Just before the transition to this shiny new playground, dirkster42 republished his diary On the Invisibility of the Religious Left. I made a suggestion there that we might want to start a group devoted to countering that invisibility once DK4 launched, and it seemed to be well-received. So, with some trepidation, I've created SOUL Kos: the Spiritual Organization of Unapologetic Liberals at Daily Kos. Follow me below the fold for some more information (still in the sketchy, formative phase) about the group and what it's hoping to accomplish.
To the extent that I've had a chance to think about it and discuss it with my fellow editors (to date), the agenda for this group is fairly simple: to allow for networking and discussions of interest to liberals and progressives who are people of faith. It's actually probably easier to describe what the group is not, at the moment, than to put out a fully developed agenda.
First, this group is not intended to compete with the weekly Brothers and Sisters diary. There will likely be at least some overlap between the members of this group and those who post or participate in B&S, but our purpose is less for meet-ups than it is for discussing issues and engaging in productive discussions about them.
Second, this group is not restricted to the members of any particular faith tradition, nor is it our intention to proselytize or to promote one tradition over any other. All traditions--including "none of the above"--are welcome to participate, so long as they do so with respect.
That's the one thing without which this enterprise won't work. This isn't going to be the place for people on one side of the theist/non-theist divide to snipe at people on the other side, or for people in one tradition to belittle the people (or the doctrines) of another. I'm not willing to prohibit topics a priori, and I'm certainly not trying to tell anyone who may participate here how he or she should believe or behave--except here. Whatever you may think of the ideas or the ideologies discussed here, please keep the personalities out of it. Also, remember that much of what we will discuss here comes from places that are very important to those who are, after all, taking something of a risk in putting some of their most deeply held personal convictions on public view. Keep that in mind as the discussions unfold, and I think we'll all find this a much more rewarding experience.
As to the ways in which participation is possible, as I understand it right now, there are effectively two levels of participation in these new groups: as an editor/administrator/group member, which requires an invitation from someone authorized to make it and which gives you certain privileges with regard to the group and its content, and as a follower ("subscriber" in the older terminology). You don't even have to be a follower, if all you'd like is to read and comment in our diaries, though following the group is the best way to make sure you don't miss anything from the members.