Saturday, May 20, 2006

Religious Left Emerging From Obscurity

WP: Religious liberals gain new visibility - washingtonpost.com Highlights - MSNBC.com: "In large part, the revival of the religious left is a reaction against conservatives' success in the 2004 elections in equating moral values with opposition to abortion and same-sex marriage.

Religious liberals say their faith compels them to emphasize such issues as poverty, affordable health care and global warming. Disillusionment with the war in Iraq and opposition to Bush administration policies on secret prisons and torture have also fueled the movement.

'The wind is changing. Folks -- not just leaders -- are fed up with what is being portrayed as Christian values,' said the Rev. Tim Ahrens, senior minister of First Congregational Church of Columbus, Ohio, and a founder of We Believe Ohio, a statewide clergy group established to ensure that the religious right is 'not the only one holding a megaphone' in the public square.

'As religious people we're offended by the idea that if you're not with the religious right, you're not moral, you're not religious,' said Linda Gustitus, who attends Bethesda's River Road Unitarian Church and is a founder of the new Washington Region Religious Campaign Against Torture. 'I mean there's a whole universe out there [with views] different from the religious right. . . . People closer to the middle of the political spectrum who are religious want their voices heard. . ."

Amen. And about time.

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