Christian left

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The Christian Left is a term used to describe those who hold a strong Christian belief and share left-wing, liberal, or socialist ideals.

As with any division into left-wing and right-wing, a label is always an approximation. The term 'left wing' might encompass a number of values which may or may not be held by different Christians.

The most common Christian viewpoint which might be described as 'left wing' is social justice, or care for the poor. Supporters of this might encourage socialised medicine, generous welfare, subsidized education, foreign aid and government subsidized schemes for improving the conditions of the disadvantaged. With egalitarian values stemming from a Christian perspective, action on behalf of the oppressed is considered a duty.

Many such people assert that their left-wing views derive directly from their Christian faith, and some cite Jesus as "the first socialist". Many adherents hold also that the early Church practiced socialism, or even something resembling communism of a non-Marxist-Leninist variety, sometimes referred to as Christian communism ("The community of believers were of one heart and one mind. None of them ever claimed anything as his own; rather, everything was held in common." - Acts 4:32) and that Jesus often seemed to advocate pacifism, while being opposed to the wealthy elite of his day.

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History

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Early Christianity

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Movements

A number of movements of the past had similarities to today's Christian Left:

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Early antagonism between the left and Christianity

For much of the early history of anti-establishment leftist movements such as socialism and liberalism (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. Revolutions in America, France and Russia were in part directed against the established churches (or rather their leading clergy) and instituted a separation of church and state.

Early socialist thinkers such as Robert Owen, Charles Fourier, and the Duc 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.

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Alliance of the left and Christianity

From St. Augustine of Hippo's City of God through St. Thomas More's Utopia, major Christian writers have expounded socialist views. 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, pointing out that there is an extremely strong thread of egalitarianism in the New Testament. Other common leftist concerns such as pacifism, 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 and produce social activism. Later, in the 20th century, the theology of liberation and Creation Spirituality was championed by such writers as Gustavo Gutierrez and Matthew Fox. Mikhail Gorbachev famously said that "Christ was the first socialist".

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Christian left and campaigns for peace and human rights

Template:See also Some Christian groups were closely associated with the peace movements 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.

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Christian left in the United States

In the United States, members of the Christian Left come from a spectrum of denominations: Peace churches, elements of the Protestant mainline churches, and Roman Catholicism.

The Christian Left has sometimes been viewed as a counterpart to the Christian Right, but in fact it is very different. While the Christian Right is almost uniquely American, the Christian Left is more global and diverse.

However, the Christian Left does not seem to be as well-organized or publicized as its right-wing counterpart. 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 boisterous a manner as the Christian Right, possibly because of the perceived 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.

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Liberation Theology

One of the largest strains of Christian Left thinking has been 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.

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Christian left and homosexuality

The Christian Left sometimes differs from other Christian political groups on issues such as homosexuality. This is sometimes 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. On the other hand, there are many members of the Christian left who affirm gays and lesbians and believe that the Biblical statements used to condemn them are not relevant to modern gay and lesbian relationships.

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The Consistent Life Ethic

A related strain of thought is the Consistent Life Ethic, which sees opposition to capital punishment, militarism, euthanasia, abortion and the global maldistribution of wealth as being related. It is not specifically Christian (being subscribed to by Buddhists, Hindus, and members of other religions), but uses arguments broadly similar to those used by Christian leftists.

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Notable Christian leftists

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Argentina

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Australia

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Canada

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Colombia

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El Salvador


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Germany

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Haiti

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India

E. Stanley Jones, close friend of Mahatma Gandhi.

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Italy

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Netherlands

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Nicaragua

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New Zealand

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Peru

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Russia

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Slovenia

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Switzerland

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United States

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United Kingdom

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Venezuela

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Parties of the Christian left

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References

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See also

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External links

See: Christian politics (index) for articles related to this subject.
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