Rise of the Religious Left

Look for the Unitarian Universalists mentioned!

Found this interesting article in today's paper: "Religious liberals gain new visibility with books, Web sites, conferences," by Caryle Murphy and Alan Cooperman (The Washington Post).

Excerpt:

Religious liberals say their faith compels them to emphasize such issues as poverty, affordable health care and global warming. Disillusionment with the war in Iraq and opposition to Bush administration policies on secret prisons and torture have fueled the movement.

"The wind is changing. Folks — not just leaders — are fed up with what is being portrayed as Christian values," said the Rev. Tim Ahrens, senior minister of First Congregational Church of Columbus, Ohio, and a founder of We Believe Ohio, a clergy group established to ensure that the religious right is "not the only one holding a megaphone" in the public square.

"As religious people, we're offended by the idea that if you're not with the religious right, you're not moral, you're not religious," said Linda Gustitus, who attends the River Road Unitarian Church in Bethesda, Md., and is a founder of Washington Region Religious Campaign Against Torture.