Religious Left Coalitions
Mark Tooley
Two relatively new religious coalitions are combating the
burgeoning influence of Christian conservatives. The Interfaith
Alliance, created in 1994, is largely a mishmash of fading, old-
line Religious Left fixtures whose predictable denunciations of
Ralph Reed and Pat Robertson have failed to attract sustained
attention or new allies. But the Call to Renewal, which
<Sojourners> publisher Jim Wallis helped create last year, has
been considerably more successful in portraying itself as a viable
alternative to the Christian Right.
Many National Council of Churches types have endorsed the Call,
but their profiles have been kept noticeably low. More prominent
have been "progressive" evangelicals and Roman Catholics who claim
their politics are "above" and "beyond" the "traditional politics"
of Left and Right. "We face a serious collapse of moral and
spiritual values," Wallis told several hundred Call activists at a
February conference in Washington. "Neither the Left nor the Right
has understood the depth of the crisis."
Despite a brief rebuke of religious liberals who have forsaken
their "moral imagination" by identifying with the Democratic
Party, Wallis and other Call leaders have almost exclusively
blasted the Religious Right and their Republican allies. Last
December, nearly all of the Call's top leaders, including Wallis,
were arrested for acts of civil disobedience in the Capitol
Rotunda in protest against Republican budget cuts.
Unlike the Interfaith Alliance and the old-line Religious Left,
much if not most of the Call leadership is theologically orthodox.
Most proclaim to be evangelical. But like the
dispirited organs of the Religious Left, the Call has so far
promoted "progressive" political action over evangelism, related
to the media and liberal activist networks rather than local
church members, and has de-emphasized traditional Christian
teachings about sexuality and abortion so as to be "inclusive."
Of the Call's 100 prominent endorsers, eighteen are Roman
Catholic, including Bishops Thomas Gumbleton of Detroit; Raymond
Lucker of New Ulm, Minnesota; LeRoy Matthiesen of Amarillo, Texas;
Francis Murphy of Baltimore; Peter Rosazza of Hartford,
Connecticut; Walter Sullivan of Richmond, Virginia; and, Rembert
Weakland of Milwaukee.
Other Catholics are Gerald Brown of the Catholic Conference of
Major Superiors of Men's Institutes, Margaret Cafferty and Joan
Chittister of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, Marie
Dennis of Maryknoll Justice and Peace, J. Bryan Hehir of the
Harvard Center for International Affairs, and Carlotta Ullmer of
the Sisters of St. Francis of the Holy Cross. Catholic
conservatives will not be surprised by these endorsers, but media
coverage has contrasted high-level Catholic support for the Call
to harsh criticism of the Christian Coalition by some Catholic
leaders.
"It's blasphemy when religion is used to promote politics that
ignore the poor, the marginal and voiceless," said Cafferty, who
claimed to represent eighty thousand Catholic nuns at the Call's
first press conference on May 23, 1995, at Washington's National
Press Club. The Call's debut received widespread national
attention, including coverage in the <Washington Post>, the <New
York Times, USA Today>, and the <Los Angeles Times>. "More and
more of the media realize there are other voices," Wallis has
boasted.
Cafferty was joined by Wallis and other Call founders, including
Baptist evangelist Tony Campolo, who seemed to summarize the
Call's objective when he said, "We want to change the purpose of
evangelism. . . Political issues are at the heart of the Christian
faith. We thank them [the Religious Right] for making America
aware that politics is religious."
Campolo, whom President Clinton has cited as one of his ten most
admired preachers, pledged that the Call's "progressive
evangelical caucus" would "avoid Left and Right" while advocating
community programs to battle "gay-bashing, racism, and poverty."
He said they would seek "reconciliation and not polarization."
A second Call press conference was held nearly a year later, on
February 1, 1996. Wallis affirmed that "We think the Religious
Right is wrong on many things, but we're not the Religious Left."
He said, "What we see emerging is a genuine new coalition, a new
network."
Wallis urged Christians to seek "common ground," but criticism of
the Religious Right was sharp. Boston pastor Eugene Rivers of the
African-American Azusa Christian Community condemned the Religious
Right as the "Afrikaner wing of flat-earth fundamentalism." And he
derided the "white supremacist orientation" of Christian
conservatives, which "promotes their agenda at the expense of the
poor."
This harsh rhetoric notwithstanding, Campolo declared, "this
movement is about transcending bitterness, about the end of
demonizing." Wes Granberg-Michaelson, general secretary of the
Reformed Church in America, reassuringly opined that there was "a
silent majority in our churches today turned off by a religious
community that demonizes its opponents." Wallis promised, "We're
going to offer a voters' guide with criteria that will be able to
be used at every level, especially local. We will not endorse
candidates, not endorse parties. We want to affect the quality of
the discourse. "
A two-day seminar for Call activists after the press conference
indicated that the Call will be considerably more partisan than
Wallis implied. James Forbes of New York's famously liberal
Riverside Church lashed out at Republican policies in his opening
address before an enthusiastic crowd.
"Shall we tell the truth about this grand democracy? I think that
the wine has run out!" he shouted as he likened the nation's
deficient political status to the wedding at Canal "No human being
would balance the budget on the backs of the poor unless the wine
has run out. Brothers and sisters, meanness is creeping across the
land! . . .
"Some people are claiming that God has signed the Contract [with
America]," Forbes exclaimed with outraged sarcasm. "Somebody has
forged God's name. We need a handwriting analysis!" he told the
laughing and applauding crowd. So much for escaping demonization.
Forbes lambasted the Christian Right's racist "tokenism." He cited
Ben Kinslow, the amiable black cohost of Pat Robertson's <700
Club>, as his example. "Any religion that doesn't deal with
cleavage between the races, sexual orientations, and genders is
not strong. We must resist racism, homophobia, ageism, classism."
Despite his earlier plea for more thoughtful rhetoric, Granberg-
Michaelson excoriated the "radical Religious Right" for "spurting
out platitudes." He claimed that "everything they are doing
destroys the family. <They> are walking contradictions. They say
they are pro-life and infiltrate our churches and subvert our
weaknesses. They are not pro-life, just pro-birth. They talk about
family values, but they are about greed and avarice."
He insisted that "we cannot allow them in the name of God to get
away with lying. Rush Limbaugh does not speak for us." Granberg-
Michaelson expressed his preference for other spokesmen, such as
the reliably left-leaning National Council of Churches.
"The National Council of Churches has gotten a warm reception from
the Clinton administration. I welcome it," said Granberg-
Michaelson. "Clinton is a Bible-believing Baptist who has been
vilified by fellow Christians. Only one-third of evangelicals
support the Religious Right. The silent majority rejects the
Religious Right."
<Tikkun> editor Michael Lerner echoed fears of the Religious
Right: "People are moving into religion because of legitimate
fears of materialism, but they are buying into racism, sexism,
homophobia, and xenophobia." But Lerner also criticized his own
side of the political spectrum to explain the Right's appeal: "In
the Left, we must reject the narrow interpretation of human
needs."
On a positive note, Campolo warned that Call supporters should not
underestimate the sincerity or generosity of conservative
Christians. "If I checked Jerry Falwell's people and their per
capita giving to the poor, I bet Jerry Falwell's people would
come- out better than we would. Don't think those people don't
have compassion for the poor." But Campolo lapsed into more facile
liberal verbiage when he became "prophetic,' about America's
politics:
"There's something desperately wrong with a nation that will send
its armies to protect oil, but has to debate whether or not it
will save lives in Haiti or Bosnia," Campolo emoted flamboyantly.
"There's something wrong with a nation that will use its resources
to keep a dictator in his place if he threatens our wealth, but
won't if he presses people and makes them suffer."
Campolo defended the Head Start program, gun control,
environmental regulation, and federal spending on education as
evidence of the "kingdom of God" in a nation called to devote its
"resources" to "His honor and glory." He affirmed that "we are
united against those who would dismantle the safety net. It hasn't
worked like it should, but it's worked better than a lot of people
think it has."
Although a self-professed evangelical, Campolo was willing to be
provocative with his language about God. "God is beyond the
rational categories of thought. You can only surrender to her, you
got that?!" he proclaimed to applause. "That little shift. He is
beyond that. She is beyond that. God is a presence."
Campolo proclaimed that Jesus' "kingdom was of this world. He
didn't talk much about the other world. It was one world at a time
for him."
Like Campolo, Boston Pentecostal pastor Eugene Rivers is avowedly
evangelical. More strongly than Campolo, he affirmed traditional
church teachings about homosexuality and abortion and was more
explicit in recognizing the Call's limitations. Noting the
presence of only thirteen or fourteen black people in the
audience, Rivers declared, "Let's get real. This is the white
Religious Left. When the media gets here we want to pad the
numbers. But we are talking about a very small group. We are a
prophetic minority."
Rivers lamented that the black community has been a "dumping
ground" for the white Left. And he decried the "opportunism" of
liberals who had likened the history of "lynched" blacks in the
South to the difficulties of middle-class white women and the
white gay community.
Wallis interjected that the Religious Right "makes a litmus test"
of abortion and homosexuality. He urged moving "beyond old
thinking" on these issues in search of "common ground.... There
are people in this room who have different theologies about
homosexuality.... Let's not scapegoat gay and lesbian people."
Ron Sider of the moderately liberal Evangelicals for Social Action
disagreed with Wallis about agreeing to disagree on sexuality
issues. According to one Call organizer, Sider was crucial in
recruiting evangelicals for the Call who would not have responded
to Wallis. Even more than Rivers, Sider stressed the importance of
traditional Christian teaching on sexuality. "One thing typical of
the Left is to say that poverty and economic justice are far more
important than family, sexual integrity, and the sanctity of human
life. There's as much pain in this country from lack of sexual
faithfulness as from economic injustice."
The audience response to Sider's plea was muted, and several
people walked out. One homosexual Baptist pastor told Christianity
Today that he had to leave in protest because he had been "hurt"
and "surprised" by remarks from Sider and Rivers. Wallis assistant
Duane Shank explained to the same reporter, "We are in agreement
on poverty issues, but less clear, obviously, on issues like
abortion and homosexuality."
Racism was another chief topic for the Call conference. Rivers
declared that, "White supremacy is the defining feature of the
white church." Meanwhile, former National Council of Churches
racial justice unit chief Joe Agne, a United Methodist minister,
told of his own agonizing journey as a guilt-ridden European
American: "White supremacy is the defining issue in this country."
He claimed that the Ku Klux Klan and Aryan Nation were merely
"shock troops that protect the privilege of those of us who call
ourselves white."
Other than Agne, speakers from the old-line NCC establishment were
rare. Endorsers of the Call include NCC General Secretary Joan
Campbell, Episcopal Presiding Bishop Edmund Browning, United
Methodist Bishop (and NCC President) Melvin Talbert, Disciples of
Christ President Richard Hamm, and United Church of Christ
President Paul Cherry. None has appeared at any Call public
function, although Campbell reportedly has tried to acquire a
role.
The Call's endorsement by one hundred mostly evangelical church
leaders has gained it some credibility to speak for at least a
faction of America's church members. Unlike the Interfaith
Alliance, whose leaders are largely unelected representatives of
declining church bodies, the Call does connect with some of
America's more vibrant Christian communities. Spokesmen like
Rivers, for example, in all probability legitimately speak for
black Pentecostalism.
Other Call endorsers include Myron Augsburger of the Christian
College Coalition, Steve Haynes of InterVarsity Christian
Fellowship, Roberta Hestenes of Eastern College, and J. I. Packer
of <Christianity Today>, all of whom are respected evangelical
leaders. This leadership aside, even Rivers accurately recognized
that the Call remains largely an elitist movement of politically
liberal evangelicals and Roman Catholics.
The Call is primarily a project of Wallis and his <Sojourners>
magazine, coordinated by <Sojourners> national organizer Duane
Shank. Both Wallis and Shank have long activist histories that
have, on occasion, intertwined them with the totalitarian far
Left, such as the Nicaraguan Sandinistas. "We must be very careful
not to be the Religious Left," Wallis told the Call conference in
February. But if Wallis is not the Religious Left, then who is?
Wallis urged that "we need a third way. This country is
desperately in need of it." He is probably right that a large
segment of American Christians, Catholic and Protestant, thirst
for a political alternative to the Christian Coalition. He is
certainly right that "things are unraveling," that "neighborhoods
are falling apart," and that the answers are more involved than
the election of "as many right-wing Republicans as possible." This
noted, he is absolutely right that "religion could become a
healing force in the political debate."
Public statements from the Call so far indicate that it intends to
drag the evangelical and Catholic worlds into the same left-wing
political conformity and theological ambiguity (if not blatant
apostasy) that have paralyzed much of old-line Protestantism. NCC
spokesmen may not be present at Call events, but their spirit is.
It is no surprise that Marian Edelman of the Children's Defense
Fund, that righteous warrior for the welfare state, is a Call
endorser.
The "renewal" to which the Church must call our nation is far more
profound than the political defense of federal agencies and
programs that the Call to Renewal has so far promoted. Neither the
Department of Education nor the Endangered Species Act are vital
pillars of the authentic Kingdom of God. The Religious Right has
grown because it understands this. The Religious Left, however,
will not expand beyond seminary campuses and Washington conference
halls until it seeks to understand likewise.
MARK TOOLEY is a research associate and UMAction Director at The
Institute for Religion and Democracy.
This article was taken from the July/August 1996 issue of "Crisis"
magazine. To subscribe please write: Box 1006, Notre Dame, IN
46556 or call 1-800-852-9962. Subscriptions are $25.00 per year.
Editorial correspondence should be sent to 1511 K Street, N.W.,
Ste. 525, Washington, D.C., 20005, 202-347-7411; E-mail:
[email protected].
-------------------------------------------------------
Provided courtesy of:
Eternal Word Television Network
PO Box 3610
Manassas, VA 22110
Voice: 703-791-2576
Fax: 703-791-4250
Web:
http://www.ewtn.com
Email address:
[email protected]
-------------------------------------------------------
