The Religious Left

Ever think whom you'd invite to a dinner party or a friendly pub if you could choose anyone in the world? Well after Willie Mays, my childhood hero who may have been the greatest all-around baseball player of all time, there are a few others that would be high on my invitee list. One of these is Jim Wallis, the evangelical theologian who is the founder of Sojourners, a nationwide network of progressive Christians working for justice and peace. His 2005 NY Times bestseller, God's Politics, describes how the right wing distorted and co-opted religion and “values”. As the book's chapter subtitles ask: since when did Jesus become pro-war, pro-rich, and a selective moralist?

Wallis has especially high praise for the “consistent ethic of life” that derives from the heart of Catholic social teaching and the Jewish prophets. Social justice issues are religious and moral issues and need to be treated as such. Wallis tells a story about some theology students who snipped out all sections of the Bible that dealt with the poor and social justice. The result looked like a large pile of thinly-sliced Swiss cheese. Health care, living wages, the environment, and eradication of poverty are not just political issues – they are religious issues and we should not hesitate to address them as such. Wallis does not let the Left off either. He faults the Left for misguided tactics. His basic argument with the Left is that it is afraid to appeal to religion in discussing political issues. The end result has been the loss of the “religious” vote. Historically, much of the progress on social issues (for example, the abolition of slavery, the civil rights movement, anti-war protests) was made based on religious and moral arguments. The Left need to consider returning to that tradition.

The press ignores progressive religious actions that don't tally with the prevailing view of religion in America. E.J. Dionne, in a May 22^nd article in the Washington Post notes the lack of coverage of the controversary over House Speaker John Boehner's commencement speech at Catholic University. When the university invited Boehner, a Catholic, to speak at its May 14^th commencement exercises, a group of the university's professors wrote a letter to him. “From the apostles to the present,” the professors wrote, “the Magisterium of the Church has insisted that those in power are morally obliged to preference the needs of the poor.” They added: “Your record in support of legislation to address the desperate needs of the poor is among the worst in Congress.” The letter specifically condemned the House-passed Ryan budget, arguing that it “guts long-established protections for the most vulnerable members of society.”

As Jim Wallis notes, God is personal but never private. Social justice and peace are at the heart of Jesus' message. Ignoring or denying this puts the lie to those who proclaim themselves “religious” and act otherwise. I'll close with a bumper sticker addressed to these self-proclaimed religious people. “Greed and intolerance are not family values.”