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Religion needs progressives

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Also by Kyle Szarzynski:

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America, stop kneeling at altar of religious insanity (November 27, 2007)
Critics ignore Kumar's progressive strides (November 26, 2007)
Islam no defense for extremist action (November 20, 2007)

by Kyle Szarzynski

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

Religion and progress aren't often thought of as going together. It's not hard to see why. The embarrassing history of organized religion aside, the American political context doesn't reveal faith's better side. Following the Sept. 11 attacks, Southern Baptist preacher Jerry Falwell shared his moral advice when he blamed the bloodshed on, among others, "the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the lesbians."

Another revealing comment comes from President George Bush, who insists that "God told me to end the tyranny in Iraq," according to the Guardian, a British news organization. Presumably, God also told him to oversee Iraq's degeneration into a bloody hellhole.

The above quotes may be cause for a chuckle. The tragedy, though, is they are telling of a frustrating reality — the usurpation of religious and moral authority by the American Right. Polls indicate a strong correlation between religious belief and support for conservative values. When Falwell proclaimed that "God is a Republican," millions of Americans must have nodded their heads in agreement. Issues like abortion, gay rights and stem-cell research are tainted by their association with the godless immorality of the Left. Religious liberals, then, are made to feel guilty when embracing such causes via the bellowing of the Christian Right. The result is a dysfunctional political ethic: Progress is bad, and reaction is good.

Unfortunately, many leftists embrace this divide, viewing religion as the enemy of social change. To them, faith is a standard of tradition, a bulwark against a rational and just society.

What both above views ignore, however, is the importance that many believers place on justice — and that is inherent in true Christianity. Indeed, most of the great social movements of American history have had a religious foundation. Most of the leading figures and organizations involved in the abolitionist movement — John Brown, William Lloyd Garrison, the Quakers and many others — based their activism on Christian principles. The civil rights movement, as well, was entrenched in religious fervor. The hub of the movement's activity in the black churches of the South (not surprisingly, churches were the primary target of bombings by white supremacists). Martin Luther King Jr. was an ordained Baptist minister. In Milwaukee, desegregation marches were led by Father James Groppi, a Roman Catholic priest.

The churches are also involved in social activism today. During the immigrant rights marches last spring, the Catholic Church played a crucial role in organizing its Hispanic parishioners. Cardinal Roger Mahony, archbishop of Los Angeles, called on priests and lay Catholics to ignore the law if necessary, stating, "We are called to attend the last, littlest, lowest and least in society and in the Church … especially in the face of increasing hostility toward immigrants." When Amadou Diallo was killed in a shocking example of police brutality in 2000, churches across New York City sang condemnations of institutionalized racism and became the backbone of the ensuing protests.

A final example of Christian progressivism comes from the well-known charity work of the churches. The Catholic Church, in particular, provides billions of dollars worth of assistance every year, making it the largest social service organization in the world.

The issues for which the Church is criticized (by the Left) are largely confined to matters of sex and its consequences. Such issues of personal morality aren't relevant to anyone's lifestyle but one's own, but are mandated nonetheless and successfully exploited by Republicans. When it comes to the bread-and-butter issues that actually affect all working-class Americans, however, religious institutions can be a powerful tool for social change. Police brutality, poverty, civil rights, immigrant rights, war, education, and health care are all issues over which alliances between the religious and secularists can be created. Creating coalitions with religious groups gives social movements an aura of moral righteousness that can't be matched by long-haired hippies or militant socialists.

Still, the United States is home to a dangerous religious phenomenon — the rise of a narrow brand of Protestant fundamentalism. This movement, headed by nefarious characters like Falwell, is utterly intertwined with right-wing politics (including born-again President Bush). They preach self-responsibility as a substitute for welfare, support a President Bush-style death penalty policy and believe that the separation of church and state is a liberal ploy. Properly dubbed the American Taliban, the movement has assumed the mantle of religious morality in the eyes of many Americans. The results have been devastating.

The only way to overcome this political ethos of bigotry and hate is for unity among all progressives — secular and religious. This cannot be achieved, however, if matters of personal morality are placed at the forefront. Archbishop Desmond Tutu understood this when he said, "Isn't it sad that in a time when we face so many devastating problems — poverty, HIV/AIDS, war and conflict — that in our [Church] we should be investing so much time and energy on disagreement about sexual orientation? … I think God is weeping."

Kyle Szarzynski (szarzynski@wisc.edu) is a sophomore majoring in Spanish and history.

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Anonymous (March 21, 2007 @ 6:58am):

Marv Albert says "Yes"

Anonymous (March 21, 2007 @ 12:42pm):

Is there a difference between man-made religion and divine-made religion? Of course, we must assume. Can the creation ever define its creator? Of course not, we must assume.

Were we born with everything we need to know about God, or do we have to subscribe to a corporate doctrine to be enlightened by mediums of the divine?

Will your life collapse without religion, or would you manage without it? What if you never went to church, but followed the teachings of Christ? Are you a Christian?

Are the churches here to redistribute wealth to those in need, are they here to "teach a man to fish," or are they here to build multi-million dollar sanctuaries?

Anonymous (March 21, 2007 @ 1:51pm):

There are plenty of religious progressives. They're the ones who take the Beatitudes or Hillel's Golden Rule seriously, rather than claiming to be Christians while waging war, lying, cheating, stealing, oppressing the meek and weak, destroying our planet, passing off the tax burden onto the people least able to afford it, defunding public education, and all manner of other idiotic policies brought to you by the Bush Administration.

Anonymous (March 21, 2007 @ 2:06pm):

The idea that God is weeping over the church's attempt to marginalize homosexuality is ridiculous. Check out Genesis 19, Romans 1:26-27, 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, etc... Desmond Tutu may not think homosexuality is important compared to poverty aids, war and conflict, but God does. "Sexual orientation" is a euphemism. The Bible calls it sexual immorality, and in the Old Testament, it was punishable by death. Maybe that offends some people. Fine. Go lobby for gay rights or do whatever you feel necessary to satisfy your ideologies. But don't try to dilute Christian principles by claiming that God is OK with homosexuality.

Anonymous (March 21, 2007 @ 2:42pm):

Let's see: On one hand, we have the Taliban, who stone gays to death, forcibly oppress women, blow up schoolchildren. And then we have the dreaded "American Taliban", who...uh...want school prayer and um...don't like gay people...you know. They are like totally the same thing.

Whether or not you agree with prayer in public schools, God in the Pledge of Allegience, Intelligent design, or whatever; those things have no meaningful equivalence with the actual Taliban. None. There are a couple million people who had to live under the actual Taliban for years, and every time you apply that label to people like Falwell, however odious a man you find him to be, you are insulting the millions who actually know what it means.

So God in the Pledge freaks you out. So you disagree with Intelligent design. So you dislike the viewpoints some Christians hold of homosexuals. Fine. But none of that makes anybody the freakn' Taliban.

Anonymous (March 21, 2007 @ 5:52pm):

2:06, the Bible also tells you not to judge others AND to love thy neighbor. Or, does it tell you to judge others and stone them to death. Think for yourself, fool.

Anonymous (April 7, 2007 @ 9:17am):

The Catholic Church's stance on illegal immigration in the U.S. is off the mark. It is simply a way to fill pews without looking to the root source of illegal immigration, that is the Government of MExico. Funny, that the "religious progressives" don't demand that the corrupt governments of MExico take care of their own people instead of encouraging their underclass to flee to the U.S. Why isn't the religious community talking to Mexican officials and religious leaders about their lack of humanity, compassion for their underclass.

connor gyles (April 27, 2007 @ 2:25pm):

Anonymous (March 21, 2007 @ 12:42pm):
"Will your life collapse without religion, or would you manage without it? What if you never went to church, but followed the teachings of Christ? Are you a Christian?"

I do not believe that you could call yourself a true Christian, you would be a nit-picker, in other words take what you like from The Bible and ignore what you don't, The Bible says go to church, so... I'll see you in church...well maybe not you.

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