IS THE RELIGIOUS LEFT EMERGING AS A POLITICAL FORCE? NO.

[Heddi]

http://religiondispatches.org/is-the-religious-left-emerging-as-a-political-force-no/

u ever hear the saying, “same shit, different day”? I’m reminded of that very phrase a lot in the religion-and-politics beat. A lot.

Exhibit A: an op-ed in today’s New York Times declaring “To Win Again, Democrats Must Stop Being The Abortion Party.” The argument is pretty much exactly what you think it will be: the well-worn chestnut about Democrats needing to moderate on reproductive rights in order to reach out to swing voters, Catholics in particular. And yes, I guess there is a certain amount of logic to this, in the sense that if Democrats would only just stand up for working-class white men and forget all this business about being the party of defending women’s right to control their own bodies and racial minorities not to be second-class citizens, they could draw a lot of support from Republican-leaning voters. A lot.

Except, no, not even that daffy logic works
...
Oh, and by the way? Clinton didn’t apologize for her position on abortion because she didn’t have to. She, like many women in the Democratic Party, doesn’t believe that there’s anything to apologize for or complicated in saying that they believe women should have access to a broad range of reproductive services, including abortion. I’m not sure why it’s always incumbent on those who are in favor of choice to soothe the upset nerves of those who aren’t. Perhaps those who don’t believe in abortion need to accommodate themselves to the reality that not everyone agrees with them, and that even many those who may not approve of abortion aren’t particularly interested in legislating their beliefs. It’s way past the point where this should be obvious, having been a bone of contention since 1992 at the very least.

Anyway, Exhibit B: according to Reuters, the Religious Left is emerging as a political force in the Trump era.

Oh, yeah? Is that like the time they were emerging in 2006?

Or 2008?

Or 2009?

Or 2013?
...
he abolitionists weren’t really leftists. Some of them were racists, and the same broad stream of activism helped bring us eugenics and the often anti-Catholic temperance movement. The Civil Rights movement wasn’t run by the Religious Left so much as the black church, underwitten by the National Council of Churches and mainline denominations. I can’t think of a damn thing the Religious Left did to end the war in Vietnam that wasn’t named Berrigan. And while Pope Francis is an inspirational figure on economics and immigration (I love the guy), try asking some Catholic feminists or the LGBT community how liberal they think he is. I mean, at least cite Dorothy Day here!

[Vogon_Glory]

1. This Malone Guy Is Pushing Nonsense

There may be a religious left, but when it comes to to reproductive rights and early childcare, its influence is negligible.

The sad truth is easy to spot--all a Beltway journalist needs to do is head for the nearest red state to have it thrown in his or her face. There he or she will see that the vehement anti-abortion politicians railing against abortion and Planned Parenthood one day will sit firmly on their fingers when it comes to properly funding pre-natal and maternity care or commence railing anew about "welfare mothers."

Excuse me, but Malone's vision needs a reality check.

[AtheistCrusader]

2. This is an attrition issue. People are moving into the 'nones' camp faster than they are from the

conservative right religious camp to the religious left camp.

So while yeah, it's a little better for people to be religious left, than religious right, the religious left is still such a negligible tiny population they don't matter at all. For our political purposes, the atheist/agnostic/none/not practicing camp is bigger. Much bigger.

[guillaumeb]

3. Did anyone mention Dorothy Day?

I did:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1218246398

[Act_of_Reparation]

4. The usual suspects have been promising the return of the religious left for years.

Why haven't these mythical liberals arrived to reclaim Christianity for Comrade Christ? They've made all manner of excuses.

The media doesn't give them enough attention. They don't have enough money. Nasty atheists are mean to them on the internet. Now the excuse is "Democrats think women should have a modicum of control over their own reproductive system".

Pro-tip: If Democrats need to stop defending a woman's right to choose to win over the Christian Left, then fuck the Christian Left.