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Barack Obama gave a speech to a gathering of progessive religious leaders yesterday, and the progressive blogs are a gaga over it. Progressives, we need to talk.
Crossposted at
Texas Kaos.
This is probably a good time to skip over the 3rd of our Democratic Dozen and look at the fourth, .
Democrats must not be afraid of the "G" word (God), indeed the real message of the Gospel is one of compassion and brotherhood not fear and division and that is what we stand for.
We begin with the facts:
Link Geographically, Texas tends to be heavily Protestant in the north and east and Catholic in the south and southwest. Leading Protestant denominations and their known adherents in 2000 were the Southern Baptist Convention, 3,519,459; the United Methodist Church, 1,022,342; Churches of Christ, 377,264; Assemblies of God, 228,098; the Presbyterian Church USA, 180,315; the Episcopal Church, 177,910; Independent Charismatic Churches, 159,449; the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, 155,451; the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, 155,019; Independent Non-Charismatic Churches, 145,249; and the Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod, 140,106. Roman Catholics numbered 4,368,969 in 2000. There were an estimated 128,000 Jews, 114,999 Muslims, and about 10,777 adherents to the Baha'i faith. There were about 9.2 million people (44.5% of the population) who were not counted as members of any religious organization.
Nationwide , consider these facts:
- Bush won every state with an evengclical population higher than the national average.
- The list of such states include the Republican base, and that base is the roll call of the Old Confederacy
- Evengelicals are 38% of the whole population and 58% of the Deep South
- There are , according to a scholar named John Green, 18 different religious groupings in America
- The true "Religious Right" voter is a member of the "Traditionalist Evangelicals" who comprise, not 38-40% of the population, but 12.6%, most , but not all in the South.
- On the other hand, "90 percent of us believe in God, 70 percent affiliate themselves with an organized religion, 38 percent call themselves committed Christians, and substantially more people in America believe in angels than they do in evolution." LINK
What does all this mean? Several things.
First, we can't simply abandon the discussion of religion and morality to the tender mercies of the Falwells and Reeds of this world. In the absence of our voices on these matters, theirs will be heard all the louder. Ever wonder why, given the fact that the largest single demonination in the US is Roman Catholic, the MSM seek out Jerry or Ralph or even Grover before they talk to a Catholic archbishop or call Jim Wallis, a progressive evangelical? Hint: it is about who better plays the media and aboout who spends big bucks to be a force to inject themselves into limelight of the political forum. It does not have to be this way.
Second, we have to get organized! The Religious Right has organizations like "Patroit Pastors", who are literally wined and dined and plied with appropriate rhetoric , we don't. Here in Texas:
LINK Gov. Rick Perry is taking an active role it he development of a network of Christian pastors who seek to register at least 300,000 new "values voters" in Texas and elect candidates who reflect their moral agenda.
I have personally heard Sefronia Thompson lament the lack of a progressive presence in this competition for the hearts and minds of historically Democratically friendly black congregations.
Is it hopeless? Must we all start speaking in well rehearsed God talk, and abandon our committments to the gay commmunity and women's reproductive rights ? Take heart, all is not lost! More in my next post!