May 23, 2006--"Our Authentic Being"
After the 2000 election, which required the Supreme Court to elect George Bush, Republican strategists concluded that the reason Al Gore won the popular vote was because not enough Evangelical Christians turned out at the polls. In order to get them there in 2004 they made sure to enflame their base by pandering to their homophobic fears—they arranged for anti-gay marriage initiatives to be on the ballot in key states. It worked—Bush won both the popular and electoral votes.
Democrats came to a similar conclusion—they were defeated because they did not do a good enough job promulgating a “values” agenda, including they did not go to church enough and have their pictures taken as they emerged from Sunday services. They also noted that though the Constitution calls for the separation of church and state, conservative Christian leaders, including the clergy, were not at all shy about preaching politics from the pulpit, even handing out voter palm cards and directing their followers to vote.
So now, not only do we find Democrat presidential aspirants praying in public but also moving to the right on so-called values issues (for example, Hillary did a version of a right turn on abortion), but we also find the Religious Left groping toward an electoral strategy—thinking about what they might say to their parishioners to get them politically mobilized.
The NY Times reported recently on a gathering of an assortment of Unitarians, Congregationalists, progressive rabbis, and even a few Benedictine nuns under the banner of the new Network for Spiritual Progressives as they sought to find unifying messages that might counter those of the Christian Right. (See full story linked below.)
In the spirit of learning from the success of the Jerry Falwells, much discussion focused on whether or not the Network should get behind specific policies. This was countered by those who felt that to be an inappropriate goal for religious leaders—instead, they should assert that they are “a religious voice” and thereby take religion back from conservatives who do endorse specific pieces of social legislation.
The idea of endorsing legislation proved to be difficult for Progressives since they see their principle strength to be supporting pluralism, giving voice to diverse views and priorities. How then to speak with one voice as they perceive conservatives doing? Assuming this to be the case (which it isn’t since conservatives are not as monolithic in thought or behavior as caricatured), how then can you get progressives politically activated by appealing to the faith and religiosity?
The Reverend Ama Zenya of the First Congregational Church in Oakland had the best idea—she told the assemblage that they should exhort their brethren to talk to one another about their spiritual values and “practice fully our authentic being.”
I can hear Karl Rove chuckling to himself as he waits for his next appearance before the Grand Jury.
Democrats came to a similar conclusion—they were defeated because they did not do a good enough job promulgating a “values” agenda, including they did not go to church enough and have their pictures taken as they emerged from Sunday services. They also noted that though the Constitution calls for the separation of church and state, conservative Christian leaders, including the clergy, were not at all shy about preaching politics from the pulpit, even handing out voter palm cards and directing their followers to vote.
So now, not only do we find Democrat presidential aspirants praying in public but also moving to the right on so-called values issues (for example, Hillary did a version of a right turn on abortion), but we also find the Religious Left groping toward an electoral strategy—thinking about what they might say to their parishioners to get them politically mobilized.
The NY Times reported recently on a gathering of an assortment of Unitarians, Congregationalists, progressive rabbis, and even a few Benedictine nuns under the banner of the new Network for Spiritual Progressives as they sought to find unifying messages that might counter those of the Christian Right. (See full story linked below.)
In the spirit of learning from the success of the Jerry Falwells, much discussion focused on whether or not the Network should get behind specific policies. This was countered by those who felt that to be an inappropriate goal for religious leaders—instead, they should assert that they are “a religious voice” and thereby take religion back from conservatives who do endorse specific pieces of social legislation.
The idea of endorsing legislation proved to be difficult for Progressives since they see their principle strength to be supporting pluralism, giving voice to diverse views and priorities. How then to speak with one voice as they perceive conservatives doing? Assuming this to be the case (which it isn’t since conservatives are not as monolithic in thought or behavior as caricatured), how then can you get progressives politically activated by appealing to the faith and religiosity?
The Reverend Ama Zenya of the First Congregational Church in Oakland had the best idea—she told the assemblage that they should exhort their brethren to talk to one another about their spiritual values and “practice fully our authentic being.”
I can hear Karl Rove chuckling to himself as he waits for his next appearance before the Grand Jury.
posted by Steven Zwerling at
5:20 PM
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