https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/political-progressive-conservative-christians/
I'm interested in reading this when it comes out, because it seems that the research is suggesting that the current narrative might not actually be True.
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Actually, it has come out. Your linked article is from early 2021 and if you click on the book title, it goes to Amazon where the book can be had. I haven't read the whole article yet, but it seems to track what the book description says.
I will say that my faith compels my political interest, as it is more clear than ever that what drives the leftist/progressive political agenda is beyond question anathema to the Christian faith. When a guy like Trump can be so pro-life in his policies...to name just one...it really shows just how off the rails Dems and their "progressive" "Christian" supporters have flown. God used flawed people regularly to lead His people. How much worse can we be that He would give us someone like Trump. Yet, despite him being so much like the typical progressive in so many ways (prior to his candidacy), the vile rejected him repeatedly and sought/seek to "crucify" him.
What "current narrative..."? I've always found that progressive Christians tend to be heavily political and conservatives are hit and miss when it comes to politics. With the caveat that their refusal to get involved in politics at times (when it comes to the environment, to LGBTQ rights, to the treatment of immigrants, etc) is, itself, a political act.
When good people don't step up against bad/harmful policy, that is a political act that lends support to bad policy.
At any rate, I don't know that there is a narrative that says Progressive Christians are not active politically.
The author says...
I saw this was incorrect. Progressive Christians have an underlying value system that leads them to a stronger political loyalty than the value system of conservative Christians does. Progressive Christians stress values such as social justice, inclusion, and tolerance.
Oh! The horror! Progressive Christians value social justice, inclusion and tolerance AND support policies that promote these AND they/we recognize that one party is a better option (by far) and thus, we tend to support that party.
Yes, that's fair. What's the point?
The author concludes...
At the very least, we should dispense with the stereotype that it’s only conservative Christians who impose their faith on politics.
And while I agree with much of what the author said, I don't agree with this conclusion. We're literally not trying to impose our faith on politics. Our faith teaches us to take rational, moral, just ideals and we want to see policies that are based on rational, moral ideals. NOT because "My religion says so" but because they are rational, moral and just.
Otherwise, I tend to agree with the author in at least that progressive Christians tend to be political. I just don't see the problem with it.
Art,
My bad. I missed that. I guess it'll go into the Kindle queue very soon. I've needed some new things to read anyway.
You could be missing the point. The book is suggesting that the mainstream narrative that the only side driven by faith is the right, when this data seems to suggest that the left is a larger slice of the pie. I'd argue that since many of the issues the left pushes show characteristics of religions themselves, that you could argue that it's actually more prevalent.
The current narrative that suggests that the right is driven mostly by religious impulses and a desire to impose their religious views on others.
Again, I don't care about your anecdotal experience says when you try to extrapolate beyond your limited sample size.
"What's the point?"
I guess you'd have to read the book to find out what the author's point is. My point is that it's interesting that the "religious right" gets slandered regularly, while the religious left slides under the radar.
Dan, when you try to extrapolate your personal hunches, based on your biased impressions of your friend group, out to any larger group you end up looking like an idiot. Clearly the author has done research, collected data, and analyzed the data before drawing his conclusion, while you're just making shit up.
I'd argue that when the religious left passes laws that further the agenda's you've mentioned, that you are imposing your religious views on those who don't share them. Precisely the same arguments y'all make against laws limiting abortion.
Damn double standard.
Dan wants us to believe that the mere mention of things like "social justice" indicates a true defense of what's most important in life. The left's understanding of "social justice" is anathema to the Christian faith, as it promotes the worst of mankind's carnal nature against a higher notion of Christian behavior. It's a sham lefties like Dan perpetuate in the attempt to convince people they care about things like morality and character.
I personally don't care if someone attempts to inject their religion into their proposals for public policies. I care if the proposal is worth a damn or just some lefty push to cover for the immoral and criminal, which is too often the case. The typical right-winger, particularly those most truthfully classified as conservative, promote that which is not anathema to Christianity, whether they're Christian themselves or not. Progressive Christians, as Dan claims to be, are Christian in only the most superficial sense. Their politics is not anything close to what true Christians promote and to pretend that's not a problem is just another example of how unworthy of the time of day they are.
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