political and economic change. What remains to be seen is how this will be implemented. The Black Church, whether Baptist, Methodist or Church of God In Christ, has always been at the forefront of any movement for change as it relates to people of African descent.

Ol Cranky of Disenchanted Forest (Progressive Jewish Blog)

Count me as one of those disenfranchised by "religious" people and the Bush Administration. I see Bush as a great divider due to what‚s been done for political expedience in the name of G-d, religion and Scripture; the relationship between the Bush Administration/Republican party and the “religious right” has created such a heated environment in which religion has been used as a weapon…Everyone who really wants some healing needs to do their share to seek out information about and initiate dialogue with those across the aisle. For my own part, I've intentionally sought out blogs of various Christian writers to things in perspective, find out what the EC's really think and, more importantly, to learn-- though, in all honesty, I still do my share of thumbing my nose at the collective "them."

Kathleen Le Roy, Vice President of Operations, Christian Alliance for Progress

Well, the theocrats in Jesus’ day attacked him for healing on the Sabbath. According to them, that was a major violation of the religious law. For them, it was more important to uphold a religious dictate than it was to ease the suffering of a human being. We can see that very same mindset in the “no, no, absolutely not” approach to stem cell research. The Radical Right has this position statement: “We stand for life.” Well, you know, who doesn’t? But what an incredibly simplistic way to dismiss complex scientific and ethical questions! It’s a nice, pat religious principle, just like “No healing on the Sabbath.” But while they are standing for life, what happens to the people who are dying from Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s?

The Right says, if you stand for life, then you’ve got to stand against medical research, against science, against human healing. If they succeed, America will no longer lead the world in scientific and medical discoveries.

Bob of I Am a Christian Too
(ELCA Blog)

For me, my Christian faith demands my progressive politics. How can you read the gospels without believing that, as a society, we must do more to care for those in need? This phrase also makes me think of today's "Samaritans" -- the poor, gays, Africans with HIV -- as I imagine them saying "I am a Christian too", or even "I was made in the image of God too.” We need to organize, and we need to be savvy about how we present our message... I am looking for a way to organize that can give focus to this incipient progressive Christian movement, an organization that is both political and religious, that is outside and cuts across existing denominational lines, to speak for those of us that believe in progressive policies because of our religious beliefs, not despite them. We need to advocate policies in authentic, orthodox Christian language so that we can't be dismissed by the majority of Americans that are theologically orthodox. We need to take the moral high ground, but with a deep humility and respect for those that disagree, or we will be just another group of hate-mongers.

Chuck Currie
(United Church of Christ Seminarian--make that Minister!)

Progressive Christians started organizing to impact the 2004 elections in 2003. The religious right has been busy building up their movement since the mid-1960s. We need to build from the ground up and build alliances with better established secular groups that share some of our core values. We need to think long term and to develop new leadership. The religious left folks most active in opposing the Bush policies are the same group who fought against the Vietnam war. A new generation of leaders needs to be groomed. The progressive left has a training program for activists called Wellstone Action . We need a program like that to train the religious left.

Rachel Barenblat of Velveteen Rabbi
(Jewish lay leader, liturgist, and poet)

I think the most important thing is not to let frustration sour into despair. There's always something we can do. One of my favorite quotes (from Pirke Avot, a collection of rabbinic wisdom) is "it is not incumbent upon us to finish the task, but neither are we free to refrain from beginning it." I remind myself of that often when I'm thinking about the political sphere. I think we on the religious left need to speak up more. It's easy for the mainstream public to assume that "religious" means "on the right," and that's a fundamental misconception which will only be cleared up if we make ourselves heard.

Matt Sellers UK (British Baptist)

Our church is committed to the local community, and in particular the children, youth and disadvantaged of the area. We have many ongoing projects and the church buildings are used so much we are looking at expansion plans. Current membership of the church is about 550 and rising (probably in the top five biggest Baptist Churches in the country). I think this kind of community view of the church is becoming more prevalent up and down the country, and I'm hoping that some great long-lasting initiatives and reforms will come out of it - just like the great reforms of the 19th Century - we are beginning to see this with the Drop the Debt initiative and Fair Trade movements, and more recently the Make Poverty History initiative.

Ono Ekeh of Ono's Thoughts(Liberal Catholic Blog)

Only time will solve this. What has to happen is for the Catholic and Christian Right to define themselves as extremists, which they are already doing. At the same time, on the left, we have to learn to be more comfortable talking about our faith…Now, while a conservative will have no problem opening up to the world the internal dynamic of his/her faith life, liberals like Kerry are uncomfortable revealing these personal details and then people assume that there are no details. I don't think liberals have to get phoney, but we have to speak honestly about faith and its place in our lives. That's how we'll take back religion.

Carlos Stouffer of Jesus Politics
(Anthology of Readings from former Southern Baptist Missionary)

I like to contrast the political Christians on the Christian Right with the political Christians on the Jesus Left. The Christian Right focuses on an orthodox and institutional interpretation of the Christian Faith whereas the Jesus Left focuses on fresh ways to honor the life and spirit of the historical Jesus. Even though some political Christian leaders are loud, I am pretty sure the vast majority of Christians in the US are not that interested or engaged in politicsAs more Christians get involved and become better informed, I think they will start to question the assumptions of these loud political Christians. I think the Christian Rightists are particularly vulnerable when Christians begin to wake up and discover what is going on in the name of Jesus.

Broken Strings, Missing Notes Author Larry J. Eriksson

Whenever we present new ideas to people, we need to recognize that transformative change is threatening. One way to minimize the threatening nature of progressive ideas to those from conservative or fundamentalist backgrounds is to help them understand that they can change without losing their personal identity. One approach is to use language that is familiar to them. This means that when we speak to business folks, we must be able to talk about our progressive values within the context and language of business -- production, efficiencies, profits, investments, and income. When we speak to political leaders, we need to speak of our founding documents and political history. When we speak to conservative Christians, we must use a theological context and religious language to communicate our values. An excellent place to begin is with the Gospels since they express progressive values in a context that conservatives can appreciate and understand. Once progressives and conservatives come to see that the Bible can be read to support both perspectives, it may be possible to move beyond citing Biblical proof texts and pursue the broader meaning beyond the words.

Rev. Richard Hall (UK Methodist Minister)

Politically, the US is much more conservative than Britain though our politics are shifting rightward too, I find it hard to make a genuine distinction between the Democrats and the Republicans at any fundamental ideological level and I don't know that any "big idea" other than The American Dream has played much of a role in your political life. Correct me if I'm wrong! It makes me laugh when I hear a congressman or senator described as a "socialist". The very idea! And I was genuinely shocked to pick up a noticeable sneer in people's voices when they talked about "socialized medicine". In Britain there is almost complete unanimity that health care should be free at the point of use...The other issue that completely divides our nations is the question of gun control. Britons are mostly completely perplexed by the US love affair with firearms. That's as much to do with emotion and self-identity as anything, I think.

Gaunilo, Blogging Theologian

FP: As someone who knows conservative evangelicals from the inside--how does the sincere faith of people on the right come to have these negative and seemingly distorted and un-Christian impacts?

G: This is such a tough question. In many senses, I think it will be an ongoing research project in my academic life to figure out just this issue. First, though, you're right to say we should immediately acknowledge the sincerity of conservatives. Understanding is going to have to start there.

I think much of the answer lies in the history of American Christianity, a history of fairly reactionary populism, that really came to a head in the Fundamentalist movement at the beginning of the century. Everything in our current climate in the church has its roots there. The rebellion of the fundamentalists against science and its perceived undermining of the veracity of Scripture, against the modernists controlling the mainline denominations, and against the expansion of the American urban centers marks a very clear dividing line. The fundamentalists latched on to a few core beliefs - the Fundamentals. For really the first time in history, the only legitimate mark of a true Christian was having correct belief, according to a rigid code. The results of that are disastrous, as I've written about, because that means that absolute demarcations have to be drawn, and a Christianity organized around boundaries rather than the center is a Christianity that defines itself by excluding the other.

The curious thing about fundamentals is that they often are marginal issues. The original fundamentalists spent all kinds of time defending miracles. Inerrancy debates tend to be over insignificant trivia (how many times did the rooster crow?). Modern evangelicals get up in arms about predestination, women's ordination, the timing of the "rapture," and divine foreknowledge, none of which are even remotely necessary for salvation in anyone's book. And, of course, homosexuality. My theory on this is that these are all identity signifiers - they are boundary conditions that function to define who's "in" and who's "out." They purport to show with one or two easy check boxes where a person stands theologically, and therefore, whether they're orthodox or heretical. It's a convenient way of excluding an opponent's argument from the outset. It's also a means of isolating the conservative church from the culture. Conservative evangelicals tell a narrative of cultural decline - their eschatology demands it - and the isolation of the church as a lonely light in a dying world. You can't fight everything at once, so an issue, say homosexuality, comes to be a signifier for the enormity of the of the perceived cultural oppresion and apostasy. It becomes, in a sense, the distillation of the evil of the realm of the ungodly.

What I haven't figured out is how fundamentalism got so closely aligned with patriotism in this country, with a revisionist history and everything. Certainly there's a political disenchantment - undergoing persecution is also a necessary ingredient of the fundamentalist mindset. It's amazing how much the rhetoric of persecution and marginalization is still used today, with this president and Congress, but the language is built into the theological system. But how it was decided that the Republican party was an adequate stand-in for the Kingdom of God I really don't know. But realizing that - in November of last year - was the last straw in my break with evangelicalism.

Dignan, Dialogue-Seeking Christian Conservative


FP: You've been reading our series about some of the more extremist members of the Christian Right-what do you make of it? Don't we all have some obligation to try to check extremists on either side?

D: Well, I don't disagree that many you have highlighted are indeed extremists. However, among most conservative evangelicals I know, the mention of someone like Jerry Falwell elicits facial expressions to the effect of "what is that stink in the air?" As far as others like Rushdoony, I would imagine less than 5% of people at my church have ever heard of him. So I think you overestimate the influence of many of these people. I'm not sure that I would agree about having an obligation to check out extremists on either side. I'd rather many of these people be ignored. I think many of them view any mention, even negative, to be good. I think some of them especially like to see their "enemies" attacking them as it proves what they have been saying, at least in their own minds. It is unfortunate that the media usually calls the extremists first when looking for a soundbite.

Rev. Tim Simpson (Theologian and Religious Affairs Dir. Christian Alliance for Progress)

The left has to tend its own garden, rather than only pointing out the problems with the right's. They need to begin to do more than simply complain, but to be a part of building something better. They need to stop going to St. Mattress every Sunday morning and get off their butts and get themselves and their kids in church. We have become too secular for either our own spiritual good or to do society any good, such that society will put someone back in office who may have already started WWIII rather than turn the country over to people that they view as secularists. That is a very sad commentary on how low we have fallen and the liberals have no one to blame but ourselves for letting a handful of people at our leftmost fringe define who we are to the American electorate.

Folks need to find out who their precinct captain is and contact that person and make themselves available to make phone calls, stuff envelopes or whatever else is necessary. Once again in November, Republicans hammered the left when it came to getting out the vote and that isn't going to change unless more people budget their time to make this community political work a priority.

People need to build donations to political causes into their personal family budgets and make this a priority as well. Republicans have preached this gospel with a missionary zeal. We imagine that there are only the fat cats that we hear about in the media who keep things going financially over there, but that is not the case. My mother in law is a lobbyist with Eagle Forum, Phyllis Schafly's group, and I can tell you that people sacrifice to contribute to these right wing causes. The right has these people so scared that the gays are all going to be raping their children and that you'll be able to get an abortion as easy as picking up your dry cleaning that they will spare no expense to try and stop what they fear. The liberals have got to get some of that zeal and start talking to their followers in such stark terms as well. The left did a great job of fund-raising last time around, but there are still millions of folks out there who did not give a dime in the last cycle. Those funds will be needed if things are to be turned around in '06 and '08, so get the family 'round the kitchen table and start planning how you can do your part.

Danny Fisher, Buddhist Chaplain-in-training:

FP: Many people feel frustrated by both the perception of religious people and the Bush Administration--what can they do to change things?

DF: Don’t believe the hype. Show others through example what
religious people really look like.