Evangelical left
The Evangelical left is a
Evangelical Christianity that affirms conservative evangelical theology and are politically progressive. It is mainly based in the US, but is also found in Latin America.[1][2]
Doctrine
The movement affirms
biblical exegesis. They often support a more progressive political platform and are concerned about issues of social justice.[4][5] Many, for example, are opposed to capital punishment and are supportive of gun control, welfare programs and welcoming foreigners.[6] In many cases, they are also pacifists
.
History
The origins of the movement are located in the 16th century in the
Anabaptist movement which fought against The Establishment and campaigned for democracy and the participation of every human.[7] Other movements were significant, such as Abolitionism in the United Kingdom of the 18th century and Abolitionism in the United States of the 19th century. Some evangelicals have campaigned for women's rights, such as pastoral ordination and right to vote.[8][9]
Due to the
Baptist pastor Martin Luther King Jr.[11]
During the 1960s and 1970s, the evangelical left stood for
born-again U.S. president, Jimmy Carter in 1976.[15]
21st century
In 2007, the organization Red-Letter Christians was founded by Tony Campolo and Shane Claiborne with the aim of bringing together evangelicals who believe in the importance of insisting on issues of social justice mentioned by Jesus (in red in some translations of the Bible).[16]
The election of Donald Trump in 2016 led to a resurgence of the evangelical left against some of his policies.[17][18][19] Some evangelical Christians see the phrase as political and have since changed how they name themselves.[20][21]
See also
- Christian anarchism
- Christian left
- Christian socialism
- Evangelical environmentalism
- Liberal Christianity
- Progressive Christianity
- Red-Letter Christians
- Social Gospel
- Sojourners
References
- ^ The Gospel Coalition website
- ^ Oxford University Press website
- ^ David R. Swartz, Moral Minority: The Evangelical Left in an Age of Conservatism, University of Pennsylvania Press, USA, 2012, p. 264
- ^ Timothy J. Williams, Evangelical Christians are on the left too, theconversation.com, USA, October 17, 2016
- ^ Ana Ionova, Brazil’s Evangelical Leftist, americasquarterly.org, USA, September 19, 2022
- ^ Alexis Buisson, Céline Hoyeau, Aux États-Unis, une génération d’évangéliques le cœur à gauche, la-croix.com, 17 June 2019
- ^ David R. Swartz, Moral Minority: The Evangelical Left in an Age of Conservatism, University of Pennsylvania Press, USA, 2012, p. 264
- ^ David R. Swartz, Moral Minority: The Evangelical Left in an Age of Conservatism, University of Pennsylvania Press, USA, 2012, p. 18
- ^ Rosemary Skinner Keller, Rosemary Radford Ruether, Marie Cantlon, Encyclopedia of Women and Religion in North America, Volume 1, Indiana University Press, USA, 2006, p. 294-295
- ^ David R. Swartz, Moral Minority: The Evangelical Left in an Age of Conservatism, University of Pennsylvania Press, USA, 2012, p. 18
- ^ Timothy J. Williams, Evangelical Christians are on the left too, theconversation.com, USA, October 17, 2016
- ^ David R. Swartz, Moral Minority: The Evangelical Left in an Age of Conservatism, University of Pennsylvania Press, USA, 2012, p. 3
- ^ Anja-Maria Bassimir, Evangelical News: Politics, Gender, and Bioethics in Conservative Christian Magazines of the 1970s and 1980s, University of Alabama Press, USA, 2022, p. 15
- ^ Brantley W. Gasaway, Progressive Evangelicals and the Pursuit of Social Justice, University of North Carolina Press, USA, 2014, p. 20
- ^ David R. Swartz, Moral Minority: The Evangelical Left in an Age of Conservatism, University of Pennsylvania Press, USA, 2012, p. 110
- ^ Nick Tabor, Can this preacher's progressive version of evangelical Christianity catch on with a new generation?, washingtonpost.com, USA, January 6, 2020
- ^ National Public Radio website, Provoked by Trump, the Religious Left is findings its Voice
- ^ Politico website, Could These Evangelical Democrats Change the Party?
- ^ Five Thirty Eight website, White, Evangelical and Progressive
- ^ The Guardian Newspaper, Exvangelicals
- ^ Red Letter Christians website
External links
- Every Church a Peace Church
- Social Redemption Archived 2006-09-24 at the Wayback Machine
- The Christian Left - An Open Fellowship of Progressive Christians
- Red Letter Christians US
- Red Letter Christians UK
Further reading
- Edwards, Mark Thomas (2012). The Right of the Protestant Left: God's Totalitarianism. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-1-137-01989-9.
- Gasaway, Brantley W. (2014). Progressive Evangelicals and the Pursuit of Social Justice. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press.
- ISBN 0-687-36159-1.
- MacGregor, Kirk (2007). A Molinist-Anabaptist Systematic Theology. ISBN 978-0-7618-3851-7.
- Swartz, David R. (2012). Moral Minority: The Evangelical Left in an Age of Conservatism. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 978-0-8122-2306-4.
- Wallis, Jim (11 January 2005). God's Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn't Get It. ISBN 0-06-055828-8.
- Young, Shawn David (Summer 2010). "From Hippies to Jesus Freaks: Christian Radicalism in Chicago's Inner-City". doi:10.3138/jrpc.22.2.003. Archived from the originalon 2010-09-11.
- Young, Shawn David (2015). Gray Sabbath: Jesus People USA, the Evangelical Left, and the Evolution of Christian Rock. New York: Columbia University Press.