Christian left
Encyclopedia
The Christian left is a term originating in the United States
, used to describe a spectrum of left-wing
Christian political
and social movements which largely embraces social justice
.
The term often specifically refers to Christian
beliefs and can be interchangeable with the term Religious left. Subsequently, the term has been used to describe groups and persons from countries outside the U.S.
, such a label is an approximation, including within it groups and persons holding diverse viewpoints. The term left-wing might encompass a number of values which may or may not be held by different Christian movements and individuals.
As the unofficial title of a loose association of believers, it does provide a clear distinction from the more commonly known "Christian Right" or "Religious Right" and its key leaders and political views.
The most common religious viewpoint which might be described as 'left wing' is social justice
, or care for the poor
and the oppressed (see Minority groups). Supporters of this might encourage universal health care
, welfare provision, subsidized education, foreign aid, and Affirmative Action
for improving the conditions of the disadvantaged. Stemming from egalitarian
values, adherents of the Christian left consider it part of their religious duty to take actions on behalf of the oppressed. As nearly all major religions contain some kind of requirement to help others
, social justice has been cited by various religions as in line with their faith.
The Christian Left holds that social justice, renunciation of power, humility, forgiveness, and private observation of prayer (as opposed to publicly mandated prayer), are mandated by the Gospel
(Matthew
6:5-6). The Bible contains accounts of Jesus repeatedly advocating for the poor and outcast over the wealthy, powerful, and religious. The Christian Left maintains that such a stance is relevant and important. Adhering to the standard of "turning the other cheek", which they believe supersedes the Old Testament
law of "an eye for an eye
", the Christian Left often hearkens towards pacifism
in opposition to policies advancing militarism
.
While non-religious socialists sometimes find support for socialism
in the Gospels (for example Mikhail Gorbachev
citing Jesus
as "the first socialist"), the Christian Left does not find that socialism alone as an adequate end or means. Christian faith is the core of their belief which in turn demands social justice.
leftist movements such as socialism
and communism
(which was highly anti-clerical
in the 19th century), established churches were led by a reactionary
clergy who saw progress as a threat to their status and power. Most people viewed the church as part of the establishment. Revolution
s in America
, France
, Russia
and (much later) Spain
were in part directed against the established churches (or rather their leading clergy) and instituted a separation of church and state
.
However, in the 19th century, some writers and activists developed a school of thought, Christian socialism
, a branch of Christian thought that was infused with socialism
.
Early socialist thinkers such as Robert Owen
, Charles Fourier
, and Henri de Saint-Simon based their theories of socialism upon Christian principles. Karl Marx
and Friedrich Engels
reacted against these theories by formulating a secular theory of socialism in The Communist Manifesto
.
major Christian writers had expounded upon views that socialists found agreeable. Of major interest was the extremely strong thread of egalitarianism
in the New Testament
. Other common leftist concerns such as pacifism
, social justice
, racial equality
, human rights
, and the rejection of excessive wealth
are also expressed strongly in the Bible
. In the late 19th century, the Social Gospel
movement arose (particularly among some Anglicans
, Lutherans, Methodists and Baptists in North America
and Britain
,) which attempted to integrate progressive
and socialist thought with Christianity
to produce a faith-based social activism, promoted by movements such as Christian Socialism
. Later, in the 20th century, liberation theology
was championed by such writers as Gustavo Gutierrez
and Matthew Fox
.
s against the Vietnam War
as well as the 2003 Invasion of Iraq
. Religious leaders in many countries have also been on the forefront of criticizing any cuts to social welfare programs. In addition, many prominent civil rights
activists (such as Martin Luther King, Jr.
) were religious figures.
, members of the Christian Left come from a spectrum of denominations: Peace churches
, elements of the Protestant mainline churches, Catholicism, and some evangelicals.
The Christian Left does not seem to be so well-organized
or publicized as its right-wing counterparts. Opponents state that this is because it is less numerous. Supporters contend that it is actually more numerous but composed predominantly of persons less willing to voice political views in as forceful a manner as the Christian Right, possibly because of the aggressiveness of the Christian Right. Further, supporters contend that the Christian Left has had relatively little success securing widespread corporate, political, and major media patronage compared to the Right. In the aftermath of the 2004 election in the United States Progressive Christian
leaders started to form groups of their own to combat the Religious Right; The Center for Progressive Christianity
and The Christian Alliance For Progress are two such groups that have formed to promote the cause.
Members of the Christian Left who work on interfaith
issues are part of building the Progressive Reconstructionist
movement.
. This is often not a matter of different religious ideas, but one of focus — viewing the prohibitions against killing, or the criticism of concentrations of wealth, as far more important than social issues emphasized by the religious right
, such as opposition to homosexuality. Some on the Christian Left believe homosexual sex to be immoral but largely unimportant when compared with issues relating to social justice, or even matters of sexual morality involving heterosexual sex.
Some consider discrimination and bigotry against homosexuals to be immoral. Some (but not all) of these members of the Christian Left affirm that some homosexual practices are compatible with the Christian life and believe common biblical arguments
used to condemn homosexuality are misinterpreted. Such views hold that the prohibition was actually against a specific type of homosexual sex act, pederasty
or the sodomizing of young boys by older men. Thus, it is irrelevant when considering modern same-sex relationships.
, which sees opposition to capital punishment
, militarism
, euthanasia
, abortion
and the global unequal distribution of wealth as being related. It is an idea with certain concepts shared by Abrahamic religions as well as Buddhists
, Hindus
, and members of other religions. The late Cardinal Joseph Bernardin of Chicago
developed the idea for the consistent life ethic in 1983. Currently, Sojourners
is particularly associated with this strand of thought.
believes that one of the biggest problems that faces the left is to reach out to evangelical and Catholic religious voters. Catholics for a Free Choice
has responded that these progressive evangelical and Catholic pro-life people have difficulties dealing with the implications of feminist theology and ethics for Christian faith.
, (not to be confused with the completely unrelated Black Liberation Theology
), is a strain of Christian Left thinking that has developed in the developing world, especially Latin America. Since the 1960s, Catholic thinkers have integrated left-wing thought and Catholicism, giving rise to Liberation Theology. It arose at a time when Catholic thinkers who opposed the despotic leaders in South and Central America allied themselves with the communist opposition. However, the Vatican decided that, while Liberation Theology is partially compatible with Catholic social teaching, certain Marxist elements of it, such as the doctrine of perpetual class struggle, are against Church teachings.
The medieval Lollards, particularly John Ball
, took up many anti-establishment causes. During the English Civil War
many of the more radical Parliamentarians, such as John Lilburne
and the Levellers
, based their belief in universal suffrage
and proto-socialism
on their reading of the Bible. Other people on the Christian left include:
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, used to describe a spectrum of left-wing
Left-wing politics
In politics, Left, left-wing and leftist generally refer to support for social change to create a more egalitarian society...
Christian political
Christianity and politics
The relationship between Christianity and politics is a historically complex subject and a frequent source of disagreement throughout Church history, and in modern politics between the Christian right and Christian left.-Foundations:...
and social movements which largely embraces social justice
Social justice
Social justice generally refers to the idea of creating a society or institution that is based on the principles of equality and solidarity, that understands and values human rights, and that recognizes the dignity of every human being. The term and modern concept of "social justice" was coined by...
.
The term often specifically refers to Christian
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
beliefs and can be interchangeable with the term Religious left. Subsequently, the term has been used to describe groups and persons from countries outside the U.S.
Terminology
As with any division inside the left- and right- wings of the political spectrumPolitical spectrum
A political spectrum is a way of modeling different political positions by placing them upon one or more geometric axes symbolizing independent political dimensions....
, such a label is an approximation, including within it groups and persons holding diverse viewpoints. The term left-wing might encompass a number of values which may or may not be held by different Christian movements and individuals.
As the unofficial title of a loose association of believers, it does provide a clear distinction from the more commonly known "Christian Right" or "Religious Right" and its key leaders and political views.
The most common religious viewpoint which might be described as 'left wing' is social justice
Social justice
Social justice generally refers to the idea of creating a society or institution that is based on the principles of equality and solidarity, that understands and values human rights, and that recognizes the dignity of every human being. The term and modern concept of "social justice" was coined by...
, or care for the poor
Poverty
Poverty is the lack of a certain amount of material possessions or money. Absolute poverty or destitution is inability to afford basic human needs, which commonly includes clean and fresh water, nutrition, health care, education, clothing and shelter. About 1.7 billion people are estimated to live...
and the oppressed (see Minority groups). Supporters of this might encourage universal health care
Universal health care
Universal health care is a term referring to organized health care systems built around the principle of universal coverage for all members of society, combining mechanisms for health financing and service provision.-History:...
, welfare provision, subsidized education, foreign aid, and Affirmative Action
Affirmative action
Affirmative action refers to policies that take factors including "race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation or national origin" into consideration in order to benefit an underrepresented group, usually as a means to counter the effects of a history of discrimination.-Origins:The term...
for improving the conditions of the disadvantaged. Stemming from egalitarian
Egalitarianism
Egalitarianism is a trend of thought that favors equality of some sort among moral agents, whether persons or animals. Emphasis is placed upon the fact that equality contains the idea of equity of quality...
values, adherents of the Christian left consider it part of their religious duty to take actions on behalf of the oppressed. As nearly all major religions contain some kind of requirement to help others
Golden Rule
Golden Rule may refer to:*The Golden Rule in ethics, morality, history and religion, also known as the ethic of reciprocity*Golden Rule savings rate, in economics, the savings rate which maximizes consumption in the Solow growth model...
, social justice has been cited by various religions as in line with their faith.
The Christian Left holds that social justice, renunciation of power, humility, forgiveness, and private observation of prayer (as opposed to publicly mandated prayer), are mandated by the Gospel
Gospel
A gospel is an account, often written, that describes the life of Jesus of Nazareth. In a more general sense the term "gospel" may refer to the good news message of the New Testament. It is primarily used in reference to the four canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John...
(Matthew
Gospel of Matthew
The Gospel According to Matthew is one of the four canonical gospels, one of the three synoptic gospels, and the first book of the New Testament. It tells of the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth...
6:5-6). The Bible contains accounts of Jesus repeatedly advocating for the poor and outcast over the wealthy, powerful, and religious. The Christian Left maintains that such a stance is relevant and important. Adhering to the standard of "turning the other cheek", which they believe supersedes the Old Testament
Old Testament
The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
law of "an eye for an eye
An eye for an eye
The meaning of the principle, an eye for an eye, is that a person who has injured another person receives the same injury in compensation. The exact Latin to English translation of this phrase is actually "The law of retaliation." At the root of this principle is that one of the purposes of the...
", the Christian Left often hearkens towards pacifism
Pacifism
Pacifism is the opposition to war and violence. The term "pacifism" was coined by the French peace campaignerÉmile Arnaud and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress inGlasgow in 1901.- Definition :...
in opposition to policies advancing militarism
Militarism
Militarism is defined as: the belief or desire of a government or people that a country should maintain a strong military capability and be prepared to use it aggressively to defend or promote national interests....
.
While non-religious socialists sometimes find support for socialism
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
in the Gospels (for example Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev is a former Soviet statesman, having served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1985 until 1991, and as the last head of state of the USSR, having served from 1988 until its dissolution in 1991...
citing Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
as "the first socialist"), the Christian Left does not find that socialism alone as an adequate end or means. Christian faith is the core of their belief which in turn demands social justice.
Early antagonism between the left and Christianity
For much of the early history of anti-establishmentAnti-establishment
An anti-establishment view or belief is one which stands in opposition to the conventional social, political, and economic principles of a society. The term was first used in the modern sense in 1958, by the British magazine New Statesman to refer to its political and social agenda...
leftist movements such as socialism
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
and communism
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
(which was highly anti-clerical
Anti-clericalism
Anti-clericalism is a historical movement that opposes religious institutional power and influence, real or alleged, in all aspects of public and political life, and the involvement of religion in the everyday life of the citizen...
in the 19th century), established churches were led by a reactionary
Reactionary
The term reactionary refers to viewpoints that seek to return to a previous state in a society. The term is meant to describe one end of a political spectrum whose opposite pole is "radical". While it has not been generally considered a term of praise it has been adopted as a self-description by...
clergy who saw progress as a threat to their status and power. Most people viewed the church as part of the establishment. Revolution
Revolution
A revolution is a fundamental change in power or organizational structures that takes place in a relatively short period of time.Aristotle described two types of political revolution:...
s in America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
and (much later) Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
were in part directed against the established churches (or rather their leading clergy) and instituted a separation of church and state
Separation of church and state
The concept of the separation of church and state refers to the distance in the relationship between organized religion and the nation state....
.
However, in the 19th century, some writers and activists developed a school of thought, Christian socialism
Christian socialism
Christian socialism generally refers to those on the Christian left whose politics are both Christian and socialist and who see these two philosophies as being interrelated. This category can include Liberation theology and the doctrine of the social gospel...
, a branch of Christian thought that was infused with socialism
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
.
Early socialist thinkers such as Robert Owen
Robert Owen
Robert Owen was a Welsh social reformer and one of the founders of utopian socialism and the cooperative movement.Owen's philosophy was based on three intellectual pillars:...
, Charles Fourier
Charles Fourier
François Marie Charles Fourier was a French philosopher. An influential thinker, some of Fourier's social and moral views, held to be radical in his lifetime, have become main currents in modern society...
, and Henri de Saint-Simon based their theories of socialism upon Christian principles. Karl Marx
Karl Marx
Karl Heinrich Marx was a German philosopher, economist, sociologist, historian, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. His ideas played a significant role in the development of social science and the socialist political movement...
and Friedrich Engels
Friedrich Engels
Friedrich Engels was a German industrialist, social scientist, author, political theorist, philosopher, and father of Marxist theory, alongside Karl Marx. In 1845 he published The Condition of the Working Class in England, based on personal observations and research...
reacted against these theories by formulating a secular theory of socialism in The Communist Manifesto
The Communist Manifesto
The Communist Manifesto, originally titled Manifesto of the Communist Party is a short 1848 publication written by the German Marxist political theorists Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. It has since been recognized as one of the world's most influential political manuscripts. Commissioned by the...
.
Alliance of the left and Christianity
Starting in the late 19th century and early 20th century, some began to take on the view that genuine Christianity had much in common with a Leftist perspective. From St. Augustine of Hippo's City of God through St. Thomas More's UtopiaUtopia
Utopia is an ideal community or society possessing a perfect socio-politico-legal system. The word was imported from Greek by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book Utopia, describing a fictional island in the Atlantic Ocean. The term has been used to describe both intentional communities that attempt...
major Christian writers had expounded upon views that socialists found agreeable. Of major interest was the extremely strong thread of egalitarianism
Egalitarianism
Egalitarianism is a trend of thought that favors equality of some sort among moral agents, whether persons or animals. Emphasis is placed upon the fact that equality contains the idea of equity of quality...
in the New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
. Other common leftist concerns such as pacifism
Pacifism
Pacifism is the opposition to war and violence. The term "pacifism" was coined by the French peace campaignerÉmile Arnaud and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress inGlasgow in 1901.- Definition :...
, social justice
Social justice
Social justice generally refers to the idea of creating a society or institution that is based on the principles of equality and solidarity, that understands and values human rights, and that recognizes the dignity of every human being. The term and modern concept of "social justice" was coined by...
, racial equality
Racial equality
Racial equality means different things in different contexts. It mostly deals with an equal regard to all races.It can refer to a belief in biological equality of all human races....
, human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
, and the rejection of excessive wealth
Wealth
Wealth is the abundance of valuable resources or material possessions. The word wealth is derived from the old English wela, which is from an Indo-European word stem...
are also expressed strongly in the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
. In the late 19th century, the Social Gospel
Social Gospel
The Social Gospel movement is a Protestant Christian intellectual movement that was most prominent in the early 20th century United States and Canada...
movement arose (particularly among some Anglicans
Anglo-Catholicism
The terms Anglo-Catholic and Anglo-Catholicism describe people, beliefs and practices within Anglicanism that affirm the Catholic, rather than Protestant, heritage and identity of the Anglican churches....
, Lutherans, Methodists and Baptists in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
and Britain
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
,) which attempted to integrate progressive
Progressivism
Progressivism is an umbrella term for a political ideology advocating or favoring social, political, and economic reform or changes. Progressivism is often viewed by some conservatives, constitutionalists, and libertarians to be in opposition to conservative or reactionary ideologies.The...
and socialist thought with Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
to produce a faith-based social activism, promoted by movements such as Christian Socialism
Christian socialism
Christian socialism generally refers to those on the Christian left whose politics are both Christian and socialist and who see these two philosophies as being interrelated. This category can include Liberation theology and the doctrine of the social gospel...
. Later, in the 20th century, liberation theology
Liberation theology
Liberation theology is a Christian movement in political theology which interprets the teachings of Jesus Christ in terms of a liberation from unjust economic, political, or social conditions...
was championed by such writers as Gustavo Gutierrez
Gustavo Gutiérrez
Gustavo Gutiérrez Merino, O.P., is a Peruvian theologian and Dominican priest regarded as the founder of Liberation Theology...
and Matthew Fox
Matthew Fox (priest)
Matthew Fox is an American priest and theologian. Formerly a member of the Dominican order within the Roman Catholic Church, Fox is now a member of the Episcopal Church....
.
Christian left and campaigns for peace and human rights
Some Christian groups were closely associated with the peace movementPeace movement
A peace movement is a social movement that seeks to achieve ideals such as the ending of a particular war , minimize inter-human violence in a particular place or type of situation, often linked to the goal of achieving world peace...
s against the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
as well as the 2003 Invasion of Iraq
2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...
. Religious leaders in many countries have also been on the forefront of criticizing any cuts to social welfare programs. In addition, many prominent civil rights
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
activists (such as Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. was an American clergyman, activist, and prominent leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. He is best known for being an iconic figure in the advancement of civil rights in the United States and around the world, using nonviolent methods following the...
) were religious figures.
Christian left in the United States
In the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, members of the Christian Left come from a spectrum of denominations: Peace churches
Peace churches
Peace churches are Christian churches, groups or communities advocating Christian pacifism. The term historic peace churches refers specifically only to three church groups among pacifist churches: Church of the Brethren, Mennonites including the Amish, and Religious Society of Friends and has...
, elements of the Protestant mainline churches, Catholicism, and some evangelicals.
The Christian Left does not seem to be so well-organized
Community organizing
Community organizing is a process where people who live in proximity to each other come together into an organization that acts in their shared self-interest. A core goal of community organizing is to generate durable power for an organization representing the community, allowing it to influence...
or publicized as its right-wing counterparts. Opponents state that this is because it is less numerous. Supporters contend that it is actually more numerous but composed predominantly of persons less willing to voice political views in as forceful a manner as the Christian Right, possibly because of the aggressiveness of the Christian Right. Further, supporters contend that the Christian Left has had relatively little success securing widespread corporate, political, and major media patronage compared to the Right. In the aftermath of the 2004 election in the United States Progressive Christian
Progressive Christianity
Progressive Christianity is the name given to a movement within contemporary Christianity characterized by willingness to question tradition, acceptance of human diversity with a strong emphasis on social justice or care for the poor and the oppressed and environmental stewardship of the Earth...
leaders started to form groups of their own to combat the Religious Right; The Center for Progressive Christianity
Center for Progressive Christianity
The Center for Progressive Christianity was founded in 1996 by, retired Episcopal priest, James Rowe Adams in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It is possibly the most progressive established Christian group within American Christianity...
and The Christian Alliance For Progress are two such groups that have formed to promote the cause.
Members of the Christian Left who work on interfaith
Interfaith
The term interfaith dialogue refers to cooperative, constructive and positive interaction between people of different religious traditions and/or spiritual or humanistic beliefs, at both the individual and institutional levels...
issues are part of building the Progressive Reconstructionist
Progressive Reconstructionist
The Progressive Reconstructionist movement is a loosely-knit interfaith community found principally at this time in the developed world. It comprises activist adherents of Reconstructionist Judaism and the Christian left, of progressive Hindus, Buddhists and Muslims, and of left-leaning Neopagans,...
movement.
Christian Left and issues
The Christian Left sometimes differs from other Christian political groups on issues including homosexualityHomosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
. This is often not a matter of different religious ideas, but one of focus — viewing the prohibitions against killing, or the criticism of concentrations of wealth, as far more important than social issues emphasized by the religious right
Christian right
Christian right is a term used predominantly in the United States to describe "right-wing" Christian political groups that are characterized by their strong support of socially conservative policies...
, such as opposition to homosexuality. Some on the Christian Left believe homosexual sex to be immoral but largely unimportant when compared with issues relating to social justice, or even matters of sexual morality involving heterosexual sex.
Some consider discrimination and bigotry against homosexuals to be immoral. Some (but not all) of these members of the Christian Left affirm that some homosexual practices are compatible with the Christian life and believe common biblical arguments
The Bible and homosexuality
There are a number of direct references to homosexuality in the Bible.In Mosaic law, male homosexuality is identified as an "abomination".In the New Testament, Paul of Tarsus condemns arsenokoitēs, a term related to male homosexuality that is open to much interpretation; it could mean male...
used to condemn homosexuality are misinterpreted. Such views hold that the prohibition was actually against a specific type of homosexual sex act, pederasty
Pederasty
Pederasty or paederasty is an intimate relationship between an adult and an adolescent boy outside his immediate family. The word pederasty derives from Greek "love of boys", a compound derived from "child, boy" and "lover".Historically, pederasty has existed as a variety of customs and...
or the sodomizing of young boys by older men. Thus, it is irrelevant when considering modern same-sex relationships.
The Consistent Life Ethic
A related strain of thought is the (Catholic and progressive evangelical) Consistent Life EthicConsistent Life Ethic
The consistent life ethic, or the consistent ethic of life, was a term coined in 1983 by Joseph Cardinal Bernardin to express an ethical, religious, and political ideology based on the premise that all human life was sacred and should be protected by law. The ideology opposes legal abortion,...
, which sees opposition to capital punishment
Capital punishment
Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...
, militarism
Militarism
Militarism is defined as: the belief or desire of a government or people that a country should maintain a strong military capability and be prepared to use it aggressively to defend or promote national interests....
, euthanasia
Euthanasia
Euthanasia refers to the practice of intentionally ending a life in order to relieve pain and suffering....
, abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
and the global unequal distribution of wealth as being related. It is an idea with certain concepts shared by Abrahamic religions as well as Buddhists
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
, Hindus
Hinduism
Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
, and members of other religions. The late Cardinal Joseph Bernardin of Chicago
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago
The Archdiocese of Chicago was established as a diocese in 1843 and as an Archdiocese in 1880. It serves more than 2.3 million Catholics in Cook and Lake counties in Northeastern Illinois, a geographic area of 1,411 square miles. The Archdiocese is divided into six vicariates and 31 deaneries...
developed the idea for the consistent life ethic in 1983. Currently, Sojourners
Sojourners Community
The Sojourners Community is an intentional community that was started in the early 1970s by a group of students at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. The founders had the desire to further explore the relationship between their orthodox Protestant faith and the social crisis that surrounded...
is particularly associated with this strand of thought.
Differing Views
Jim WallisJim Wallis
Jim Wallis is an American evangelical Christian writer and political activist. He is best known as the founder and editor of Sojourners magazine, and of the Washington, D.C.-based Christian community of the same name....
believes that one of the biggest problems that faces the left is to reach out to evangelical and Catholic religious voters. Catholics for a Free Choice
Catholics for a Free Choice
Catholics for Choice , formerly Catholics for a Free Choice , is a Catholic pro-choice organization based in Washington, D.C. that was founded "to serve as a voice for Catholics who believe that the Catholic tradition supports a woman's moral and legal right to follow her conscience in matters of...
has responded that these progressive evangelical and Catholic pro-life people have difficulties dealing with the implications of feminist theology and ethics for Christian faith.
Liberation theology
Liberation theologyLiberation theology
Liberation theology is a Christian movement in political theology which interprets the teachings of Jesus Christ in terms of a liberation from unjust economic, political, or social conditions...
, (not to be confused with the completely unrelated Black Liberation Theology
Black liberation theology
Black liberation theology, sometimes shortened to black theology, is a relatively new theological perspective found in some Christian churches in the United States. It maintains that African Americans must be liberated from multiple forms of bondage — political, social, economic, and religious...
), is a strain of Christian Left thinking that has developed in the developing world, especially Latin America. Since the 1960s, Catholic thinkers have integrated left-wing thought and Catholicism, giving rise to Liberation Theology. It arose at a time when Catholic thinkers who opposed the despotic leaders in South and Central America allied themselves with the communist opposition. However, the Vatican decided that, while Liberation Theology is partially compatible with Catholic social teaching, certain Marxist elements of it, such as the doctrine of perpetual class struggle, are against Church teachings.
Argentina
- Movement of Priests for the Third WorldMovement of Priests for the Third WorldThe Movement of Priests for the Third World was a tendency among the Catholic Church in Argentina which aimed at combining reform ideas which followed the Second Vatican Council with a strong political and social participation...
- Carlos MugicaCarlos MugicaCarlos Mugica was an Argentine Roman Catholic priest and activist.-Early life:Carlos Francisco Sergio Mugica was born in Buenos Aires, in 1930, into a privileged background...
- Enrique AngelelliEnrique AngelelliEnrique Ángel Angelelli was a bishop of the Roman Catholic Church in Argentina, killed during the Dirty war for his involvement with social issues....
- Jaime de Nevares
- Jerónimo Podestá
- Miguel HesayneMiguel HesayneMiguel Esteban Hesayne is the Catholic Bishop Emeritus of the Diocese of Viedma.He was ordained priest on 12 December 1948...
- Luis Farinello
- Rubén Dri
- Carlos Mugica
- Major political figures
- Juan PerónJuan PerónJuan Domingo Perón was an Argentine military officer, and politician. Perón was three times elected as President of Argentina though he only managed to serve one full term, after serving in several government positions, including the Secretary of Labor and the Vice Presidency...
- Eva PerónEva PerónMaría Eva Duarte de Perón was the second wife of President Juan Perón and served as the First Lady of Argentina from 1946 until her death in 1952. She is often referred to as simply Eva Perón, or by the affectionate Spanish language diminutive Evita.She was born in the village of Los Toldos in...
- Juan Perón
- Humanist-CatholicChristian humanismChristian humanism is the position that universal human dignity and individual freedom are essential and principal components of, or are at least compatible with, Christian doctrine and practice. It is a philosophical union of Christian and humanist principles.- Origins :Christian humanism may have...
figures of argentine military- Juan José ValleJuan José ValleJuan José Valle was an Argentine military who headed a rebellion in 1956 against General Aramburu's dictatorship....
- Edelmiro Farrell
- Eduardo LonardiEduardo LonardiEduardo A. Lonardi Doucet served as de facto president of Argentina from September 23, 1955 until November 13, 1955.-Biography:He was born on September 15, 1896....
- Juan José Valle
- Other figures
- Juan Manuel Abal MedinaJuan Manuel Abal MedinaJuan Manuel Abal Medina is an Argentine journalist and politician who served as Secretary General of the Peronist Movement between 1972 and 1974, and would later become a prominent lawyer in Mexico.-Early life and entry into politics:...
- Juan García Elorrio
- José Sabino Navarro
- Cristianismo y Revolución (an old magazine)
- Salvador Ferla
- Juan Manuel Abal Medina
Australia
- Frank Brennan, Jesuit and advocate for Australia's indigenous peoples
- Brian HoweBrian Howe (politician)Brian Leslie Howe, AO , Australian politician, was Deputy Prime Minister in the Labor government of Paul Keating from 1991 to 1995....
, AMOrder of AustraliaThe Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
, AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n politician, was Deputy Prime MinisterDeputy Prime Minister of AustraliaThe Deputy Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the second-most senior officer in the Government of Australia. The Deputy Prime Ministership has been a ministerial portfolio since 1968, and the Deputy Prime Minister is appointed by the Governor-General on the advice of the Prime...
in the LaborAustralian Labor PartyThe Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
government of Paul KeatingPaul KeatingPaul John Keating was the 24th Prime Minister of Australia, serving from 1991 to 1996. Keating was elected as the federal Labor member for Blaxland in 1969 and came to prominence as the reformist treasurer of the Hawke Labor government, which came to power at the 1983 election...
from 1991 to 1995 - John GardenJohn GardenJohn Smith "Jock" Garden , clergyman, Australian trade unionist and politician, was one of the founders of the Communist Party of Australia.-Early life:...
, founder of the Communist Party of Australia, - Tim CostelloTim CostelloTimothy Ewen Costello AO is a prominent Baptist minister and current CEO of World Vision Australia.He is an "Australian Living Treasure". He is the brother of former treasurer of Australia and Federal Member for Higgins Peter Costello....
, former Baptist pastor and CEO of World VisionWorld VisionWorld Vision, founded in the USA in 1950, is an evangelical relief and development organization whose stated goal is "to follow our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ in working with the poor and oppressed to promote human transformation, seek justice and bear witness to the good news of the Kingdom of...
Australia.
Brazil
- Leonardo BoffLeonardo BoffLeonardo Boff was born 14 December 1938 in Concórdia, Santa Catarina state, Brazil. He is a theologian, philosopher and writer, known for his active support for the rights of the poor and excluded....
, academic and social activist - Sister Dorothy StangDorothy StangSister Dorothy Mae Stang, S.N.D., was an American-born, Brazilian member of the Congregation of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur. She was murdered in Anapu, a city in the state of Pará, in the Amazon Basin of Brazil...
- Roman Catholic nun murdered in BrazilBrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
for helping the landless and poor
Canada
- Richard Allen, politician and historian of Christian socialism
- Charlie AngusCharlie AngusCharles Joseph Angus MP is a Canadian writer, broadcaster, musician, and politician. Angus entered electoral politics in 2004 as the successful New Democratic Party candidate in the Ontario riding of Timmins—James Bay. He was the NDP parliamentary critic for Canadian Heritage from 2004 to 2007,...
, writer and politician - Bill BlaikieBill BlaikieWilliam Alexander "Bill" Blaikie, PC is a Canadian politician. He has been a member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba since April 2009, representing the Winnipeg division of Elmwood as a member of the New Democratic Party of Manitoba, and Minister of Conservation and Government House Leader...
, minister and politician - Andrew BrewinAndrew BrewinFrancis Andrew Brewin was a lawyer and Canadian politician.Brewin was a stalwart in the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation and ran numerous times at the federal and provincial levels in the 1940 and 1950s...
, politician and author - Lorne CalvertLorne CalvertLorne Albert Calvert, MLA was the 13th Premier of Saskatchewan, from 2001 to 2007. Calvert, was the leader of the Saskatchewan New Democratic Party from 2001 to June 6, 2009, when he was succeeded by Dwain Lingenfelter.In 1975, Calvert married Betty Sluzalo of Perdue, Saskatchewan. After attending...
, minister and politician and premier of SaskatchewanPremier of SaskatchewanThe Premier of Saskatchewan is the first minister for the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. They are the province's head of government and de facto chief executive.... - Bruce CockburnBruce CockburnBruce Douglas Cockburn OC is a Canadian folk/rock guitarist and singer-songwriter. His most recent album was released in March 2011. He has written songs in styles ranging from folk to jazz-influenced rock to rock and roll.-Biography:...
, singer and songwriter - Cheri DiNovoCheri DiNovoCheri DiNovo, MPP, is a Canadian social democratic politician. She is an United Church of Canada minister and previously headed the Emmanuel-Howard Park congregation in Toronto, Ontario. As the New Democratic Party of Ontario candidate in Parkdale–High Park, she was elected to the Legislative...
, minister and politician - Tommy DouglasTommy DouglasThomas Clement "Tommy" Douglas, was a Scottish-born Baptist minister who became a prominent Canadian social democratic politician...
, voted the "Greatest Canadian". Leader of the first avowedly socialist government in North America in SaskatchewanSaskatchewanSaskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
. Introduced universal medicare, former Baptist Minister. - Stanley KnowlesStanley KnowlesStanley Howard Knowles, PC, OC was a Canadian parliamentarian. Knowles represented the riding of Winnipeg North Centre from 1942 to 1958 on behalf of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation and again from 1962 to 1984 representing the CCF's successor, the New Democratic Party .Knowles was widely...
, minister and politician - James Loney (peace activist)
- Desmond McGrathDesmond McGrathDesmond McGrath was a Catholic priest, and trade union organizer in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. He was a candidate for the New Democratic Party in the 2004 federal election....
, priest, trade union organizer and activist - Bill PhippsBill PhippsWilliam "Bill" Phipps is a Canadian church leader and social justice activist. He was Moderator of the United Church of Canada from 1997 to 2000.-Early life and ministry:...
, church leader and activist - Bill SiksayBill SiksayWilliam Livingstone Siksay, former MP is a Canadian politician, and was the Member of Parliament who represented the British Columbia riding of Burnaby—Douglas for the New Democratic Party from 2004 to 2011.Receiving his high school diploma from McLaughlin Collegiate and Vocational Institute in...
, politician, former theological student, partner of a minister - Frank ScottF. R. ScottFrancis Reginald Scott, CC commonly known as Frank Scott or F.R. Scott, was a Canadian poet, intellectual and constitutional expert. He helped found the first Canadian social democratic party, the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation, and its successor, the New Democratic Party...
, poet and constitutional expert - William Horace TempleWilliam Horace TempleWilliam Horace Temple , nicknamed "Temperance Bill" or "Temperance Willie", was a Canadian democratic socialist politician, trade union activist, businessman and temperance crusader. As a youth he worked for the railway. During World War I, and World War II he was a soldier in the Royal Naval...
, politician, and trade union activist - J. S. WoodsworthJ. S. WoodsworthJames Shaver Woodsworth was a pioneer in the Canadian social democratic movement. Following more than two decades ministering to the poor and the working class, J. S...
, minister and politician.
East Timor
- Carlos Felipe Ximenes Belo, Nobel Peace PrizeNobel Peace PrizeThe Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes bequeathed by the Swedish industrialist and inventor Alfred Nobel.-Background:According to Nobel's will, the Peace Prize shall be awarded to the person who...
winning ArchbishopArchbishopAn archbishop is a bishop of higher rank, but not of higher sacramental order above that of the three orders of deacon, priest , and bishop...
linked to East TimorEast TimorThe Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, commonly known as East Timor , is a state in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecusse, an exclave on the northwestern side of the island, within Indonesian West Timor...
ese independence.
Ecuador
- Rafael CorreaRafael CorreaRafael Vicente Correa Delgado born is the President of the Republic of Ecuador and was the president pro tempore of the Union of South American Nations. An economist educated in Ecuador, Belgium and the United States, he was elected President in late 2006 and took office in January 2007...
, incumbent presidentPresidentA president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
and former finance ministerFinance ministerThe finance minister is a cabinet position in a government.A minister of finance has many different jobs in a government. He or she helps form the government budget, stimulate the economy, and control finances...
. - Leonidas ProañoLeonidas ProañoLeonidas Eduardo Proaño Villalba was an Ecuadorian priest and theologian. He served as the bishop of Riobamba from 1954 to 1985...
, liberation theology bishop.
El Salvador
- Mauricio FunesMauricio FunesCarlos Mauricio Funes Cartagena is the President of El Salvador. He won the 2009 presidential election as the candidate of the left-wing Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front political party and took office on 1 June 2009.-Biography:Funes is married to Dr. Vanada Pignado, who was involved in...
, incumbent President of El SalvadorPresident of El SalvadorThis page contains a list of Presidents of El Salvador.-Heads of State of El Salvador within the Federal Republic of Central America :*Pedro Barriere : 21 September 1821 - 28 November 1821*José Matías Delgado : 28 Nov 1821 - 9 February 1823...
, journalistJournalistA journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A... - Archbishop Óscar RomeroÓscar RomeroÓscar Arnulfo Romero y Galdámez was a bishop of the Catholic Church in El Salvador. He became the fourth Archbishop of San Salvador, succeeding Luis Chávez. He was assassinated on 24 March 1980....
, archbishopArchbishopAn archbishop is a bishop of higher rank, but not of higher sacramental order above that of the three orders of deacon, priest , and bishop...
France
- Bishop Jacques GaillotJacques GaillotThe Most Reverend Dr. Jacques Jean Edmond Georges Monseigneur Gaillot , Titular Bishop of Partenia, is a French Catholic clergyman and social activist. He was from 1982 to 1995 Bishop of Évreux in France...
, Roman Catholic Bishop of Partenia, social activist - Abbé PierreAbbé PierreLAbbé Pierre, was a French Catholic priest, member of the Resistance during World War II, and deputy of the Popular Republican Movement . He founded in 1949 the Emmaus movement, which has the goal of helping poor and homeless people and refugees...
, Roman Catholic social activist - PersonalismPersonalismPersonalism is a philosophical school of thought searching to describe the uniqueness of a human person in the world of nature, specifically in relation to animals...
(Emmanuel MounierEmmanuel MounierEmmanuel Mounier was a French philosopher.Mounier was the guiding spirit in the French Personalist movement, and founder and director of Esprit, the magazine which was the organ of the movement. Mounier, who was the child of peasants, was a brilliant scholar at the Sorbonne...
, etc.)
Germany
- Alfred DelpAlfred DelpAlfred Delp was a German Jesuit priest who was executed for his resistance to the Nazi régime in Germany.- Early life and education :...
, Jesuit involved in resistance to Nazi GermanyNazi GermanyNazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by... - Christoph BlumhardtChristoph BlumhardtChristoph Blumhardt was a German Lutheran theologian and one of the founders of Christian Socialism in Germany and Switzerland. He was a well-known preacher. In 1899 he announced his support for socialism and joined the Social Democratic Party of Germany; for this, he lost his position as minister...
, Lutheran theologian - Rudi DutschkeRudi DutschkeAlfred Willi Rudi Dutschke was the most prominent spokesperson of the German student movement of the 1960s. He advocated 'a long march through the institutions' of power to create radical change from within government and society by becoming an integral part of the machinery...
, student protest leader - Emil FuchsEmil FuchsEmil Fuchs was a German theologian.A religious socialist, Fuchs was one of the first Lutheran pastors to join the Social Democratic Party of Germany. As a devoted pacifist, he later joined the Religious Society of Friends...
, Quaker theologian - Helmut GollwitzerHelmut GollwitzerHelmut Gollwitzer was a Protestant theologian and author.Born in Bavaria, Gollwitzer studied Protestant theology in Munich, Erlangen, Jena and Bonn ; he later completed a doctorate under Karl Barth in Basel , writing on the understanding of the eucharist in Martin Luther and John Calvin.During...
, Lutheran theologian - Ulrich DuchrowUlrich DuchrowUlrich Duchrow , professor of systematic theology at the University of Heidelberg specialising in ecumenical theology and theology-economy issues....
, theologian, global justice movementGlobal Justice MovementThe Global Justice Movement is a network or constellation of globalized social movements opposing what is often known as the “corporate globalization” and promoting equal distribution of economic resources.-Movement of movements:...
theoreticist - Johann Baptist MetzJohann Baptist MetzJohann Baptist Metz is a Catholic theologian. He is Ordinary Professor of Fundamental Theology, Emeritus, at Westphalian Wilhelms University in Münster, Germany....
, Catholic theologian - Dorothee SölleDorothee SölleDorothee Steffensky-Sölle was a German liberation theologian and writer who coined the term Christofascism...
, Lutheran theologian - Johannes RauJohannes RauJohannes Rau was a German politician of the SPD. He was President of Germany from 1 July 1999 until 30 June 2004, and Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia from 1978 to 1998.-Education and work:...
, German President
Greece
- Stelios PapathemelisStelios PapathemelisStelios Papathemelis is a Greek politician and lawyer.-Early life:He was born in Thessaloniki on January, 1938. He studied law at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.This man is Macedonian from village of Ossa, Langada, Thessaloniki, Macedonia .-Political career :He was elected for the first...
, lawyer, former Minister of Interior, leader of "Democratic RevivalDemocratic RevivalThe Democratic Revival is a populist political party in Greece, initially founded in 2004 by Stelios Papathemelis. It was deactivated after its leader participated in the legislative elections of 2004 with New Democracy and was elected MP.The party was reactivated in March 2007...
", a minor Christian-Socialist party - Christos YannarasChristos YannarasChristos Yannaras is an important Greek philosopher and writer of more than 50 books, translated into many languages.- Biography :Christos Yannaras is Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at the Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences, Athens...
, theologist, philosopher
Haiti
- Jean-Bertrand AristideJean-Bertrand AristideJean-Bertrand Aristide is a Haitian former Catholic priest and politician who served as Haiti's first democratically elected president. A proponent of liberation theology, Aristide was appointed to a parish in Port-au-Prince in 1982 after completing his studies...
, former President of Haiti - Gérard Jean-JusteGérard Jean-JusteFr. Gérard Jean-Juste was a Roman Catholic priest and rector of Saint Claire's church for the poor in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. He was also a liberation theologian and a supporter of the Fanmi Lavalas political party, the largest in Haiti. In 1978, Father Jean-Juste founded the Haitian Refugee Center...
, liberation theologian
Ireland
- Ciaron O'ReillyCiaron O'ReillyCiaron O'Reilly is a long-time Catholic Worker, nonviolent resister and Christian anarchist. O'Reilly took part in the 1980s civil rights, social justice and free speech movement in Queensland, Australia, against state Premier Joh Bjelke-Peterson....
, Catholic Worker, Christian Anarchist - BonoBonoPaul David Hewson , most commonly known by his stage name Bono , is an Irish singer, musician, and humanitarian best known for being the main vocalist of the Dublin-based rock band U2. Bono was born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, and attended Mount Temple Comprehensive School where he met his...
, musician, activist, lead singer of U2U2U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
Italy
- Beniamino AndreattaBeniamino AndreattaBeniamino Andreatta was an Italian economist and politician.He was a leftish Christian Democrat and one of the founders of the Italian People's Party in 1994.Andreatta was born in Trento...
, economist and former Minister of Treasury, of Foreign Affairs and of Defense - Rosy BindiRosy BindiMaria Rosaria Bindi, best known as Rosy Bindi is an Italian politician and the current President of the Democratic Party.-Career:...
, President of the Democratic Party - Pierre CarnitiPierre CarnitiPierre Carniti is an Italian politician and trade unionist.Carniti was born in Castelleone, in the province of Cremona, Lombardy. He was general secretary of CISL, a major trade union federation, between 1979 and 1985....
, trade union leader and co-founder of Social ChristiansSocial ChristiansSocial Christians is a Christian social-democratic faction within the Democratic Party, a political party in Italy.... - Ermanno GorrieriErmanno GorrieriErmanno Gorrieri was an Italian politician and economist.Gorrieri was born at Sassuolo During World War II he participated in the resistance and was active in the creation of the short-lived Republic of Montefiorino. After the war he was a trade union activist...
, trade union activist, economist and co-founder of Social ChristiansSocial ChristiansSocial Christians is a Christian social-democratic faction within the Democratic Party, a political party in Italy.... - Dario FranceschiniDario FranceschiniDario Franceschini is an Italian lawyer, writer, and politician, who served as the second leader of the Democratic Party. He has been a prominent member of the Italian People's Party , of the Daisy and the first Deputy Secretary of the Democratic Party...
, Democratic PartyDemocratic Party (Italy)The Democratic Party is a social-democratic political party in Italy, that is the second-largest in the country. The party is led by Pier Luigi Bersani, who was elected in the 2009 leadership election....
leader in the Chamber of Deputies - Rosa Russo IervolinoRosa Russo IervolinoRosa Russo Iervolino is an Italian politician.She is a member of the Democratic Coalition . She was leader of Christian Democratic Women . In 1979 she was senator for Christian Democracy party...
, politician, Minister of Interior, Mayor of NaplesNaplesNaples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples... - Sergio MattarellaSergio MattarellaSergio Mattarella is an Italian politician.-Life:Mattarella was born in Palermo . He is son of Bernardo Mattarella and brother of Piersanti Mattarella, both politician into Democrazia Cristiana....
, politician - Romano ProdiRomano ProdiRomano Prodi is an Italian politician and statesman. He served as the Prime Minister of Italy, from 17 May 1996 to 21 October 1998 and from 17 May 2006 to 8 May 2008...
, former prime minister - Nichi VendolaNichi VendolaNicola "Nichi" Vendola is an Italian left-wing politician and currently the President of Apulia.-Life:Born in Terlizzi, province of Bari , Vendola had been a member of the Italian Communist Youth Federation since the age of 14; he studied literature in university, presenting a dissertation about...
, former Italian Communist PartyItalian Communist PartyThe Italian Communist Party was a communist political party in Italy.The PCI was founded as Communist Party of Italy on 21 January 1921 in Livorno, by seceding from the Italian Socialist Party . Amadeo Bordiga and Antonio Gramsci led the split. Outlawed during the Fascist regime, the party played...
member, founder and leader of the Left Ecology Freedom movement, governor of the ApuliaApuliaApulia is a region in Southern Italy bordering the Adriatic Sea in the east, the Ionian Sea to the southeast, and the Strait of Òtranto and Gulf of Taranto in the south. Its most southern portion, known as Salento peninsula, forms a high heel on the "boot" of Italy. The region comprises , and...
region - Pietro ScoppolaPietro ScoppolaPietro Scoppola was an Italian historian, academic and politician. He taught at University of Rome La Sapienza and was senator for Christian Democracy from 1983 to 1987.-Works:...
, historian and politician
New Zealand
- Lloyd GeeringLloyd GeeringSir Lloyd George Geering, ONZ, GNZM, CBE, born 26 February 1918, is a New Zealand theologian, who faced charges of heresy in 1967 for his controversial views. He considers Christian and Muslim fundamentalism to be "social evils"...
, theologian - Walter NashWalter NashSir Walter Nash, GCMG, CH served as the 27th Prime Minister of New Zealand in the Second Labour Government from 1957 to 1960, and was also highly influential in his role as Minister of Finance...
, prime minister - Arnold NordmeyerArnold NordmeyerSir Arnold Henry Nordmeyer, ONZ, KCMG , born Heinrich Arnold Nordmeyer, was a New Zealand politician. He was leader of the Labour Party for three years while it was in Opposition.-Early life:...
, minister and politician - Michael Joseph SavageMichael Joseph SavageMichael Joseph Savage was the first Labour Prime Minister of New Zealand.- Early life :Born in Tatong, Victoria, Australia, Savage first became involved in politics while working in that state. He emigrated to New Zealand in 1907. There he worked in a variety of jobs, as a miner, flax-cutter and...
, prime minister
Philippines
- Benigno S. Aquino, Jr. - anti-Marcos dictatorship hero and martyr of Philippine democracy, who described himself as a 'born again' Catholic and a Christian Socialist
- José BurgosJosé BurgosJosé Apolonio Burgos y García was a Filipino mestizo secular priest, accused of mutiny by the Spanish colonial authorities in the Philippines in the 19th century...
- Filipino priest and independence activist - Gregorio AglipayGregorio AglipayGregorio Labayan Aglipay was the first Filipino Supreme Bishop of the Philippine Independent Church.-Early life:...
- Supreme Bishop of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente Aglipayan Church - Jaime Sin, - cardinal, leader of the Catholic Church in the Philippines and pillar of the People Power movement
- Conrado Balweg - Former SVDDivine Word MissionariesThe Society of the Divine Word , popularly called the Divine Word Missionaries, and sometimes the Steyler Missionaries, is a missionary religious congregation in the Latin Church, one of the 23 sui iuris churches which make up the Catholic Church. As of 2006 it consisted of 6,102 members composed...
priest turned Rebel leader in Cordillera during the Marcos regime - Alberto RamentoAlberto RamentoAlberto Ramento, Obispo Maximo IX is a former Supreme Bishop and Chairperson of the Supreme Council of Bishops of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente ....
- Supreme Bishop of the Aglipayan Church and advocator of human rights and humanitarian law - Luis Jalandoni - Former priest and one of the members of the National Democratic Front of the PhilippinesNational Democratic Front (Philippines)National Democratic Front is a coalition of far left leaning political parties, churches , agricultural unions, trade unions, and other related groups in the Philippines...
- Santago Salas - Member of the National Democratic Front
Slovenia
- Bogo GrafenauerBogo GrafenauerBogo Grafenauer was a Slovenian historian, who mostly wrote about medieval history in the Slovene Lands. Together with Milko Kos, Fran Zwitter, and Vasilij Melik, he was one of the founders of the so-called Ljubljana school of historiography.- Early life :He was born in Ljubljana in a well...
, historian - Vekoslav Grmič, SloveniaSloveniaSlovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
n Roman Catholic bishopBishopA bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
and theologian - Edvard KocbekEdvard KocbekEdvard Kocbek was a Slovenian poet, writer, essayist, translator, political activist, and resistance fighter. He is considered as one of the best authors who have written in Slovene, and one of the best Slovene poets after Prešeren...
, Poet, Essayist and politician - Ivo Juvančič, historian and theologian
- Andrej Magajna, politician
- Metod Mikuž, resistance fighter and historian
- Boris PahorBoris PahorBoris Pahor is a Slovene writer from Italy. He is considered to be one of the most influential living authors in the Slovene language and has been nominated for the Nobel prize for literature by the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts...
, Writer and essayist - Virgil Šček, Roman Catholic priest, politician and social activist
- Aleš Stanovnik, political activist
Spain
- Joaquín Ruiz-GiménezJoaquín Ruiz-GiménezJoaquín Ruiz-Giménez Cortés was a Spanish politician and jurist. He was minister of Education under Franco but he drifted apart from the regime since 1956 and, adopting a Christian Democrat position, steadily started to promote a quiet transition to democracy, especially through Cuadernos para el...
, former ombudsman and leader of Democratic Left. - José Bono, speaker of the low house of Parliament.
South Korea
- Jin Joong Gwon aesthetist, culture critic
- Lee Jae-joungLee Jae-joungLee Jae-joung is the Unification Minister of South Korea. As head of the Ministry of Unification, Jae-joung is tasked with working toward the reunification of Korea....
priest of Anglican Church. former minister of Unification - Catholic Priests of Justice Realization (천주교정의구현사제단)a society of Catholic priests who are activists for progressive movements.
Sweden
- K. G. HammarK. G. Hammarthumb|K. G. HammarKarl Gustav Hilding Hammar , commonly referred to as K. G. Hammar, is a Swedish clergyman. He was Archbishop of Uppsala, head of the Church of Sweden, from 1997 to 2006...
, former Archbishop of UppsalaArchbishop of UppsalaThe Archbishop of Uppsala has been the primate in Sweden in an unbroken succession since 1164, first during the Catholic era, and from the 1530s and onward under the Lutheran church.- Historical overview :... - Lukas MoodyssonLukas Moodysson- External links :*...
, film writer and director
Switzerland
- Karl BarthKarl BarthKarl Barth was a Swiss Reformed theologian whom critics hold to be among the most important Christian thinkers of the 20th century; Pope Pius XII described him as the most important theologian since Thomas Aquinas...
, neo-orthodox theologian - Hans KüngHans KüngHans Küng is a Swiss Catholic priest, theologian, and prolific author. Since 1995 he has been President of the Foundation for a Global Ethic . Küng is "a Catholic priest in good standing", but the Vatican has rescinded his authority to teach Catholic theology...
, Catholic theologian - Hermann KutterHermann KutterHermann Kutter was a Swiss Lutheran theologian. Together with Leonhard Ragaz, he was one of the founders of Christian Socialism in Switzerland. He was heavily influenced by Christoph Blumhardt. He combined Blumhardt's expectation of a coming Kingdom of God with a belief in socialist progress...
, Reformed theologian - Leonhard RagazLeonhard RagazLeonhard Ragaz was a Swiss Reformed theologian and, with Hermann Kutter, one of the founders of Religious socialism in Switzerland...
, Reformed theologian
Leaders (political)
- Tim Ryan, U.S. congressman
- Walt BrownWalt BrownWalter Frederick Brown is an American politician and was the presidential candidate of the Socialist Party USA in the 2004 elections. Brown became a socialist in 1948. He served as Democratic member of the Oregon State Senate from 1975 to 1987. Brown also served as a Socialist Party of Oregon...
, ex-Oregon state Senator, Socialist Party USA - William Jennings BryanWilliam Jennings BryanWilliam Jennings Bryan was an American politician in the late-19th and early-20th centuries. He was a dominant force in the liberal wing of the Democratic Party, standing three times as its candidate for President of the United States...
, three time presidential nominee - Jimmy CarterJimmy CarterJames Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
, former U.S. President - Robert CaseyRobert P. CaseyRobert Patrick "Bob" Casey, Sr. was an American politician from Pennsylvania. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 42nd Governor of Pennsylvania from 1987 to 1995...
, former PennsylvaniaPennsylvaniaThe Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
governor - Bob Casey, Jr.Bob Casey, Jr.Robert Patrick "Bob" Casey, Jr. is the senior U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania and a member of the Democratic Party. He previously served as Pennsylvania Treasurer, and Pennsylvania Auditor General. He is the son of former Governor Bob Casey, Sr..He is the first Democrat elected to a full term in...
, current US Senator from Pennsylvania - Nick ClooneyNick ClooneyNicholas Joseph "Nick" Clooney is an American journalist, anchorman, and television host. He is the brother of the late singer Rosemary Clooney, and father of actor and film director George Clooney.-Early life:...
, Roman Catholic activist/Congressional candidate - Eugene Debs, Co-founder of the IWWIndustrial Workers of the WorldThe Industrial Workers of the World is an international union. At its peak in 1923, the organization claimed some 100,000 members in good standing, and could marshal the support of perhaps 300,000 workers. Its membership declined dramatically after a 1924 split brought on by internal conflict...
and Socialist Party of AmericaSocialist Party of AmericaThe Socialist Party of America was a multi-tendency democratic-socialist political party in the United States, formed in 1901 by a merger between the three-year-old Social Democratic Party of America and disaffected elements of the Socialist Labor Party which had split from the main organization...
candidate for President - Diane DrufenbrockDiane DrufenbrockSister Diane Joyce Drufenbrock, S.S.S.F., , also known as Sister Madeleine Sophie, is a member of the School Sisters of St...
, nun, Socialist Party USASocialist Party USAThe Socialist Party USA is a multi-tendency democratic-socialist party in the United States. The party states that it is the rightful continuation and successor to the tradition of the Socialist Party of America, which had lasted from 1901 to 1972.The party is officially committed to left-wing... - Thomas J. HagertyThomas J. HagertyThe Reverend Friar Thomas J. Hagerty was an American Roman Catholic priest from New Mexico, and one of the founding members of the Industrial Workers of the World .-Biography:...
, founding member of IWWIndustrial Workers of the WorldThe Industrial Workers of the World is an international union. At its peak in 1923, the organization claimed some 100,000 members in good standing, and could marshal the support of perhaps 300,000 workers. Its membership declined dramatically after a 1924 split brought on by internal conflict... - Ammon HennacyAmmon HennacyAmmon Ashford Hennacy was an Irish American pacifist, Christian anarchist, social activist, member of the Catholic Worker Movement and a Wobbly...
, Wobbly - Hubert HumphreyHubert HumphreyHubert Horatio Humphrey, Jr. , served under President Lyndon B. Johnson as the 38th Vice President of the United States. Humphrey twice served as a United States Senator from Minnesota, and served as Democratic Majority Whip. He was a founder of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party and...
, former Vice President of the United StatesVice President of the United StatesThe Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term... - Jesse JacksonJesse JacksonJesse Louis Jackson, Sr. is an African-American civil rights activist and Baptist minister. He was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988 and served as shadow senator for the District of Columbia from 1991 to 1997. He was the founder of both entities that merged to...
, politicianPoliticianA politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
and civil rightsCivil rightsCivil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
leader - Dennis KucinichDennis KucinichDennis John Kucinich is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1997. He was furthermore a candidate for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States in the 2004 and 2008 presidential elections....
, U.S. congressman and past Presidential candidate - John LewisJohn Lewis (politician)John Robert Lewis is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1987. He was a leader in the American Civil Rights Movement and chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee , playing a key role in the struggle to end segregation...
, U.S. congressman and civil rights leader - George McGovernGeorge McGovernGeorge Stanley McGovern is an historian, author, and former U.S. Representative, U.S. Senator, and the Democratic Party nominee in the 1972 presidential election....
, Methodist, former Senator for South DakotaSouth DakotaSouth Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...
and Democratic nominee for the Presidency - Walter MondaleWalter MondaleWalter Frederick "Fritz" Mondale is an American Democratic Party politician, who served as the 42nd Vice President of the United States , under President Jimmy Carter, and as a United States Senator for Minnesota...
, former Vice President of the United StatesVice President of the United StatesThe Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term... - Brian P. Moore, Socialist Party USA
- Norman ThomasNorman ThomasNorman Mattoon Thomas was a leading American socialist, pacifist, and six-time presidential candidate for the Socialist Party of America.-Early years:...
, Socialist Party of AmericaSocialist Party of AmericaThe Socialist Party of America was a multi-tendency democratic-socialist political party in the United States, formed in 1901 by a merger between the three-year-old Social Democratic Party of America and disaffected elements of the Socialist Labor Party which had split from the main organization...
presidential candidate - Al SharptonAl SharptonAlfred Charles "Al" Sharpton, Jr. is an American Baptist minister, civil rights activist, and television/radio talk show host. In 2004, he was a candidate for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. presidential election...
, 2004 Democratic presidential candidate and civil rights leader - Robert DrinanRobert DrinanRobert Frederick Drinan, S.J. was a Roman Catholic Jesuit priest, lawyer, human rights activist, and Democratic U.S. Representative from Massachusetts...
, Congressman and Roman Catholic Jesuit priest. - Frank P. ZeidlerFrank P. ZeidlerFrank Paul Zeidler was an American Socialist politician and Mayor of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, serving three terms from April 20, 1948 to April 18, 1960. He was the most recent Socialist mayor of any major American city, although U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders was the mayor of Burlington, the largest...
, ex-Mayor of Milwaukee, Socialist Party USASocialist Party USAThe Socialist Party USA is a multi-tendency democratic-socialist party in the United States. The party states that it is the rightful continuation and successor to the tradition of the Socialist Party of America, which had lasted from 1901 to 1972.The party is officially committed to left-wing... - Frank Ford (farmer)Frank Ford (farmer)Jesse Frank Ford, known as Frank Ford , was a Texas farmer and health-foods advocate who in 1960 founded Arrowhead Mills, the largest natural foods wholesaler in the United States. The company is based in Hereford, the seat of Deaf Smith County west of Amarillo in the Texas Panhandle...
Leaders a/o activists (civil)
- Jay BakkerJay BakkerJamie Charles Bakker is an American Christian pastor and the son of Jim Bakker and the late Tammy Faye Bakker Messner. He ministers to Revolution Church, a church he founded in 1994 in Phoenix, Arizona with Kelli Miller and Mike Wall...
, pastor of Revolution Church - Sr. Joan ChittisterJoan ChittisterSister Joan D. Chittister, O.S.B., is a Benedictine nun, author and speaker.She is a member of the Benedictine Sisters of Erie, Pennsylvania, where she served as prioress for 12 years. Sister Chittister writes a web column for the National Catholic Reporter, "From Where I Stand"...
Catholic Nun and Feminist Theologian - Father John DearJohn DearJohn Dear is an American Catholic priest, Christian pacifist, author and lecturer. He has been arrested over 75 times in acts of nonviolent civil disobedience against war, injustice and nuclear weapons.-Studies:...
Catholic Priest and Peace Activist - Father Roy BourgeoisRoy BourgeoisRoy Bourgeois is an American activist. He was ordained a priest in the Maryknoll order of the Roman Catholic Church and is founder of the human rights group SOA Watch or the School of the Americas Watch....
Catholic Priest and Peace Activist - Rosey GrierRosey GrierRoosevelt "Rosey" Grier is an American actor, singer, Christian minister, and former professional American football player. He was a notable college football player for Pennsylvania State University who earned a retrospective place in the National Collegiate Athletic Association 100th anniversary...
- Joseph Bernardin Cardinal Archbishop of Chicago
- Everett Francis BriggsEverett Francis BriggsFather Everett Francis Briggs was a Catholic priest and miners' activist.-Early life:Born in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, Briggs attended St. Patrick's School in Fitchburg and the Maryknoll Seminary. He graduated from Holy Cross College in Worcester, Massachusetts, and the Maryknoll Major Seminary in...
POW and Labor activist. - Tony CampoloTony CampoloDr. Anthony "Tony" Campolo is an American pastor, author, sociologist, and public speaker known for challenging evangelical Christians by illustrating how their faith can offer solutions in a world of complexity. With his liberal political and social attitudes, he has been a major proponent for...
, BaptistBaptistBaptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
evangelist and sociologist - Forrester ChurchForrester ChurchFrank Forrester Church IV was a leading Unitarian Universalist minister, author, and theologian...
, Unitarian UniversalistUnitarian UniversalismUnitarian Universalism is a religion characterized by support for a "free and responsible search for truth and meaning". Unitarian Universalists do not share a creed; rather, they are unified by their shared search for spiritual growth and by the understanding that an individual's theology is a...
minister, author - William Sloane Coffin, Jr.William Sloane CoffinWilliam Sloane Coffin, Jr. was an American liberal Christian clergyman and long-time peace activist. He was ordained in the Presbyterian church and later received ministerial standing in the United Church of Christ....
, UCCUnited Church of ChristThe United Church of Christ is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination primarily in the Reformed tradition but also historically influenced by Lutheranism. The Evangelical and Reformed Church and the Congregational Christian Churches united in 1957 to form the UCC...
minister and peace activist - Helen KellerHelen KellerHelen Adams Keller was an American author, political activist, and lecturer. She was the first deafblind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree....
- Father Daniel BerriganDaniel BerriganDaniel Berrigan, SJ is an American Catholic priest, peace activist, and poet. Daniel and his brother Philip were for a time on the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list for their involvement in antiwar protests during the Vietnam war....
, Catholic priest (Jesuit) & peace activist - Philip BerriganPhilip BerriganPhilip Francis Berrigan was an internationally renowned American peace activist, Christian anarchist and former Roman Catholic priest...
, former Catholic priest (Josephite),& activist - Kim BoboKim BoboKim Bobo is a religious and workers' rights activist, and executive director of Interfaith Worker Justice. She is widely quoted in newspapers and broadcast media as an expert on worker justice issues.-Life and career:...
, founder, Interfaith Worker JusticeInterfaith Worker JusticeInterfaith Worker Justice is a nonprofit, nonpartisan religious organization that educates and mobilizes the religious people of all faiths in the United States on issues important to working people.... - Stephen ColbertStephen ColbertStephen Tyrone Colbert is an American political satirist, writer, comedian, television host, and actor. He is the host of Comedy Central's The Colbert Report, a satirical news show in which Colbert portrays a caricatured version of conservative political pundits.Colbert originally studied to be an...
, host of The Colbert Report and Sunday School Teacher - John CortJohn CortJohn C. Cort , was a longtime Christian socialist writer and activist. He was the co-chair of the Religion and Socialism Commission of the Democratic Socialists of America.He was based in metropolitan Boston, Massachusetts...
, writer, editor for Commonweal, Peacework, Religious Socialism - Jerome Davis, labor organizer and sociologist
- Dorothy DayDorothy DayDorothy Day was an American journalist, social activist and devout Catholic convert; she advocated the Catholic economic theory of Distributism. She was also considered to be an anarchist, and did not hesitate to use the term...
, Catholic Worker MovementCatholic Worker MovementThe Catholic Worker Movement is a collection of autonomous communities of Catholics and their associates founded by Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin in 1933. Its aim is to "live in accordance with the justice and charity of Jesus Christ." One of its guiding principles is hospitality towards those on...
cofounder, Wobbly - James A. ForbesJames A. ForbesJames Alexander Forbes, Jr. is the Senior Minister Emeritus of the Riverside Church, an interdenominational church on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, New York City. He was the first African American minister to lead this multicultural congregation, and served it for 18 years.- Early life and...
, minister at Riverside ChurchRiverside ChurchThe Riverside Church in the City of New York is an interdenominational church in New York City, famous for its elaborate Neo-Gothic architecture—which includes the world's largest tuned carillon bell... - Tom GabelTom GabelThomas James "Tom" Gabel is the lead vocalist, songwriter, and a guitarist for Gainesville, Florida punk rock band Against Me!, as well as a solo artist. He was born on Fort Benning, Georgia a US Army post, where his father was stationed. At age 17, he dropped out of high school and formed Against...
, Anarcho-Catholic and Punk Rock Icon - Jeannine GramickJeannine GramickJeannine Gramick, S.L., is a Roman Catholic religious sister and a co-founder of the activist organization New Ways Ministry.-Career and work:...
, Roman Catholic nun and founder of New Ways MinistryNew Ways MinistryNew Ways Ministry is an organization providing positive ministry and support to gay and lesbian Catholics in the United States of America. The organization is primarily based in Maryland.-History and purpose:... - Bishop Thomas GumbletonThomas GumbletonThomas John Gumbleton is a retired Roman Catholic auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Detroit.-Education and career:...
, Roman Catholic bishop of Detroit and social activist - Rev. Joseph LoweryJoseph LoweryJoseph Echols Lowery is a minister in the United Methodist Church and leader in the American civil rights movement. He later became the third president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, after Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King and his immediate successor, Rev. Dr...
Civil Rights Leader. - Ava LoweryAva LoweryAva Lowery is an American peace activist from Alabama who has created over 70 Flash-based animations denouncing the Iraq War, former United States President George W. Bush, policies of the Republican Party and several individual Republican politicians...
- peace activist - Barry W. LynnBarry W. LynnBarry W. Lynn, Esq. has been the Executive Director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State since 1992. He is an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ, and a prominent leader of the American religious left...
, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and StateAmericans United for Separation of Church and StateAmericans United for Separation of Church and State is a group that advocates separation of church and state, a legal doctrine interpreted by AU as being enshrined in the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.-Mission:The guiding principle of Americans... - Pauli MurrayPauli MurrayThe Reverend Dr. Anna Pauline Murray was an American civil rights advocate, women's rights activist and feminist, lawyer, writer, poet, teacher, and ordained priest....
, first female Episcopal minister and co-founder of the National Organization for WomenNational Organization for WomenThe National Organization for Women is the largest feminist organization in the United States. It was founded in 1966 and has a membership of 500,000 contributing members. The organization consists of 550 chapters in all 50 U.S... - Mike PapantonioMike PapantonioJames Michael Papantonio , popularly known as Mike Papantonio, is an American attorney and radio talk show host. A prominent trial lawyer, he co-hosts Ring of Fire, a nationally-syndicated weekly radio program, with Robert F...
- Monsignor Charles Owen RiceCharles Owen RiceMonsignor Charles Owen Rice was a Roman Catholic priest and an American labor activist.He was born in Brooklyn, New York, USA to Irish immigrants...
, Catholic priest, labor leader, and civil rights activist - Fred Rogers
- Frank SchaefferFrank SchaefferFrank Schaeffer is an American author, film director, screenwriter and public speaker. He is the son of the late theologian and author Francis Schaeffer...
- Ron SiderRon SiderRonald James Sider is a Canadian-born American theologian and Christian activist. He is often identified by others with the Christian left, though he personally disclaims any political inclination. He is the founder of Evangelicals for Social Action, a think-tank which seeks to develop biblical...
, president of Evangelicals for Social Action. - Katherine Jefferts Schori, Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal ChurchEpiscopal Church (United States)The Episcopal Church is a mainline Anglican Christian church found mainly in the United States , but also in Honduras, Taiwan, Colombia, Ecuador, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, the British Virgin Islands and parts of Europe...
- Jim WallisJim WallisJim Wallis is an American evangelical Christian writer and political activist. He is best known as the founder and editor of Sojourners magazine, and of the Washington, D.C.-based Christian community of the same name....
, editor of Sojourners MagazineSojourners MagazineSojourners magazine, a progressive monthly publication of the Christian social justice organization Sojourners, was first published in 1971 under the original title of The Post-American. The magazine publishes editorials and articles on Christian life, the church and the world, Christianity and... - Barry Welsh Congressional Candidate and Minister (United Methodist ChurchUnited Methodist ChurchThe United Methodist Church is a Methodist Christian denomination which is both mainline Protestant and evangelical. Founded in 1968 by the union of The Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church, the UMC traces its roots back to the revival movement of John and Charles Wesley...
) - Rev. Jeremiah Wright former pastor of the Trinity United Church of ChristTrinity United Church of ChristTrinity United Church of Christ is a predominantly black church with more than 8,500 members, located on the southwest side of Chicago. It is the largest church affiliated with the United Church of Christ, a predominantly white Christian denomination with roots in Congregationalism, which branched...
- Cindy SheehanCindy SheehanCindy Lee Miller Sheehan is an American anti-war activist whose son, U.S. Army Specialist Casey Sheehan, was killed by enemy action during the Iraq War. She attracted national and international media attention in August 2005 for her extended anti-war protest at a makeshift camp outside President...
peace activist. - Rev. Lennox YearwoodLennox YearwoodLennox Yearwood, Jr., is a minister, community activist, and one of the most influential people in Hip Hop political life.He currently serves as President of the Hip Hop Caucus in Washington, D.C. The Hip Hop Caucus is a national, nonprofit, nonpartisan, organization that engages young people in...
Veteran and anti-Iraq War Activist - Rev. Robert DrinanRobert DrinanRobert Frederick Drinan, S.J. was a Roman Catholic Jesuit priest, lawyer, human rights activist, and Democratic U.S. Representative from Massachusetts...
, - former U.S. Congressman from MassachusettsMassachusettsThe Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010... - Leonardo BoffLeonardo BoffLeonardo Boff was born 14 December 1938 in Concórdia, Santa Catarina state, Brazil. He is a theologian, philosopher and writer, known for his active support for the rights of the poor and excluded....
, Liberation Theology activistLiberation theologyLiberation theology is a Christian movement in political theology which interprets the teachings of Jesus Christ in terms of a liberation from unjust economic, political, or social conditions...
(http://www.leonardoboff.com/) - César ChávezCésar ChávezCésar Estrada Chávez was an American farm worker, labor leader, and civil rights activist who, with Dolores Huerta, co-founded the National Farm Workers Association, which later became the United Farm Workers ....
Mexican AmericanMexican AmericanMexican Americans are Americans of Mexican descent. As of July 2009, Mexican Americans make up 10.3% of the United States' population with over 31,689,000 Americans listed as of Mexican ancestry. Mexican Americans comprise 66% of all Hispanics and Latinos in the United States...
labor and social activist - Charles KekumanoCharles Kekumano-Life:Charles Kekumano was born in 1919 in Kona on the island of Hawai‘i. Educated at Saint Louis High School in Honolulu, he studied for the priesthood and was ordained for the Diocese of Honolulu. He earned a doctorate in Canon law from The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C...
- activist HawaiiHawaiiHawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
an priest - Angelo LitekyAngelo Liteky-External links:* * from the San Francisco Chronicle* * Charles Liteky and three other veterans fast on the Capitol steps in protest of U.S. policy in Central America....
- former priest, soldier, activist - Georges Pire - "Peace University" and Nobel Peace Prize for work with refugees (http://nobelprize.org/peace/laureates/1958/pire-bio.html)
- Sister Helen PrejeanHelen PrejeanSister Helen Prejean, C.S.J., is a Roman Catholic religious sister, a member of the Congregation of St. Joseph, who has become a leading American advocate for the abolition of the death penalty.-Death row ministry:...
- anti-death penalty activist; author of Dead Man Walking, adapted for the film of the same titleDead Man Walking (film)Dead Man Walking is a 1995 American drama film directed by Tim Robbins, who adapted the screenplay from the non-fiction book of the same name... - Mitch SnyderMitch SnyderMitch Snyder was an American advocate for the homeless. He was the subject of a made-for-television 1986 biopic, Samaritan: The Mitch Snyder Story, starring Martin Sheen.-History:...
, - convert; advocate for the homeless - Rev. George ForemanGeorge ForemanGeorge Edward Foreman is an American two-time former World Heavyweight Boxing Champion, Olympic gold medalist, ordained Baptist minister, author and successful entrepreneur...
- Rev Richard Penniman AKA Little RichardLittle RichardRichard Wayne Penniman , known by the stage name Little Richard, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, recording artist, and actor, considered key in the transition from rhythm and blues to rock and roll in the 1950s. He was also the first artist to put the funk in the rock and roll beat and...
- Peter BoylePeter BoylePeter Lawrence Boyle, Jr. was an American actor, best known for his role as Frank Barone on the sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond, and as a comical monster in Mel Brooks' film spoof Young Frankenstein ....
actor, studied to be a Priest. - Martin SheenMartin SheenRamón Gerardo Antonio Estévez , better known by his stage name Martin Sheen, is an American film actor best known for his performances in the films Badlands and Apocalypse Now , and in the television series The West Wing from 1999 to 2006.He is considered one of the best actors never to be...
Roman Catholic activist/actor. - Carmen TrottaCarmen TrottaCarmen Trotta is a pacifist. Consistent with his service in the Catholic Worker Movement, he has been an opponent of the war in Iraq, even when it had the support of 90% of US citizens...
Roman Catholic pacifist
Thinkers
- Peter AgrePeter AgrePeter Agre is an American medical doctor, professor, and molecular biologist who was awarded the 2003 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his discovery of aquaporins. Aquaporins are water-channel proteins that move water molecules through the cell membrane...
, awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry http://www.nndb.com/people/868/000100568/ - Miguel A. De La TorreMiguel A. De La TorreMiguel A. De La Torre is a professor of Social Ethics and Latino/a Studies at Iliff School of Theology, a religious scholar, author, and an ordained minister.-Biography:...
, Scholar-Activist and Author of numerous books on Hispanic Religiosity - David Ray GriffinDavid Ray GriffinDavid Ray Griffin is a retired American professor of philosophy of religion and theology. Along with John B. Cobb, Jr., he founded the Center for Process Studies in 1973, a research center of Claremont School of Theology which seeks to promote the common good by means of the relational approach...
, Theology professor and 9/11 Truth author - Chris HedgesChris HedgesChristopher Lynn Hedges is an American journalist, author, and war correspondent, specializing in American and Middle Eastern politics and societies...
- Stanley HauerwasStanley HauerwasStanley Hauerwas is a Christian theologian and ethicist. He has taught at the University of Notre Dame and is currently the Gilbert T...
, theologian and ethicist - Anne LamottAnne LamottAnne Lamott is a novelist and non-fiction writer. She is also a political activist, public speaker and writing teacher. Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, her nonfiction works are largely autobiographical...
, author - Peter MaurinPeter MaurinPeter Maurin was a Roman Catholic social activist who founded the Catholic Worker Movement in 1933 with Dorothy Day.Maurin expressed his ideas through short pieces of verse that became known as - Biography :...
Catholic Worker co-founder - Charles Clayton MorrisonCharles Clayton MorrisonDr. Charles Clayton Morrison was an American Disciples of Christ minister and Christian socialist.Born in Harrison, Ohio, he attended high school in Jefferson, Iowa, Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, and the University of Chicago...
- Brian McLarenBrian McLarenBrian D. McLaren is a prominent, controversial evangelical pastor. He was recognized as one of Time magazine's "25 Most Influential Evangelicals in America" in 2005, and is the founding pastor of Cedar Ridge Community Church in Spencerville, Maryland.-Biography:Born in 1956, Brian McLaren...
, Emerging ChurchEmerging ChurchThe emerging church is a Christian movement of the late 20th and early 21st century that crosses a number of theological boundaries: participants can be described as evangelical, Protestant, Catholic, post-evangelical, anabaptist, adventist, liberal, post-liberal, reformed, charismatic,...
Leader - Troy PerryTroy PerryTroy Deroy Perry Jr founded the Metropolitan Community Church, a Christian denomination with a special affirming ministry with the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities, in Los Angeles on October 6, 1968.-Early life:...
, founder of Metropolitan Community ChurchMetropolitan Community ChurchThe Metropolitan Community Church or The Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches is an international Protestant Christian denomination... - Walter RauschenbuschWalter RauschenbuschWalter Rauschenbusch was a Christian theologian and Baptist minister. He was a key figure in the Social Gospel movement in the United States of America.-Evolution of Thought:...
, social gospel thinker - Anthony Paul Kennedy ShriverAnthony Paul Kennedy ShriverAnthony Paul Kennedy Shriver is an American activist for people with intellectual disabilities. In 1989, he founded Best Buddies International, an international organization that helps people with intellectual disabilities to find employment and social opportunities.-Early life and...
Son of Sargent ShriverSargent ShriverRobert Sargent Shriver, Jr., known as Sargent Shriver, R. Sargent Shriver, or, from childhood, Sarge, was an American statesman and activist. As the husband of Eunice Kennedy Shriver, he was part of the Kennedy family, serving in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations...
member of the Kennedy family holds a Degree in TheologyTheologyTheology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
. - John Shelby SpongJohn Shelby SpongJohn Shelby "Jack" Spong is a retired American bishop of the Episcopal Church. He was formerly the Bishop of Newark . He is a liberal Christian theologian, religion commentator and author...
, retired bishop and liberal political activist - Paul TillichPaul TillichPaul Johannes Tillich was a German-American theologian and Christian existentialist philosopher. Tillich was one of the most influential Protestant theologians of the 20th century...
- Kathleen Kennedy Townshend
- John Howard YoderJohn Howard YoderJohn Howard Yoder was a Christian theologian, ethicist, and Biblical scholar best known for his radical Christian pacifism, his mentoring of future theologians such as Stanley Hauerwas, his loyalty to his Mennonite faith, and his 1972 magnum opus, The Politics of Jesus.-Life:Yoder earned his...
, biblical scholar and ethicist - Randall WallaceRandall WallaceRandall Wallace is an American screenwriter, director, producer, and songwriter who came to prominence by writing the screenplay for the 1995 film Braveheart. His work on the film earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay and a Writers Guild of America award for Best...
Academy Award Winning Author holds a Degree in TheologyTheologyTheology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
. - Cornel WestCornel WestCornel Ronald West is an American philosopher, author, critic, actor, civil rights activist and prominent member of the Democratic Socialists of America....
, theologian, academic, activist - Jim WinklerJim WinklerJames Winkler is the General Secretary of the United Methodist General Board of Church and Society. As General Secretary, he works with staff, board members, church leaders and local church members to seek the implementation of the denomination's Social Principles through education and...
leading member of the United Methodist ChurchUnited Methodist ChurchThe United Methodist Church is a Methodist Christian denomination which is both mainline Protestant and evangelical. Founded in 1968 by the union of The Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church, the UMC traces its roots back to the revival movement of John and Charles Wesley...
Promoters
- Ray BoltzRay BoltzRay Boltz is a singer songwriter who first came to wide notice in contemporary Christian music, many of his songs tell stories of faith and inspiration. He was raised by his parents William and Ruth Boltz, and was married to his wife Carol Boltz for over 30 years prior to coming out as gay in 2008...
- Val KilmerVal KilmerVal Edward Kilmer is an American actor. Originally a stage actor, Kilmer became popular in the mid-1980s after a string of appearances in comedy films, starting with Top Secret! , then the cult classic Real Genius , as well as blockbuster action films, including a supporting role in Top Gun and a...
has done promotional videos for his denomination. - Brian WelchBrian WelchBrian Phillip Welch , better known as Head, is an American musician best known as the former guitarist and co-founder of the nu metal band Korn...
former member of Korn now performs Christian metal. - Johnny CashJohnny CashJohn R. "Johnny" Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...
, singer/songwriter promoted Christianity in a number of songs and public appearances. - Pete MaravichPete MaravichPeter "Pistol Pete" Press Maravich was an American professional basketball player. Born and raised in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, Maravich starred in college at Louisiana State University and played for three NBA teams until injuries induced him to retire in 1980...
, Hall of Fame basketball player - Barry McGuireBarry McGuireBarry McGuire is an American singer-songwriter best known for the hit song "Eve of Destruction", and later as a pioneering singer and songwriter of Contemporary Christian Music.-Early life:...
, singer-songwriter - Michael MooreMichael MooreMichael Francis Moore is an American filmmaker, author, social critic and activist. He is the director and producer of Fahrenheit 9/11, which is the highest-grossing documentary of all time. His films Bowling for Columbine and Sicko also place in the top ten highest-grossing documentaries...
, documentary filmmaker - Alonzo MourningAlonzo MourningAlonzo Harding Mourning, Jr. is a former American professional basketball player, who played most of his 15-year NBA career for the Miami Heat....
, basketball player - Atlee Yarrow, Founder of Christian Socialist Party USA
United Kingdom
John Ball (priest)
John Ball was an English Lollard priest who took a prominent part in the Peasants' Revolt of 1381. In that year, Ball gave a sermon in which he asked the rhetorical question, "When Adam delved and Eve span, who was then the gentleman?".-Biography:Little is known of Ball's early years. He lived in...
, took up many anti-establishment causes. During the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
many of the more radical Parliamentarians, such as John Lilburne
John Lilburne
John Lilburne , also known as Freeborn John, was an English political Leveller before, during and after English Civil Wars 1642-1650. He coined the term "freeborn rights", defining them as rights with which every human being is born, as opposed to rights bestowed by government or human law...
and the Levellers
Levellers
The Levellers were a political movement during the English Civil Wars which emphasised popular sovereignty, extended suffrage, equality before the law, and religious tolerance, all of which were expressed in the manifesto "Agreement of the People". They came to prominence at the end of the First...
, based their belief in universal suffrage
Universal suffrage
Universal suffrage consists of the extension of the right to vote to adult citizens as a whole, though it may also mean extending said right to minors and non-citizens...
and proto-socialism
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
on their reading of the Bible. Other people on the Christian left include:
- William Ewart GladstoneWilliam Ewart GladstoneWilliam Ewart Gladstone FRS FSS was a British Liberal statesman. In a career lasting over sixty years, he served as Prime Minister four separate times , more than any other person. Gladstone was also Britain's oldest Prime Minister, 84 years old when he resigned for the last time...
, Prime Minister - Charles DickensCharles DickensCharles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
, writer - George FoxGeorge FoxGeorge Fox was an English Dissenter and a founder of the Religious Society of Friends, commonly known as the Quakers or Friends.The son of a Leicestershire weaver, Fox lived in a time of great social upheaval and war...
, Quaker - William BlakeWilliam BlakeWilliam Blake was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his lifetime, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of both the poetry and visual arts of the Romantic Age...
, poet, painter, Christian mystic - Florence NightingaleFlorence NightingaleFlorence Nightingale OM, RRC was a celebrated English nurse, writer and statistician. She came to prominence for her pioneering work in nursing during the Crimean War, where she tended to wounded soldiers. She was dubbed "The Lady with the Lamp" after her habit of making rounds at night...
- G.K. Chesterton, Catholic Journalist and Christian writer, Distributist
- Stewart HeadlamStewart HeadlamStewart Duckworth Headlam was a priest of the Church of England who was involved in frequent controversy in the final decades of the nineteenth century. Headlam was a pioneer and publicist of Christian socialism, on which he wrote a pamphlet for the Fabian Society. He is noted for his role as the...
, Anglo-Catholic - Hilaire BellocHilaire BellocJoseph Hilaire Pierre René Belloc was an Anglo-French writer and historian who became a naturalised British subject in 1902. He was one of the most prolific writers in England during the early twentieth century. He was known as a writer, orator, poet, satirist, man of letters and political activist...
, Anglo-French writer and historian - Charles GoreCharles GoreCharles Gore was a British theologian and Anglican bishop.-Early life and education:Gore was the third son of the Honourable Charles Alexander Gore, and brother of the fourth Earl of Arran...
, Anglo-Catholic - Conrad NoelConrad NoelConrad le Despenser Roden Noel was an English priest of the Church of England. Known as the "Red Vicar" of Thaxted, he was a prominent British Christian Socialist...
, Anglo-Catholic - Bishop B.F. Westcott, Anglo-Catholic and spiritualist
- R. H. TawneyR. H. TawneyRichard Henry Tawney was an English economic historian, social critic, Christian socialist, and an important proponent of adult education....
, economist and historian - Chris BryantChris BryantChristopher John Bryant is a British Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Rhondda since 2001...
, Labour MP and former priest - John LewisJohn Lewis (philosopher)John Lewis was a British Unitarian minister and Marxist philosopher and author of many works on philosophy, anthropology, and religion....
, philosopher - David CairnsDavid Cairns (politician)John David Cairns was a Scottish Labour Party politician, who was a Member of Parliament from 2001 until his death. He represented the constituency of Inverclyde. He was the Minister of State at the Scotland Office until he resigned on 16 September 2008...
, Labour MP and former priest - Maurice ReckittMaurice ReckittMaurice Benington Reckitt was a leading British Anglo-Catholic and Christian Socialist writer. He edited Christendom, A Journal of Christian Sociology from 1931 to 1950....
, writer - Tony BennTony BennAnthony Neil Wedgwood "Tony" Benn, PC is a British Labour Party politician and a former MP and Cabinet Minister.His successful campaign to renounce his hereditary peerage was instrumental in the creation of the Peerage Act 1963...
, former LabourLabour Party (UK)The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
MP - George GallowayGeorge GallowayGeorge Galloway is a British politician, author, journalist and broadcaster who was a Member of Parliament from 1987 to 2010. He was formerly an MP for the Labour Party, first for Glasgow Hillhead and later for Glasgow Kelvin, before his expulsion from the party in October 2003, the same year...
, former Labour and then RESPECT MP. - Rowan WilliamsRowan WilliamsRowan Douglas Williams FRSL, FBA, FLSW is an Anglican bishop, poet and theologian. He is the 104th and current Archbishop of Canterbury, Metropolitan of the Province of Canterbury and Primate of All England, offices he has held since early 2003.Williams was previously Bishop of Monmouth and...
, Archbishop of Canterbury - David FordDavid FordDavid Ford is a politician who is a member of the Northern Ireland Assembly. Ford has been leader of the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland since 2001 and has been Northern Ireland Minister of Justice since April 2010.- Early life :...
, leader of the Alliance Party of Northern IrelandAlliance Party of Northern IrelandThe Alliance Party of Northern Ireland is a liberal and nonsectarian political party in Northern Ireland. It is Northern Ireland's fifth-largest party overall, with eight seats in the Northern Ireland Assembly and one in the House of Commons.... - Dave Gahan, lead vocalist of Depeche ModeDepeche ModeDepeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in 1980 in Basildon, Essex. The group's original line-up consisted of Dave Gahan , Martin Gore , Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke...
- Paul HeatonPaul HeatonPaul David Heaton is an English singer-songwriter. He was a member of The Housemartins, who disbanded in 1988, and a member of The Beautiful South, who disbanded in 2007. He is currently pursuing a solo career....
, pop musician - Christopher IshamChristopher IshamChristopher Isham is a theoretical physicist at Imperial College London. His main research interests are quantum gravity and foundational studies in quantum theory. He was the inventor of an approach to temporal quantum logic called the HPO formalism, and has worked on loop quantum gravity and...
, scientist - George B. ChambersGeorge B. ChambersGeorge Bennet Chambers was an English vicar, social activist and author . Following a long career in the Church of England, he became the vicar of Carbrooke Church in Norfolk...
, writer and Anglican priest - Tony BlairTony BlairAnthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
, former LabourLabour Party (UK)The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
leader, Roman Catholic - J. K. RowlingJ. K. RowlingJoanne "Jo" Rowling, OBE , better known as J. K. Rowling, is the British author of the Harry Potter fantasy series...
, writer of the Harry PotterHarry PotterHarry Potter is a series of seven fantasy novels written by the British author J. K. Rowling. The books chronicle the adventures of the adolescent wizard Harry Potter and his best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, all of whom are students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry...
-novels
Vatican
- Sister Rose Thering - During Vatican II helped in exonerating Jews from Christ's death; social and human rights activist.
Parties of the Christian left
- Democratic Party (Italy)Democratic Party (Italy)The Democratic Party is a social-democratic political party in Italy, that is the second-largest in the country. The party is led by Pier Luigi Bersani, who was elected in the 2009 leadership election....
- Christian Social Party (Switzerland)Christian Social Party (Switzerland)The Christian Social Party is a political party in Switzerland. The CSP is more social democratic than the CVP. With the moderate Christian left as its background, the CSP commits itself to social democratic and environmentalist political solutions...
(Catholic) - Evangelical People's Party (The Netherlands)
- Christian Socialist Party (USA)
- Christian Democratic Party (Uruguay)
- Christian Democratic Party (Chile)
- Christian Left Party (Chile)Christian Left Party (Chile)The Christian Left Party of Chile is a Chilean left-wing political party. Founded in 1971, in its early days it was suppressed by the Pinochet dictatorship...
- Christian Socialist MovementChristian Socialist MovementThe Christian Socialist Movement, or CSM, is a socialist society affiliated to the British Labour Party.The CSM was an amalgamation of the Society of Socialist Clergy and Ministers and the Socialist Christian League. R. H. Tawney made one of his last public appearances at the Movement's inaugural...
(United Kingdom; the Christian wing of the UK Labour PartyLabour Party (UK)The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
)
Early Christianity
- Christian anarchismChristian anarchismChristian anarchism is a movement in political theology that combines anarchism and Christianity. It is the belief that there is only one source of authority to which Christians are ultimately answerable, the authority of God as embodied in the teachings of Jesus...
- Christian communismChristian communismChristian communism is a form of religious communism based on Christianity. It is a theological and political theory based upon the view that the teachings of Jesus Christ compel Christians to support communism as the ideal social system...
- Early Christian anti-materialism
- Opposition to Rome
Movements
A number of movements of the past had similarities to today's Christian Left:- Anabaptists
- Fifth Monarchists, Diggers, QuakersReligious Society of FriendsThe Religious Society of Friends, or Friends Church, is a Christian movement which stresses the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. Members are known as Friends, or popularly as Quakers. It is made of independent organisations, which have split from one another due to doctrinal differences...
- Heretical movements such as the Cathars
- Liberation theologyLiberation theologyLiberation theology is a Christian movement in political theology which interprets the teachings of Jesus Christ in terms of a liberation from unjust economic, political, or social conditions...
- Lollard
- Old-CatholicismOld Catholic ChurchThe term Old Catholic Church is commonly used to describe a number of Ultrajectine Christian churches that originated with groups that split from the Roman Catholic Church over certain doctrines, most importantly that of Papal Infallibility...
- Peace churchesPeace churchesPeace churches are Christian churches, groups or communities advocating Christian pacifism. The term historic peace churches refers specifically only to three church groups among pacifist churches: Church of the Brethren, Mennonites including the Amish, and Religious Society of Friends and has...
- German Peasants' WarGerman Peasants' WarThe German Peasants' War or Great Peasants' Revolt was a widespread popular revolt in the German-speaking areas of Central Europe, 1524–1526. At its height in the spring and summer of 1525, the conflict involved an estimated 300,000 peasants: contemporary estimates put the dead at 100,000...
- Role of Christians in the Peasants' RevoltPeasants' RevoltThe Peasants' Revolt, Wat Tyler's Rebellion, or the Great Rising of 1381 was one of a number of popular revolts in late medieval Europe and is a major event in the history of England. Tyler's Rebellion was not only the most extreme and widespread insurrection in English history but also the...
in EnglandEnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, See Lollard priest John BallJohn Ball (priest)John Ball was an English Lollard priest who took a prominent part in the Peasants' Revolt of 1381. In that year, Ball gave a sermon in which he asked the rhetorical question, "When Adam delved and Eve span, who was then the gentleman?".-Biography:Little is known of Ball's early years. He lived in...
. - Waldenses
- Jesus movementJesus movementThe Jesus movement was a movement in Christianity beginning on the West Coast of the United States in the late 1960s and early 1970s and spreading primarily through North America and Europe, before dying out by the early 1980s. It was the major Christian element within the hippie counterculture,...
Groups
- Anglo-CatholicismAnglo-CatholicismThe terms Anglo-Catholic and Anglo-Catholicism describe people, beliefs and practices within Anglicanism that affirm the Catholic, rather than Protestant, heritage and identity of the Anglican churches....
- Episcopal Church (United States)Episcopal Church (United States)The Episcopal Church is a mainline Anglican Christian church found mainly in the United States , but also in Honduras, Taiwan, Colombia, Ecuador, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, the British Virgin Islands and parts of Europe...
- Progressive National Baptist ConventionProgressive National Baptist ConventionThe Progressive National Baptist Convention, Incorporated is a convention of African-American Baptists emphasizing civil rights and social justice....
Other
- Christian democracyChristian DemocracyChristian democracy is a political ideology that seeks to apply Christian principles to public policy. It emerged in nineteenth-century Europe under the influence of conservatism and Catholic social teaching...
- Christian pacifismPeace churchesPeace churches are Christian churches, groups or communities advocating Christian pacifism. The term historic peace churches refers specifically only to three church groups among pacifist churches: Church of the Brethren, Mennonites including the Amish, and Religious Society of Friends and has...
- Christian socialismChristian socialismChristian socialism generally refers to those on the Christian left whose politics are both Christian and socialist and who see these two philosophies as being interrelated. This category can include Liberation theology and the doctrine of the social gospel...
- Christian politics
- Christian communismChristian communismChristian communism is a form of religious communism based on Christianity. It is a theological and political theory based upon the view that the teachings of Jesus Christ compel Christians to support communism as the ideal social system...
- Evangelical leftEvangelical leftEvangelical left is a term used to describe those who are part of the Christian evangelical movement in the United States but who generally function on the left wing of that movement, either politically or theologically, or both...
- Homosexuality and ChristianityHomosexuality and ChristianityChristian denominations hold a variety of views on the issues of sexual orientation and homosexuality, ranging from outright condemnation to complete acceptance. In accordance with the traditional values of Abrahamic religions, most Christian denominations welcome people attracted to the same sex,...
- International League of Religious SocialistsInternational League of Religious SocialistsThe International League of Religious Socialists is an umbrella organization of religious socialist movements in political parties throughout the world. Founded in the 1920s, it has member groups in 21 countries totalling 200,000 members...
- Jewish leftJewish leftThe term "Jewish left" describes Jews who identify with or support left wing, occasionally liberal causes, consciously as Jews, either as individuals or through organizations. There is no one organization or movement which constitutes the "Jewish left," however...
- Liberal ChristianityLiberal ChristianityLiberal Christianity, sometimes called liberal theology, is an umbrella term covering diverse, philosophically and biblically informed religious movements and ideas within Christianity from the late 18th century and onward...
- PacifismPacifismPacifism is the opposition to war and violence. The term "pacifism" was coined by the French peace campaignerÉmile Arnaud and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress inGlasgow in 1901.- Definition :...
- Political catholicismPolitical CatholicismPolitical catholicism is a political and cultural conception which promotes the ideas and social teaching of the Catholic Church in public life...
- PopulismPopulismPopulism can be defined as an ideology, political philosophy, or type of discourse. Generally, a common theme compares "the people" against "the elite", and urges social and political system changes. It can also be defined as a rhetorical style employed by members of various political or social...
- Progressive ChristianityProgressive ChristianityProgressive Christianity is the name given to a movement within contemporary Christianity characterized by willingness to question tradition, acceptance of human diversity with a strong emphasis on social justice or care for the poor and the oppressed and environmental stewardship of the Earth...
- Progressive ReconstructionistProgressive ReconstructionistThe Progressive Reconstructionist movement is a loosely-knit interfaith community found principally at this time in the developed world. It comprises activist adherents of Reconstructionist Judaism and the Christian left, of progressive Hindus, Buddhists and Muslims, and of left-leaning Neopagans,...
- Religion and abortionReligion and abortionMany religious traditions have taken a stance on abortion, and these stances span a broad spectrum as highlighted below.-Buddhism:There is no single Buddhist view concerning abortion. Traditional sources, such as the Buddhist monastic code, hold that life begins at conception and that abortion,...
- Religious leftReligious leftReligious left is a term referring to religious movements with a left-wing direction. For more information, see:*Christian left*Jewish left*Buddhist socialism*Christian socialism*Islamic socialism*Liberal religion...
- Religious Society of FriendsReligious Society of FriendsThe Religious Society of Friends, or Friends Church, is a Christian movement which stresses the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. Members are known as Friends, or popularly as Quakers. It is made of independent organisations, which have split from one another due to doctrinal differences...
- Spiritual leftSpiritual leftSpiritual left refers to a spiritually or religiously based position that shares the social transformative vision of the Left and its commitment to social justice, peace, economic equality, and ecological consciousness, but who base their commitment on spiritual or religious traditions.- Examples...
- Social GospelSocial GospelThe Social Gospel movement is a Protestant Christian intellectual movement that was most prominent in the early 20th century United States and Canada...
- Contrast: Christian rightChristian rightChristian right is a term used predominantly in the United States to describe "right-wing" Christian political groups that are characterized by their strong support of socially conservative policies...
, Secular leftSecular leftThe secular left is a term used to describe members of the left-wing who are also secularists .The secular left is not necessarily opposed to the religious left...
, Secular rightSecular rightIn American politics, the term Secular Right refers to but is not exclusive to the libertarian, socially liberal or non-religious wing of most conservative movements or parties...
External links
- American Socialist Voter Educational and interactive networking (non-partisan)
- Anglo-Catholic Socialism
- CrossLeft: Balancing the Christian Voice, Organizing the Christian Left
- The Christian Leftist: The 'Religious' 'Right' Is Neither
- Religious Movements Homepage: Call to Renewal: Christians for a New Political Vision
- Epochalypsis.org: Reforming Insights for a 21st Century Christianity
- NOW with Bill Moyers:The Christian Left?
- Points of Unity for Social Democratic Branches within the USA
- Religion and Socialism Commission of the Democratic Socialists of America
- Socialism and Faith Commission of the Socialist Party USA
- Sojourners Magazine
- Social Redemption
- Turn-Left.com - Religious Left Goods
- The Center for Progressive Christianity
- The Christian Alliance for Progress
- The Christian Left -- An Open Fellowship of Progressive Christians
- The Living Hour & Lord's Prayer Christian Left Meditations
- Totalitarian Daydreams and Christian Humanism At the Crossroads
- Known Author - discussion forum for liberal Christians
- The Bible on the Poor: Or Why God is a Liberal