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To learn more about our privacy policy Click hereYoung and middle-aged Americans could be forgiven for thinking that Jesus was a social conservative who denounced gay people and harangued the poor to lift themselves up by the bootstraps, until he was crucified for demanding corporate tax cuts.
That perception might arise because since the 1980s, the most visible Christians have been conservative evangelicals who often emphasize issues that Jesus never explicitly mentioned, such as abortion and homosexuality. But now more progressive Christians are moving onto center stage.
Enter Joe Biden, one of the most religious presidents of the last century, along with Jimmy Carter and George W. Bush. Biden attends Mass regularly and inhabits faith as Donald Trump merely brandished it (as if speaking to two Corinthians).
Likewise, Vice President Kamala Harris is a Baptist who says she has regularly attended church. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is a Catholic who says her faith inspires her to address health care and climate change. Elizabeth Warren taught Sunday school. Raphael Warnock, a new senator, is an ordained Baptist pastor.
Other Democrats, including Cory Booker and Pete Buttigieg, speak the language of faith fluently as well, so a critical mass has formed of progressive Christians inspired by religion not to cut taxes for the rich but rather to slash poverty for children.
At the same time, conservative Christians have taken self-inflicted hits, not least the way some invoked religion while invading the U.S. Capitol. (After seizing the Senate floor, insurrectionists prayed, “Thank you for filling this chamber with patriots that love you and love Christ.”) And while human motivations are complicated, the suspect in the massage parlor murders in Georgia is a Southern Baptist whom a former roommate described as having a “religious mania.”
Some prominent Southern Baptist pastors jeeringly referred to Harris as a “Jezebel,” a biblical reference to a woman who is wicked, wanton and manipulative in her drive to power. That backfired and underscored how out of touch they were.
Another blow to the Christian right came when Beth Moore, a best-selling Christian author who may be the most prominent evangelical woman in America, said this month that she was leaving the Southern Baptist Convention.
Yet the Trumpian wing of evangelicalism is doubling down. Pastor Rick Joyner, a prominent evangelical leader, said this month that Christians should acquire weapons to prepare for a civil war that is now inevitable.
Young and middle-aged Americans could be forgiven for thinking that Jesus was a social conservative who denounced gay people and harangued the poor to lift themselves up by the bootstraps, until he was crucified for demanding corporate tax cuts.
That perception might arise because since the 1980s, the most visible Christians have been conservative evangelicals who often emphasize issues that Jesus never explicitly mentioned, such as abortion and homosexuality. But now more progressive Christians are moving onto center stage.
Enter Joe Biden, one of the [url=https://religionnews.com/2015/02/16/u-s-presidents-religious/]most religious[/url] presidents of the last century, along with Jimmy Carter and George W. Bush. Biden attends Mass regularly and inhabits faith as Donald Trump merely brandished it (as if speaking to [url=https://www.npr.org/2016/01/18/463528847/citing-two-corinthians-trump-struggles-to-make-the-sale-to-evangelicals]two Corinthians[/url]).
Likewise, Vice President Kamala Harris is a Baptist who [url=https://ifyc.org/article/kamala-harris-talks-about-her-own-faith]says[/url] she has regularly attended church. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is a Catholic who [url=https://www.ncronline.org/news/people/aoc-credits-her-catholic-faith-positions-health-care-environment]says[/url] her faith inspires her to address health care and climate change. Elizabeth Warren taught Sunday school. Raphael Warnock, a new senator, is an ordained Baptist pastor.
Other Democrats, including [url=https://sojo.net/articles/sen-cory-booker-radical-faith-and-its-role-civic-spaces]Cory Booker[/url] and Pete Buttigieg, speak the language of faith fluently as well, so a critical mass has formed of progressive Christians inspired by religion not to cut taxes for the rich but rather to [url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/03/opinion/biden-child-poverty.html]slash poverty for children[/url].
At the same time, conservative Christians have taken self-inflicted hits, not least the way some [url=https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/the-wasting-of-the-evangelical-mind]invoked religion[/url] while invading the U.S. Capitol. (After seizing the Senate floor, insurrectionists [url=https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/the-wasting-of-the-evangelical-mind]prayed[/url], “Thank you for filling this chamber with patriots that love you and love Christ.”) And while human motivations are complicated, the suspect in the massage parlor murders in Georgia is a Southern Baptist whom a former roommate described as having a “[url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/18/us/robert-aaron-long-atlanta-spa-shooting.html]religious mania[/url].”
Some prominent Southern Baptist pastors jeeringly [url=https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/nation-politics/kamala-harris-a-jezebel-southern-baptist-leaders-insult-is-dangerous-experts-say/]referred[/url] to Harris as a “Jezebel,” a biblical reference to a woman who is wicked, wanton and manipulative in her drive to power. That backfired and underscored how out of touch they were.
Another blow to the Christian right came when [url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/10/us/beth-moore-southern-baptists.html]Beth Moore[/url], a best-selling Christian author who may be the most prominent evangelical woman in America, said this month that she was leaving the Southern Baptist Convention.
Yet the Trumpian wing of evangelicalism is doubling down. Pastor Rick Joyner, a prominent evangelical leader, [url=https://www.newsweek.com/pastor-rick-joyner-urges-american-christians-prepare-civil-war-1576570]said[/url] this month that Christians should acquire weapons to prepare for a civil war that is now inevitable.