As I have traveled around the country, one line in my speeches always draws cheers: "The monologue of the Religious Right is over, and a new dialogue has now begun." We have now entered the post-Religious Right era. Though religion has had a negative image in the last few decades, the years ahead may be shaped by a dynamic and more progressive faith that will make needed social change more possible.
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Evangelicals — especially the new generation of pastors and young people — are deserting the Religious Right in droves. The evangelical social agenda is now much broader and deeper, engaging issues like poverty and economic justice, global warming, HIV/AIDS, sex trafficking, genocide in Darfur and the ethics of the war in Iraq. Catholics are returning to their social teaching; mainline Protestants are asserting their faith more aggressively; a new generation of young black and Latino pastors are putting the focus on social justice; a Jewish renewal movement and more moderate Islam are also growing; and a whole new denomination has emerged, which might be called the "spiritual but not religious."
"In the post-meditative experience become a child of illusion" is a slogan from the Tibetan mind training tradition. We engage the world as we experience it all the while realizing that reality is not as it seems to be.
Friday, May 18, 2007
The Religious Right and now
How interesting. I just came across a brief opinion article by Jim Wallis entitled "The Religious Right's Era Is Over". All I can say is, I sure hope he's right. Take a look:
Living in the "Buckle of the Bible Belt" as I do, it's hard to see what Wallis sees. But if he's right, I'm very encouraged.
If anyone has a list of where he was making his speeches, please post it. I think he must have been staying as far away from the Bible belt as he could get.
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