Hey “Religious Right”…guess what? The “Religious Left” is moving center stage.
Next week, prepare yourself for prayer vigils and Bible studies as more than 1,000 progressive Christians descend on Washington, D.C., for Sojourners big poverty conference. White House administration officials will take part and President Obama has been invited to speak. Read below from the conference Web site:
The Mobilization to End Poverty will be a history-making gathering. Christians from across the country will come together in a powerful movement committed to the biblical imperative of reducing domestic and global poverty.
More on the conference here:
While not all speakers will be progressive Christians, it’s important to understand that organizers are indeed. So this as the first really big organizational event that is bringing the “Religious Left” together in the Obama era. Roughly 70 religious and anti-poverty groups are going to take part. Poverty reduction really does seem to be the new frontier because it’s important to the President, too.
By the way, there will be a prayer vigil on Capitol Hill next Tuesday at 12 p.m. In addition, check out some of the conference sessions planned:
- Morning Bible Study: Learning from the Past: A Reflection on Dr. King and the Poor Peoples Campaign
- Church Leader Roundtable - Uniting and Mobilizing the Church in the Fight Against Poverty
- Theology, Scripture, and Social Justice
There will also be a roundtable discussion on the White House poverty agenda. Influential officials Melody Barnes and Joshua Dubois from The White House will be there. There will also be a “Lobby Day” where hundreds of activists will meet with Capitol Hill aides, pushing to make sure the poor is not forgotten in this year’s budget.
The Religious Left is going to get more ink in the coming years. Count on it. Does that mean the Religious Right is irrelevant? Hardly.
Obviously, they don’t have sway with the Obama administration, but this whole idea of who is in and who is out is a bit overplayed. I don’t think there’s any question that the Religious Left is on center stage now. but that doesn’t mean they should gloat and chalk up conservative Evangelicals as immaterial.
If anything, maybe this is an opportunity to partner with conservative Evangelicals on the most pressing issues of the day. I mean who is FOR more poverty? Clearly conservative Evangelicals care about the poor, too. But they don't think government "handouts" are the answer.
If you're a conservative Evangelical, what is your answer? Can you work with the Religious Left? The Brody File will post your answers and solutions.