Assessing a More Prominent ‘Religious Left’

Pew Forum: Assessing a More Prominent 'Religious Left'

…Terms like “religious right” and “religious left” are shorthand for describing particular connections between religion and politics. But the terms often obscure as much as they reveal. The Pew Forum recently gathered a panel of experts on the subject and asked them to define religion and progressive politics. Their answers revealed considerable nuance and complexity.

Two factors are central to the reality behind the terminology. The first is a “liberal” theological perspective that involves less traditional views of the divine, spirituality and religious authority. The second factor is a liberal perspective on political issues.

The core of the religious left consists of people who are liberal in both their theology and their political outlook, a pattern commonly associated with the term “progressive.” So for purposes of discussion, one might call this sub-group the “core religious left.”

But another important sub-group consists of those who have a conservative theological perspective but liberal views on political issues. They are sometimes referred to as “red-letter Christians.” The term comes from those who find support for liberal politics in the parts of the Bible that directly quote Jesus – traditionally printed in red ink.

As if this picture isn’t complicated enough, there are many political moderates among theological liberals. One might call this sub-group “progressive centrists.” Many progressive advocates for issues such as overcoming poverty and protecting the environment are trying to appeal to these progressive centrists. …

…Adding up our 2004 estimates for these three groups (core religious left, red-letter Christians and progressive centrists), the religious left totaled a little more than one-quarter of the adult population. Assuming our estimate is still accurate, the broadly defined religious left is about the size of the membership in evangelical churches as measured by the Pew Forum’s U.S. Religious Landscape Survey that was released this year. The 2004 aggregate figure may surprise some people, given the small size of each of its components. What it means for the 2008 presidential election is that the religious left, broadly defined, could impact a close contest. …

…All three of these groups appear to be united by social welfare issues, especially addressing poverty in the United States and abroad. Other sources of unity are environmental protection and foreign policy. However, social issues such as abortion and same-sex marriage are potential points of division, especially between theological and political liberals and moderates. …