Politics, meet religion. Religion, this is politics… 

To some that meeting is a good thing, while others are probably screaming in horror at the very thought of those two things in close proximity (picture: Macaulay Culkin in “Home Alone”).  After all, politics and religion are seemingly contrasting forces, like day and night, logic and ideology, good and evil…right?  In reality, politics and religion can be intimate, powerful, and common entities. Both have the ability to profoundly divide as well as the capacity to strongly bind together.

But let’s be real. There’s a buzz, if you will, a vibe in the air surrounding progressives when it comes to the practicing faithful.  For many progressives, our values of equality, inclusion, and freedom of expression seemingly stand at odds with organized religion.

I have been looked at up and down, sideways, and crisscrossed by some of my fellow progressives (and to be honest – other Christians). First, they question (You’re a Christian?!), then they’re confused (Wait you believe in equality? Like for everyone?).  Then comes skepticism (A progressive practicing Christian, um, yeah, ok.), and finally the re-evaluation (a Progressive Christian…cool, I think.) Yes, yes, yes — as strange as it may seem, I am a practicing Southern Black Baptist Christian who believes in equality, inclusion, access, and all of those other social justice tag words.

Call me clairvoyant, but I can feel questions forming in your minds…what about abortion? Yes, I believe in reproductive rights & choice. What about LGBTQIA rights? Yes, I believe that discrimination of any kind and in any form is wrong! I do have strong political beliefs, but they stem from my strong religious beliefs.  I was not a Christian with a “drug” problem (drug to Sunday school, drug to church, drug to Bible study…).  I love going to services and functions at my church. I was not taught that God was about fire & brimstone, but that the Lord was fair but just, that Jesus was compassionate, concerned for people’s well being, and above all else, a radical and a political rebel! However, not everyone has had this experience with Christianity.

The political left indeed has a healthy skepticism of organized religion.  Rightly so (no pun intended); even before our generation, conservatives had staked claim to organized Christian religion.  The “Christian conservative movement” has been incredibly successful at framing the debate in the context of the conservative ideology of religion. Their “issues”, like school prayer and restriction of abortion rights completely turn off those on the left.   Many people of faith, however, reject the hatred that so often comes from the Christian conservative movement disguised as piety. Their faith teaches them to love their neighbor as themselves, and practice non-violence, patience, kindness, and compassion.  Many, in fact, feel that their religion instills in them a profound sense of social justice and a set of values – like equality, inclusion, and freedom of expression.

Sound familiar?

How many times have you encountered self-described progressives, but yet they are accustomed to dismissing people who don’t think like them, agree on all the issues, or who have a different set of priorities.  And then they wonder why it is difficult to tap people into working on their campaigns and advocating for their issues. You can keep politics and faith separate, and progressives can go on trying to organize a critical mass to build power. 

But where does that leave progressive Christianity – or better yet progressive Judaism or progressive Islam? Where does that leave those of us on the political left that are equally held by our religious ideologies and our political ideologies; those that believe that their faith strongly dictates their commitment to human rights, equality, and progressive politics?

Progressive organizers, take note: instead of running from people’s religious identity, we should explore it, especially with those that we would like to have as a part of our movement(s). If we do that, we may very well be able to move them simply by tying our organizing issue in with their values. Emotions & beliefs often light a bigger fire under people than logical reasoning does (if it was the other way around the world would look much different), and because people hold their values near and dear their commitment will be strong as well. The “right” understands this! It’s about time the “left” does too.

We need to look beyond what brings people to the work of social justice and think about the why.  When identifying potential allies for the tremendous work we have to do, we look to build relationships based on understanding three fundamental things about people:  their issues, or what specific concerns they want to address; their interest, or their stake in that particular issue; and their values – that moral compass inside all of us.  Getting to know people on this level makes it much easier to identify common ground.

The political right has branded organized Christian religion for far too long, while ignoring, radicalizing, and/or discounting other organized religion (mainly Judaism & Islam) all together. And the political left has ignored, demonized, and shunned Christianity while discounting Judaism and straddling the fence on Islam.  

There will always be people of faith on both sides of the political spectrum. However, it is to our success to acknowledge the religious community as brothers and sisters in the struggle, embrace and apply their affiliations to our causes, and move onward together.