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 ([email protected]) is a sophomore majoring in Spanish and history.
