Left wing religion

[pegkerr]

I have been doing a lot of comfort eating in the last few days, which is not my usual pattern, but it seems right. I walked to Kieran's over the lunch hour and gorged on their pot roast sandwich and bread pudding with whiskey sauce. I will doubtless fall asleep at my desk this afternoon.

As some of you know because I've been commenting in various people's journals, I have been brooding with a great deal of pain over this last election, and especially the set back to gay rights, which feels like a blow to the core of my Christian faith. I had taken along a copy of Lavender Magazine because I was hoping that Jacob Reitan's column might offer some comfort (Reitan writes about matters of faith for the gay community). The column was written before the election, but it was amazingly prescient. As I ate, I read the column, and Reitan's words were exactly what I needed. Talking about one of my greatest personal heroes, Paul Wellstone, Reitan wrote:

Wellstone’s faith focused on action. One need look only as far as his conception of the Almighty to understand why.

“I think the prophetic tradition of our faith is that to love God is to love justice. And, hey, I don’t meet that goal, but I try to do everything I can to live by it,” Wellstone once said to the Rabbi Laureate of Temple Aaron Synagogue in St. Paul.

That theistic understanding is the root of the religious left. Unlike the religious right, which focuses on what particular theistic tradition to believe in, and what citizens should not do, the religious left embraces different beliefs in the name and cause of justice.

The religious left is neither pious nor exclusionary. It does not damn or spread fear. Rather, it evokes hope and compassion.

Primarily, the religious left calls individuals to personal accountability, and criticizes persons only when they do not share the load of society’s burdens. It understands that all members of society are God’s children, and all deserve to experience and live out the glories of Her world.

That's the kind of faith I can believe in, that I can get behind. I want to find other believers who think the same way. Where are they, and what can we do together?

Comments

[splagxna.livejournal.com]

we're out here. we're quiet about it, but we're here and we're with you. (sometimes christianleft can help you find some more folks, although it doesn't always have a lot of deep discussion.)

[ctrinity.livejournal.com]

oy. I was living in Minnesota when Wellstone died. I remember watching his funeral on tv and just sobbing and sobbing. I never had a chance to vote for him, or to meet him, but everything I saw of him was wonderful.

[jonquil.livejournal.com]

Go read serasempre. You don't have to be left-wing to be a Right Christian.

[sythyry.livejournal.com]

Unitarian-Universalists! Well, maybe we're not quite as specifically Christian as you would like... I'm a UU, and I'm not Christian at all. A good many of us are, though.

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

I used to show up at a Unitarian-Universalist church occasionally, and I felt very much at home there despite being not only a leftist but an atheist.

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

Although perhaps that's not the sort of recommendation that you were looking for. ;)

[rivka.livejournal.com]

I'm one.

Kerry was one of us too; here's a report about a speech of his that I found profoundly inspiring.

I grew up in the United Church of Christ, and I'm now a Christian Unitarian-Universalist. I know we're not alone.

[matociquala.livejournal.com]

Kerry won my respect, finally, as more than not-Bush when I heard him say that he was personally opposed to abortion, as a Catholic, but that he did not feel it morally justified to force his views on anyone else.

I'm reasonably certain that it's also statements like that that lost him the election.

They are not evangelical, and Bush's people are evangelical. Which is why they frighten me.

I'm not Christian, but I am a moral animal. Can I come too?

[pnh.livejournal.com]

"Evangelical" isn't a synonym for "pushy fundamentalist". This guy is an evangelical, as are a lot of these folks. A lot of black civil rights crusaders have been one or another variety of evangelical. Jimmy Carter is an evangelical.

Yes, the evangelical emphasis on conversion and bearing witness can lead to some pretty toxic social behavior, but find me a religion that doesn't have a dark side. Meanwhile, while I'm not any kind of evangelical, it seems to me the least we can do for the Fred Clarks of the world to not let the right-wingers make off with exclusive rights to the word.

[matociquala.livejournal.com]

Fair cop. Sloppy language use on my part.

[rivka.livejournal.com]

I think that the term you were actually reaching for is "fundamentalist." "Evangelical" essentially just means outreach-oriented. "Fundamentalists" are the "no shades of grey" people.

[matociquala.livejournal.com]

No, it's more that I was using sense 6, below, and carelessly ignoring senses one-through-five, and also the positive uses of the word evangelical:

e·van·gel·i·cal (vn-jl-kl, vn-) also e·van·gel·ic (-jlk)

adj.

1. Of, relating to, or in accordance with the Christian gospel, especially one of the four gospel books of the New Testament.
2. Evangelical Of, relating to, or being a Protestant church that founds its teaching on the gospel.
3. Evangelical Of, relating to, or being a Christian church believing in the sole authority and inerrancy of the Bible, in salvation only through regeneration, and in a spiritually transformed personal life.
4. Evangelical
1. Of or relating to the Lutheran churches in Germany and Switzerland.
2. Of or relating to all Protestant churches in Germany.
5. Of or relating to the group in the Church of England that stresses personal conversion and salvation by faith.
6. Characterized by ardent or crusading enthusiasm; zealous: an evangelical liberal.

I was intentionally avoiding the word "fundamentalist," but in so doing I wandered int oa different linguistic trap. It's a manifestation of my general tendency to assume the world can read my thoughts, which is a particularly ironic failing for a fiction writer.

[shalynn-j.livejournal.com]

we're out here, and out numbered, and quiet...

[psychic-serpent.livejournal.com]

I want to find other believers who think the same way. Where are they, and what can we do together?

I'm glad you asked! It was in part because of my experience running a 501(c)(3) with my husband that Penny asked whether I'd be interested in joining the HPEF board. For the last eight years or so we've been the coordinators of the Interfaith Working Group. We write letters, produce a newsletter for @ 400 local (and some not-so-local) supporters of the organization and maintain a detailed website all dedicated to educating the public about the existence of people of faith who support gay rights, reproductive freedom and separation of church and state (our three platforms).

We have around 100 clergy, congregations and religious organizations on the letterhead we use for our correspondence and newsletter; while many of the organizations are gay groups within larger denominations or faiths the list also includes DVAC (the Delaware Valley Area Council--as in Council of the UUA), the Christian Association at the University of Pennsylvania and the local chapter of a Methodist social action organization that is not specifically focussed on our platform issues (although they support those too).

If you know ANYONE who'd be interested in starting a similar organization in the Twin Cities area we'd be happy to offer any guidance or advice that might help make that happen. Ken Booker-Langston, of AU (Americans United for Separation of Church and State) tried to get an IWG-type group started in Atlanta, and my husband travelled down there on AU's dime to meet with a group of clergy who were to be the beginnings of the group, but unfortunately it fizzled, which we think was due to a clergy person trying to run it. Clergy just don't have the time for this sort of thing and if a clergyperson is running such a group it could seem to be skewed toward the faith of that individual. Not that that person would be biased, it's just a risk of perception.

So let me amend that--if you know of any laypersons with the time and energy to commit to such a project, we'd be interesting in helping get a Twin Cities group off the ground.

[lkw18.livejournal.com]

I couldn't have said it any better.

The bible I read tells me to love everyone and that everyone is equal. The Christian right, I guess, apparently skipped over that part. It's just so absurd to opress others because you think they are committing a huge sin against your religion. To call someone a sinner and deny them basic rights is incredibly hypocritical of them and isn't it a sin to judge others?

A friend of mine is a Christian and she voted for Kerry. Someone was shocked when she told them she voted for Kerry and the person's response was: "But aren't you a Christian?" We had a discussion about this and my response would've been: "Exactly. I am a Christian and that is precisely why I am a Democrat. Bush and the right do not represent my Christian values."

[dreamcoat-mom.livejournal.com]

We are here in the small towns too, working hard to lead by example and live by what we believe. Sometimes I am able to make a point just by asking the tough questions of people who feel they have all the answers. In the meantime, we raise our children to see themselves as part of a global community and carry out the teachings of Christ in social action. There are many of us - we're just not as obnoxious zealous as the fundamentalists.

[porphyrin.livejournal.com]

We're here, drowning amid other voices. :)

[polygonia.livejournal.com]

That is how I view things.
That true christianity is about a form of compassion missing in the right.

[birds-sing.livejournal.com]

I'm so glad you saw this already. I was just about to point you this direction. :)

[magentamn.livejournal.com]

Do all the good you can,
By all the means you can,
In all the ways you can,
In all the places you can,
At all the times you can,
To all the people you can,
As long as ever you can.
- John Wesley

Too bad so many of the zealots seem to believe in faith instead of works. I have a lot more respect for someone helping pregnant women, and legislators who pass real pro-child laws than the idiots yelling in front of clinics, for one example.

And I'm Pagan. I don't have *faith* in anything. I just try to do what I believe is right, and kind. Because I know what goes around comes around.

[aeditimi.livejournal.com]

This Methodist aprreciates the quote from our noble founder! Social justice and action, rooted in his belief, is exactly why Wesley started the Methodists, and I hope the church someday catches up with his sentiments (sadly, while we are pro-choice, we are not yet pro-gay. But many of us are working tirelessly on that!).

[eal.livejournal.com]

Check out Sojourners, Peg!

They did the God is not a Republican . . . or a Democrat ad campaign throughout these elections.

They're a good group and they'll give you hope. They really will.

[aome.livejournal.com]

As opposed to the "One Nation Under God" billboard I saw for the Bush campaign. I am a believer, but to see such a blatant and (what I felt) inappropriate use of religion in a government campaign just made me ill.

[aome.livejournal.com]

Well, I'm over 1000 miles away, but I'd say I fall into that category of believers. It's sometimes hard for me to put my beliefs into words, since I wasn't really raised with any particular organised beliefs or bylaws. Only the general basic understanding of God as our Creator and protector, and Jesus who died for us. Anything after that I came to in adulthood, making it rather a hodgepodge and not very easily clarified, even in my mind.

I was feeling very discouraged after reading wayfairer's post about the religious right, wondering how on earth we could counter that kind of thinking. I suppose, in some ways, the best thing for us to do is just ... be. To live our faith out loud (sort of along the lines of msscribe's message of visibility), rather than to get overtly confrontational. I came to the church I'm in because of two people who just lived what they believed, and I wanted to learn more and be part of that. I wonder if it would work for general ideologies as well?

[sartorias.livejournal.com]

We're here.

My daughter and I will go to St Wilfrids (which supports gay rights and all the other good causes) Sunday and find out what we can do to lend a hand to the Cause.

[dendrophilous.livejournal.com]

Wish I knew. I'm disappointed in the Unitarian Universalists and considering going back to the Lutherans.

Also wish I had that bread pudding.

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

It was very good bread pudding! Yum! *g*

[juliansinger.livejournal.com]

Whyso disappointed? (May I venture the guess that they're not religious /enough/?)

[dendrophilous.livejournal.com]

No, I don't think so. I like being in a church where everyone can believe something different, where I can sit between a Christian and an atheist and listen to a Jew reading something from the Koran.

The biggest disappointment is that the services do nothing for me. In three churches in three parts of the country, they feel like sitting in a lecture hall.

I grew up Lutheran and I miss the liturgy, the words and music and the way the congregation becomes an important part of the service rather than just an audience.

I also miss the holidays and the seasons of the year. In UU it seems that every Sunday is the same unless it's a holiday, and then that holiday exists for one hour Sunday morning. There's no sense of flow, no sense that next week is important, that two weeks ago was special.

[juliansinger.livejournal.com]

Actually, that's rather what I meant by it not being religious enough.

Perhaps I should have said spiritual.

I'm a birthright UU myself, and actually pondering going into the ministry, but I have many of those same issues. I would essentially call it a religion without spiritual passion. It's frustrating.

(On the other hand, if I go into the ministry, perhaps I can do something about that, at least on an individual level.)

[dendrophilous.livejournal.com]

It doesn't seem to be an uncommon complaint. But I'm not sure how to make a service feel like worship if everyone is worshipping something different.

I've never been to a non-liturgical Protestant service and for all I know they would also leave me cold.

[psychic-serpent.livejournal.com]

It can differ from congregation to congregation. The UU I've been to the most as a visitor (usually a guest speaker) is First Unitarian here in Philly, which is hundreds of years old and has a very diverse tradition in the services. They definitely have different things going on at different times of the year, celebrating Christmas, Winter Solstice, All Saints, Easter/Passover, etc.

I do know several progressive religious folks who missed, in particular, the celebration of communion after attending UU churches for a while. One was raised by fundamentalist Baptist missionaries, if you can believe (!), so she ended up going to a very progressive ABC (American Baptist Church) congregation.

Although the UCC and UUA are probably some of the most progressive churches around there ARE conservative congregations in these denominations, too, so look into the particular church--don't just assume. And there are radical/progressive Presbyterian, Episcopal, Lutheran, Baptist, Methodist, Reformed Jewish, Reconstructionist Jewish and even Conservative Jewish congregations out there.

One of the projects we've worked on for a while is a directory of "welcoming" congregations in the Philadelphia area (specifically welcoming GLBTQ people, their families and friends), but it would be fantastic if there were a national directory of such congregations. I don't know how many friends have moved away from here and left our congregation, only to write back to the church saying they've still had no luck finding a church home because they ended up moving to a rather conservative area. It's no fun to spend an entire service biting the inside of your cheek because you're afraid of reacting negatively to it while it's still going on.

[dendrophilous.livejournal.com]

I should have said I've been to three different UU churches in three different parts of the country. And there's only one in this city so it's sort of moot anyway.

They all celebrated the holidays, but I really like the lead-up to them you get with Lent and Advent and the whole "Second Sunday of Easter" concept.

[birds-sing.livejournal.com]

Others have said it better than I, but we are here. And this one has decided to become much more active as a result of this election. I had thought that there were more of us.

I'm not sure what we can do togther. Not specifically. But I'm working on that. If we all work together, I think we can accomplish great things.

[seajules]

We're here, even if the more vocal/visible/famous members of our particular faiths would have you believe we're not.

[kristenj.livejournal.com]

You would probably like The Heart of Christianity, by Marcus J. Borg.





From Publishers Weekly
Borg follows up two of his previous releases about the Bible and Jesus with a volume that could easily have played on those titles, because this highly readable book is essentially about looking at Christianity again for the first time. In that respect, it provides a valuable glimpse into the essence of Christianity for those who have left the faith because they no longer believe its doctrines and those who are trying to remain in the faith while questioning its doctrines. With those people in mind, Borg emphasizes the transformational aspect of Christianity by examining the "emerging paradigm" that is gradually replacing the belief-centered paradigm of the last several hundred years. The new paradigm, Borg writes, is about loving God and loving what God loves, rather than rigidly adhering to a specific set of beliefs. In exploring this new way of "being Christian," Borg offers a middle ground for conservative and liberal Christians, though it's unlikely conservatives will conclude, as he does, that Jesus was not really the Son of God, nor are liberals likely to begin using the term "born again," as he advocates. Still, there's much here that both sides can agree on, possibly helping to bring them a step closer to the unity that has eluded them for centuries. As always, Borg writes with clarity and precision, which should also help the ongoing conversation.

[rivka.livejournal.com]

I'm reading that book now.

[siriologist.livejournal.com]

Me! Me! Over here! I really like the label of the religious left. So often christians are assumed to be right wing and/or conservative, and liberals are accused of being heathen, or at least not really christian. I think the religious left has to organize just as the right did years ago. Can we start a PAC?

[aeditimi.livejournal.com]

I want to find other believers who think the same way. Where are they, and what can we do together?

*raises hand* Here's one! I'm one! And I'm a pastor... not that this fact seems to help much. Mostly it just distances be from my congregation, but my hope is that bit by bit, earning their trust, I can coax them to move from religious right to at least the religious middle if not the left. I am hurt by all the "Christians voted for Bush" polls and statistics. Not *all* of us did. And in fact, it is precisely my religiously-held belief in God's inclusive love of all creatures that motivates me to vote against the republican agenda.

Thanks for finding this quote. It was what I need to hear, too.

[aeditimi.livejournal.com]

Sorry, I had another thought after I posted...

One thing that I have been thinking a lot about is that it seems like the right and the left don't play by the same rules. Whereas the pastors and laity in the Christian right have no problem preaching about politics and politicians and campaigning *in church* and at church functions, many on the left are hesitant or downright opposed to doing so. I for one made plenty of statements about war/peace and God's love for all people, but never came out and said from the pulpit that people should vote Bush out. And yet my collegues in more right-wing churches did not feel the same need to self-censor? Why is that? Should we on the left adopt the tactics of the right and use our faith to make political statements? Part of me cringes at that. Is it cowardice or good sense?

[minnehaha.livejournal.com]

I'd love to see those churches who endorse candidates lose their tax-exempt status, personally.

K.

[minnehaha.livejournal.com]

This is probably not exactly what you are looking for, but HOBT is planning to host a neighborhood pot-luck on the 19th (Friday). We'll have some ritual for healing, some community building and empowerment, and lots of opportunities to network and get connected.

More details after we make them up, which we are doing on Sunday.

K.