Evangelical left

The Evangelical left is a Christian left movement in Evangelical Christianity that affirms conservative evangelical theology and are politically progressive. It is mainly based in the US, but is also found in Latin America.[1][2]

Doctrine

The movement affirms conservative evangelical theology, such as the doctrines of the incarnation, atonement, and resurrection, traditional view on marriage and see the Bible as the primary authority for the Church.[3] Unlike other evangelicals, however, those on the evangelical left often support and utilize modern biblical exegesis. They often support a more progressive political platform and are concerned about issues of social justice.[4][5] Many, for example, are opposed to capital punishment and are supportive of gun control, welfare programs and welcoming foreigners.[6] In many cases, they are also pacifists.

History

The origins of the movement are located in the 16th century in the Anabaptist movement which fought against The Establishment and campaigned for democracy and the participation of every human.[7] Other movements were significant, such as Abolitionism in the United Kingdom of the 18th century and Abolitionism in the United States of the 19th century. Some evangelicals have campaigned for women's rights, such as pastoral ordination and right to vote.[8][9]

Due to the fundamentalist controversy of the early 20th century, the movement and social activism lost momentum.[10] However, in the late 1940s, evangelical theologians from Fuller Theological Seminary founded in Pasadena, California, in 1947, championed the Christian importance of social activism. It experienced a new impetus in the 1960s with the foundation of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1957, led by Baptist pastor Martin Luther King Jr.[11]

During the 1960s and 1970s, the evangelical left stood for antiwar, civil rights, and anti-consumption principles while supporting doctrinal and sexual fidelity.[12] The Sojourners magazine founded in 1971, has been an important voice of the movement.[13] In 1973, 53 evangelical leaders have signed The Chicago Declaration of Evangelical Social Concern thus contributing to the foundation of Evangelicals for Social Action.[14] The evangelical left helped the broader evangelical movement by helping to elect the first born-again U.S. president, Jimmy Carter in 1976.[15]

21st century

In 2007, the organization Red-Letter Christians was founded by Tony Campolo and Shane Claiborne with the aim of bringing together evangelicals who believe in the importance of insisting on issues of social justice mentioned by Jesus (in red in some translations of the Bible).[16]

The election of Donald Trump in 2016 led to a resurgence of the evangelical left against some of his policies.[17][18][19] Some evangelical Christians see the phrase as political and have since changed how they name themselves.[20][21]

See also

References
  1. The Gospel Coalition website
  2. Oxford University Press website
  3. David R. Swartz, Moral Minority: The Evangelical Left in an Age of Conservatism, University of Pennsylvania Press, USA, 2012, p. 264
  4. Timothy J. Williams, Evangelical Christians are on the left too, theconversation.com, USA, October 17, 2016
  5. Ana Ionova, Brazil’s Evangelical Leftist, americasquarterly.org, USA, September 19, 2022
  6. Alexis Buisson, Céline Hoyeau, Aux États-Unis, une génération d’évangéliques le cœur à gauche, la-croix.com, 17 June 2019
  7. David R. Swartz, Moral Minority: The Evangelical Left in an Age of Conservatism, University of Pennsylvania Press, USA, 2012, p. 264
  8. David R. Swartz, Moral Minority: The Evangelical Left in an Age of Conservatism, University of Pennsylvania Press, USA, 2012, p. 18
  9. Rosemary Skinner Keller, Rosemary Radford Ruether, Marie Cantlon, Encyclopedia of Women and Religion in North America, Volume 1, Indiana University Press, USA, 2006, p. 294-295
  10. David R. Swartz, Moral Minority: The Evangelical Left in an Age of Conservatism, University of Pennsylvania Press, USA, 2012, p. 18
  11. Timothy J. Williams, Evangelical Christians are on the left too, theconversation.com, USA, October 17, 2016
  12. David R. Swartz, Moral Minority: The Evangelical Left in an Age of Conservatism, University of Pennsylvania Press, USA, 2012, p. 3
  13. Anja-Maria Bassimir, Evangelical News: Politics, Gender, and Bioethics in Conservative Christian Magazines of the 1970s and 1980s, University of Alabama Press, USA, 2022, p. 15
  14. Brantley W. Gasaway, Progressive Evangelicals and the Pursuit of Social Justice, University of North Carolina Press, USA, 2014, p. 20
  15. David R. Swartz, Moral Minority: The Evangelical Left in an Age of Conservatism, University of Pennsylvania Press, USA, 2012, p. 110
  16. Nick Tabor, Can this preacher's progressive version of evangelical Christianity catch on with a new generation?, washingtonpost.com, USA, January 6, 2020
  17. National Public Radio website, Provoked by Trump, the Religious Left is findings its Voice
  18. Politico website, Could These Evangelical Democrats Change the Party?
  19. Five Thirty Eight website, White, Evangelical and Progressive
  20. The Guardian Newspaper, Exvangelicals
  21. Red Letter Christians website

Further reading
  • Edwards, Mark Thomas (2012). The Right of the Protestant Left: God's Totalitarianism. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-1-137-01989-9.
  • Gasaway, Brantley W. (2014). Progressive Evangelicals and the Pursuit of Social Justice. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press.
  • Hauerwas, Stanley; Willimon, William (1989). Resident Aliens: Life in the Christian Colony. ISBN 0-687-36159-1.
  • MacGregor, Kirk (2007). A Molinist-Anabaptist Systematic Theology. ISBN 978-0-7618-3851-7.
  • Swartz, David R. (2012). Moral Minority: The Evangelical Left in an Age of Conservatism. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 978-0-8122-2306-4.
  • Wallis, Jim (11 January 2005). God's Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn't Get It. ISBN 0-06-055828-8.
  • Young, Shawn David (Summer 2010). "From Hippies to Jesus Freaks: Christian Radicalism in Chicago's Inner-City". Journal of Religion and Popular Culture. 22 (2): 3. doi:10.3138/jrpc.22.2.003. Archived from the original on 2010-09-11.
  • Young, Shawn David (2015). Gray Sabbath: Jesus People USA, the Evangelical Left, and the Evolution of Christian Rock. New York: Columbia University Press.
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