Religious Left Emerging as a Political Force in the Age of Trump

[Frodo]

Should the Democratic Party embrace the religious left as closely as Republicans (beginning with Ronald Reagan) embraced the religious right?
 

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Reuters

[Frodo]

Ultimately the Religious Left (if it grows strong enough) could serve as a healthy check on the more secularist elements of the Democratic Party, especially among the activist base.  I don't want the party to be seen as hostile to people of religious faith.  

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

Ultimately the Religious Left (if it grows strong enough) could serve as a healthy check on the more secularist elements of the Democratic Party, especially among the activist base.  I don't want the party to be seen as hostile to people of religious faith. 

[Figueira]

I'm fine with this as long as it doesn't go the religious bigotry route.

[Virginiá]

So long as they avoid the discriminatory stuff like their Republican counterparts, then this could be a good thing. While the left's factions may be smaller, it might provide a potent force for organizing.

[RaphaelDLG]

Very skeptical of the claims of the article, but as a religion-friendly atheist, would love to see this happen!

[100% pro-life no matter what]

How would a "religious left" feel about abortion?  I would likely see them still being pro-life (like "Pope Francis Catholics" or liberal Mormons) which could cause conflict with the Democrat leadership

[P. Clodius Pulcher did nothing wrong]

How would a "religious left" feel about abortion?  I would likely see them still being pro-life (like "Pope Francis Catholics" or liberal Mormons) which could cause conflict with the Democrat leadership

I imagine the religious left would be more focused on economic issues than social issues. Currently, the religious right is focused on their religious social issues (social conservatism) while totally ignoring their religious economic issues (programs for the poor, etc), so I don't think it's too much of a stretch to say certain religious people could ignore their party's social leanings if they side with one another in economics.

[TheSaint250]

The Democrat leadership and establishment is too hostile towards religion.

[McGovernForPrez]

How would a "religious left" feel about abortion?  I would likely see them still being pro-life (like "Pope Francis Catholics" or liberal Mormons) which could cause conflict with the Democrat leadership

I'd argue that the best thing we can do to prevent abortions is proper sex education and easy access to contraceptives. The number of abortions go way down that way. That's my view anyways, as a Catholic Dem.

[Gracchus]

If anything, the left could capitalize on the use of "Compassionate Christian" values when it comes to the wall, refugees, and other issues pertaining to Trump's views on national security.  They won't, but it may help them in places like Georgia and North Carolina, if they actually want flip those states into the Democratic column.

[Person Man]

How would a "religious left" feel about abortion?  I would likely see them still being pro-life (like "Pope Francis Catholics" or liberal Mormons) which could cause conflict with the Democrat leadership

I'd argue that the best thing we can do to prevent abortions is proper sex education and easy access to contraceptives. The number of abortions go way down that way. That's my view anyways, as a Catholic Dem.

Do we want more people in jail or fewer abortions?

[MarkD]

Go for it. It is just as constitutionally permissible for the religious left to be politically influential as the religious right. Although the unreligious left spent many years arguing that for religious people to be politically involved was a threat to the "separation between church and state," that was apparently just hot air. Or maybe the leftists who said that were really being serious, and now there could potentially be some conflict between the religious left and the unreligious left.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

Go to any church service on a college campus. You'll see it. See: Jesuit schools.

[Person Man]

Go to any church service on a college campus. You'll see it. See: Jesuit schools.

Or even public schools have active Religious Left influences on College Democrats organizations. At least at the school I was at, there were always two wings of the College Dems, the secular EDM stoner kids  and the Catholic kids.

[100% pro-life no matter what]

Go for it. It is just as constitutionally permissible for the religious left to be politically influential as the religious right. Although the unreligious left spent many years arguing that for religious people to be politically involved was a threat to the "separation between church and state," that was apparently just hot air. Or maybe the leftists who said that were really being serious, and now there could potentially be some conflict between the religious left and the unreligious left.

Just like there is conflict between the Religious Right and the Non-religious Right?  Like the difference politically between EHarding and Mike Pence, although they are both clearly on the right.

[DC Al Fine]

Very skeptical of the claims of the article, but as a religion-friendly atheist conservative Evangelical, would love to see this happen!

Agreed. These articles about a religious left resurgence pop up from time to time (I remember such claims during Obama's first run and the mid Bush administration), but they don't seem to stick. A few years go by, and liberal Catholics and the mainline Protestants are still rapidly dying off, young people are abandoning the faith in record numbers etc.

There's a lot of research out there that religious sects that demand a lot out of their members tend to do better than the ones that don't. A study was done in Canada, that even the bright spots in declining liberal denominations are largely conservative relative to the denomination. Nothing's stopping liberal religions from being demanding in their own way, but they don't see that interested in it.

[MarkD]

Go for it. It is just as constitutionally permissible for the religious left to be politically influential as the religious right. Although the unreligious left spent many years arguing that for religious people to be politically involved was a threat to the "separation between church and state," that was apparently just hot air. Or maybe the leftists who said that were really being serious, and now there could potentially be some conflict between the religious left and the unreligious left.

Just like there is conflict between the Religious Right and the Non-religious Right?  Like the difference politically between EHarding and Mike Pence, although they are both clearly on the right.

To the extent that the religious right refer to the non-religious right as "RINOs," and there is significant "fighting" in the primary contests, there could be a lot of non-religious left who will refer to the religious left as "DINOs" and engage in fierce primary contests.

I remember a candidate who ran for US Senate in 1994 by the name of Jim Hawley. That year the Class 1 senate seat was open as incumbent Jack Danforth decided to retire from politics. The obvious front-runner for both the GOP primary and the general election was former Gov. John Ashcroft. There were eleven Democrats who filed to run for the seat. The eventual winner of the Democratic primary was Congressman Alan Wheat, and Hawley, like several other Dems ended only a small percentage of the primary votes. I met Hawley in person one day outside of the St. Peters City Hall; he was handing out campaign literature, so that was how I learned all about his political positions. He was definitely a very religious man, and his Christian faith was the basis for all his positions -- both economic issues and "social issues." He was definitely the opposite of a Libertarian; he had liberal views on economics and conservative views on the issues such as school prayer, abortion, and gay rights. I assume this is the kind of guy who Figueira and Virginia (above) would not want to be influential in the Democratic Party. As I said, Hawley did end up with a very small share of the Democrat's votes that year, and it is quite likely that a simple inability to raise much campaign funds resulted in his inability to get his message out to the rural Democratic voters who were still a significant force in MO's politics 24 years ago -- voters who have since become Republicans.

[libertpaulian]

Very skeptical of the claims of the article, but as a religion-friendly atheist conservative Evangelical, would love to see this happen!

Agreed. These articles about a religious left resurgence pop up from time to time (I remember such claims during Obama's first run and the mid Bush administration), but they don't seem to stick. A few years go by, and liberal Catholics and the mainline Protestants are still rapidly dying off, young people are abandoning the faith in record numbers etc.

There's a lot of research out there that religious sects that demand a lot out of their members tend to do better than the ones that don't. A study was done in Canada, that even the bright spots in declining liberal denominations are largely conservative relative to the denomination. Nothing's stopping liberal religions from being demanding in their own way, but they don't see that interested in it.

That's the giant pink elephant in the room of why the Mainlines have been declining the past 50 years, and I say that as a Mainliner.  They need to give members or guests a reason to keep coming back.

[KingSweden]

How would a "religious left" feel about abortion?  I would likely see them still being pro-life (like "Pope Francis Catholics" or liberal Mormons) which could cause conflict with the Democrat leadership

I'd argue that the best thing we can do to prevent abortions is proper sex education and easy access to contraceptives. The number of abortions go way down that way. That's my view anyways, as a Catholic Dem.

Yup. Agree 100%

[Person Man]

How would a "religious left" feel about abortion?  I would likely see them still being pro-life (like "Pope Francis Catholics" or liberal Mormons) which could cause conflict with the Democrat leadership

I'd argue that the best thing we can do to prevent abortions is proper sex education and easy access to contraceptives. The number of abortions go way down that way. That's my view anyways, as a Catholic Dem.

Yup. Agree 100%

Again. Is it more important that we have millions of extra people with felonies and hundreds of thousands of people in jail on top of a new drug war and maybe only 200000 -500000 abortions gotten away with each year that many without having put anyone in jail or ruining anyone's life with endless post punishment discrimination,