Christian left
Part of a series on |
Progressivism |
---|
Part of a series on |
Christianity |
---|
The Christian left is a range of
In the United States, the Christian left usually aligns with
Terminology
This section needs additional citations for verification. (August 2018) |
As with any section within the left–right political spectrum, a label such as Christian left represents an approximation, including within it groups and persons holding many diverse viewpoints. The term left-wing might encompass a number of values, some of which may or may not be held by different Christian movements and individuals. As the unofficial title of a loose association of believers, it provides a clear distinction from the more commonly known Christian right, or religious right, and from its key leaders and political views. The Christian left does not hold the notion that left-leaning policies, whether economic or social, stand in apparent contrast to Christian beliefs.
The most common religious viewpoint that might be described as
The medieval Waldensians sect had a leftist character.[8] Some among the Christian left,[9] as well as some non-religious socialists, find support for anarchism, communism, and socialism in the Gospels, for example Mikhail Gorbachev citing Jesus as "the first socialist".[10] The Christian left is a broad category that includes Christian socialism, as well as Christians who would not identify themselves as socialists.
History
Early years
This section needs additional citations for verification. (June 2012) |
For much of the early history of
In the 19th century, some writers and activists developed the school of thought of
Alliance of the left and Christianity
Starting in the late 19th century and early 20th century,[
Christians and workers
To a significant degree, the Christian left developed out of the experiences of clergy who went to do pastoral work among the working class, often beginning without any social philosophy but simply a pastoral and evangelistic concern for workers. This was particularly true among the Methodists and Anglo-Catholics in England, Father Adolph Kolping in Germany and Joseph Cardijn in Belgium.
Christian left and campaigns for peace and human rights
Some Christian groups were closely associated with the
In the United States
In the United States, members of the Christian Left come from a spectrum of
Martin Luther King Jr.
As a Christian minister, King's main influence was
Before I was a civil rights leader, I was a preacher of the Gospel. This was my first calling and it still remains my greatest commitment. You know, actually all that I do in civil rights I do because I consider it a part of my ministry. I have no other ambitions in life but to achieve excellence in the Christian ministry. I don't plan to run for any political office. I don't plan to do anything but remain a preacher. And what I'm doing in this struggle, along with many others, grows out of my feeling that the preacher must be concerned about the whole man.
Jimmy Carter
From a young age, 39th U.S. president Jimmy Carter showed a deep commitment to Christianity. In 1942, Carter became a deacon and teaches Sunday school at Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, Georgia. At a private inauguration worship service, the preacher was Nelson Price, the pastor of Roswell Street Baptist Church of Marietta, Georgia. During his 1966 and 1970 Georgia gubernatorial campaigns, as well as his 1976 presidential campaign, Carter appealed largely to conservative Christian and rural voters. As president, Carter prayed several times a day, and professed that Jesus was the driving force in his life. Carter had been greatly influenced by a sermon he had heard as a young man. It asked, "If you were arrested for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?" In 2000, Carter severed his membership with the Southern Baptist Convention, saying the group's doctrines did not align with his Christian beliefs, while still a member of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. In 2007, together with former President Clinton, he founded the New Baptist Covenant organization for social justice.
Beliefs
Homosexuality
This section needs additional citations for verification. (August 2018) |
The Christian left generally approaches homosexuality differently from some other Christian political groups. This approach can be driven by focusing on issues differently despite holding similar religious views, or by holding different religious ideas. Those in the Christian left who have similar ideas as other Christian political groups but a different focus may view Christian teachings on certain issues, such as the Bible's prohibitions against killing or criticisms of concentrations of wealth, as far more politically important than Christian teachings on social issues emphasized by the religious right, such as opposition to homosexuality. Others in the Christian left have not only a different focus on issues from other Christian political groups, but different religious ideas as well.
For example, some members of the Christian left may consider discrimination and bigotry against homosexuals to be immoral, but they differ on their views towards homosexual sex. Some believe homosexual sex to be immoral but unimportant compared with issues relating to social justice, or even matters of sexual morality involving heterosexual sex. Others assert that some homosexual practices are compatible with the Christian life. Such members believe common biblical arguments used to condemn homosexuality are misinterpreted, and that biblical prohibitions of homosexual practices are actually against a specific type of homosexual sex act, i.e. pederasty, the sodomizing of young boys by older men. Thus, they hold biblical prohibitions to be irrelevant when considering modern same-sex relationships.[12][13][14][15]
Consistent life ethic
A related strain of thought is the (Catholic and progressive evangelical)
Liberation theology
Political parties
- Democratic Party (Italy) (Christian left factions)
- Christian Democracy (Greece)
- Christian Social Party (Switzerland) (Catholic)
- Political Party of Radicals and Evangelical People's Party (merged into the Dutch GroenLinks)
- Christian Democratic Party (Uruguay)
- Christian Democratic Party (Chile)
- Citizen Left Party (Chile)
- Sandinista National Liberation Front (Nicaragua)
- Christian Socialist Movement)
- Socialdemocrats for Faith and Solidarity (a Swedish religious organization in the Social Democrats)
- New Democratic Party of Canada)
- American Solidarity Party (economic left)
- Prohibition Party (economic left)
- Self-Defence of the Republic of Poland (agrarian and nationalist Christian left)
- Humanist Democratic Centre (had a Christian Left faction)
Early Christianity
Movements
A number of movements of the past had similarities to today's Christian left:
- Anabaptists
- Fifth Monarchists, Diggers, Quakers
- Heretical movements such as the Cathars
- Liberation theology
- Lollard
- Peace churches
- German Peasants' War
- Role of Christians in the Peasants' Revolt in England, see Lollard priest John Ball
- Waldenses
- Jesus movement
- Unitarianism
- Universalism
Groups
- Catholic Worker Movement
- Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
- Congregationalists
- Emergent Church
- Episcopal Church (United States)
- Progressive National Baptist Convention
- United Church of Christ
- Seventh-day Adventist Church
Other
- Christian democracy
- Christian libertarianism
- Christian pacifism
- Christian politics
- Christian socialism
- Evangelical left
- Homosexuality and Christianity
- International League of Religious Socialists
- Jewish left
- Left-wing populism
- Liberal Christianity
- Pacifism
- Political Catholicism
- Progressive Christianity
- Progressive Muslim vote
- Religion and abortion
- Religious communism
- Religious socialism
- Religious Society of Friends
- Social Gospel
- Spiritual left
References
- ^ Stanton, Zack (25 February 2021). "You Need to Take the Religious Left Seriously This Time". Politico. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
- ^ Boer, Roland. "Engels and revolutionary religion". culturematters.org.uk. Retrieved 2 June 2022.
- ^ "Religion as Opium of the People". Learn Religions. Retrieved 2 June 2022.
- ^ "The "Golden Rule" (a.k.a. Ethics of Reciprocity)". Retrieved 3 February 2020.
- ^ Leilah Danielson, Marian Mollin, Doug Rossinow, The Religious Left in Modern America: Doorkeepers of a Radical Faith, Springer, USA, 2018, p. 27
- ^ "The FAQs: What Christians Should Know About Social Justice". 17 August 2018. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
- ^ Damon, Linker (31 March 2014). "Why Christianity demands pacifism". The Week. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
- ISBN 978-0-87000-143-7. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
- ISBN 0-88344-574-3, pp. 32.
- ^ "Mikhail S. Gorbachev Quotes". Brainyquote.com. Retrieved 23 February 2007.
- JSTOR 3512477– via JSTOR.
- ^ Why TCPC Advocates Equal Rights for Gay and Lesbian People Archived 12 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Equality for Gays and Lesbians – Christian Alliance for Progress". 1 December 2005. Archived from the original on 1 December 2005.
- ^ Bible & Homosexuality Home Page Archived 24 February 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Pflagdetroit.org (11 December 1998). Retrieved on 2013-08-24.
- ^ [1] Archived 21 May 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Bernardin, Joseph. Consistent ethics of life 1988, Sheed and Ward, p. v
- ISBN 9780807013168.
- ISBN 9781444305777.
- ISSN 2509-9957.
- ^ "Prophets of a Modern Era: An Introduction to Liberation Theology | Koinonia Revolution". Archived from the original on 27 October 2013. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
Bibliography
- Young, Shawn David. Gray Sabbath: Jesus People USA, the Evangelical Left, and the Evolution of Christian Rock. New York: Columbia University Press, 2015.
External links
- American Socialist Voter at the Wayback Machine (archived 2009-06-12) – Educational and interactive networking (non-partisan)
- Anglo-Catholic Socialism
- CrossLeft: Balancing the Christian Voice, Organizing the Christian Left at the Library of Congress Web Archives (archived 2008-09-19)
- The Christian Leftist: The 'Religious' 'Right' Is Neither
- Religious Movements Homepage: Call to Renewal: Christians for a New Political Vision
- Points of Unity for Social Democratic Branches within the USA at archive.today (archived 2008-08-31)
- Religion and Socialism Commission of the Democratic Socialists of America
- Socialism and Faith Commission of the Socialist Party USA at the Wayback Machine (archived 2007-07-02)
- Sojourners Magazine
- Social Redemption
- The Center for Progressive Christianity at the Wayback Machine (archived 2006-12-06)
- The Christian Alliance for Progress
- Known Author – discussion forum for liberal Christians
- The Bible on the Poor: Or Why God is a Liberal