Higher Ground Moral Declaration

Below is the Higher Ground Moral Declaration in conjunction with “The Revival: Time for a Moral Revolution of Values”; a national tour to redefine morality in American politics and challenge leaders of faith and moral courage to be more vocally opposed to harmful policies that disproportionately impact the poor, people who are ill, children, immigrants, communities of color, and religious minorities.

WE NEED YOUR BODIES!!

*Note: On September 12, 2016 underpaid workers, people of faith, students, union members, clergy and many more will gather at state-capitols across the country. Everyday people will take action to address the ongoing attacks from right-wing state legislators. In Tennessee, we will gather in Nashville to fight back! We will make a moral declaration as well as unify our political efforts to create a better Tennessee. We need elected officials who will take the moral high ground and champion democracy, education equity, economic and racial justice, voting rights, and access to healthcare for all. Let’s make our voices heard this election season.

On April 4, 1967, just one year before his assassination, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., called for a time to break the silence about the injustices in society. At the historic Riverside Church, he preached, “we as a nation must undergo a radical revolution of values.” He proclaimed that silence was betrayal – the truth must be told.

Rev. Dr. King’s charge for a revolution of values echoes the cries of the prophets to stand up for justice, righteousness, and the dignity of all throughout the ages.

“If you remove the yoke from among you, the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil, if you offer your food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, then your light shall rise in the darkness and your gloom be like the noonday. The Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy your needs in parched places, and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters never fail. Your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; you shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to live in.” (Isaiah 58)

“The believers, both men and women are in charge of and responsible for one another; they all enjoin the doing of what is right and forbid the doing of what is wrong.” (Qu’ran 9:71)

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (Luke 4:18-19)

We declare that if silence was betrayal then, revival is necessary today.

Nearly 50 years after Rev. Dr. King’s call to break the silence, poverty, inequality, and systemic racism are rampant, voting rights and democracy are being trampled, millions of people lack the health care, living wage jobs, and quality education they need, and racism, hatred, and bigotry are disintegrating any possibility for life, liberty and a pursuit of happiness for everyone in these United States.

Following moral traditions rooted in our faith and the Constitution, we are called to stand up for justice and tell the truth. We challenge the position that the preeminent moral issues today are about prayer in public schools, abortion, and homosexuality. Instead, we declare the deepest public concerns of our faith traditions are how our society treats the poor, those on the margins, the least of these, women, children, workers, immigrants and the sick; equality and representation under the law; and the desire for peace, love and harmony within and among nations.

Together, we lift up and defend the most sacred moral principles of our faith and constitutional values, which are: