We now find ourselves in much of the same place we did in 2005. We face major challenges and deficits in how voters view Democrats when it comes to faith. The majority don’t even believe our President is a Christian. The good news is that the reason has much less with what Democrats have done, and definitely isn’t a result of what we believe, and is mostly a result of what we haven’t done: we’ve stopped engaging with and communicating to America’s faithful. Read more
In 2005, Reverend Jim Wallis published a book, “God’s Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn’t Get it.” In an attempt to give you a bare bones summary, Wallace writes about how the political Right has co-opted the Christian faith; they tout it as their own and promote candidates in such a way that one might get confused and think God Herself (or Himself, if you want to support the status quo. Spoiler: Jesus didn’t!) picked... Read more
So the past couple of weeks I have been leisurely reading about a family struggling with sever drought and the woes of an economic depression… No, I am not reading the current edition of Mother Jones. I am referring to John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath. I know for most people this title appeared on their high school summer reading lists. However, I was never forced to read this novel as an apathetic high school student. Instead, I found an... Read more
Each person’s viewpoints are a product of their own experiences. You see things through a lens that is shaded over time based on your family, your community, and the events of your life. I view the world through the eyes of a student, someone who was raised Catholic and attended public school. I read, write, and speak from the viewpoint of a twenty-one year old white female, and every experience I have had as such is linked to how I... Read more
Democratic faith outreach shouldn't look like what the religious right does. When our outreach works, it's authentic and humble and focused on relationships and clearly-articulated values. And when it works we win because when American voters understand what our core values are, the vast majority recognize they are the ones they share. But we can't count on voters to figure it out. And as the Pew poll shows, we can't expect them to ignore the lies from the Right if we ignore them. Read more
In some of my spare time at work, I’ve been reading a book titled "Almost Amish." Left behind by another intern, it sat on the corner of my desk for nearly two months before I finally picked it up. In a little over a week I finished the book and I can say I’m happy to have read it. The content turned out to be about what I expected, but it reminded me of some very important things that often... Read more
If the 2012 Republican primary campaign is remembered for one thing, it must be the near constant rise and fall of the “non-Romney.” It began with the unlikeliest of challengers: Michele Bachmann. A staunchly conservative Tea Party congresswoman, Bachmann ascended to the summit of the Iowa Straw Poll before dropping like a rock out of thin air. Perhaps voters finally caught on to her uncanny tendency to say made-up things. I think it is valuable to pause for... Read more
I recently read an essay posted on ReligionandPolitics.org, titled “Whatever happened to Romney’s ‘Evangelical Problem’?”. The first line of the article sums up perfectly the contention between Romney’s Mormonism and the conservative, Evangelical base of the Republican Party: “For six years, reporters and commentators have told the American public that evangelicals don’t want to vote for Mitt Romney because he is a Mormon.” These pundits were convinced that Republicans would only support a candidate that shared a religious experience similar... Read more
By Drew Robinson, Good Steward Campaign Field Director As a young Evangelical Christian there are many issues that my generation will have to face. From our continuing struggles with poverty, to seeking world peace, to providing every American, and hopefully every citizen of the world, with a quality education and access to affordable healthcare – there are a plethora of challenges my generation will need to confront over our lifetime. One issue that I have left out though is perhaps the greatest... Read more
Originally posted in Sojourners’ Blog, “God’s Politics” Written by Aaron D. Taylor There’s a famous maxim that says, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” Though Wikipedia says otherwise, the statement is often attributed to Edmund Burke. I doubt that Wikipedia will give me the credit for this 200 years from now, but I’d like to take a crack at a counterpoint to Burke’s famous maxim anyway: Sometimes evil triumphs not when good... Read more
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