Roundtable: Is the Religious Right Really Dead? Friday Aug 3, 1 - 2:15

Workshop: What to do about the Religious Right Friday Aug 3 4 - 4:15

Favoring civil discourse as an outcome, generally means also using it as a method for discussing how we are to contend with the religious right in the context of a democratic pluralist society. Being smart about using temperate language does not make one any less tough minded: it allows one to demonstrate the intellectual rigor that often escapes those who don't know the difference between a flamethrower and a penetrating insight.

Chip and Susan are both theorists and practitioners of how this works.  Here are a few samples:

Chip wrote regarding the longtime counter productive style among Beltway insiders who thought it was smart politics to demonize people who are motivated by their conservative religious views to be involved in public life:

I'm uncomfortable when I hear people of sincere religious faith described as religious political extremists.What does that term mean? I worry that many people hear it as a term of derision that says we're good and they're bad. There is no topical content. It's a label that says folks are outside the mainstream; and it lumps together leaders and followers, and blurs distinctions within the Christian Right that I think are important. Most conservative Christian evangelicals do not want to impose a theocracy on our country. I'd like to be able to talk to them about the issue of Christian dominionism within the Christian Right.

Polls show that most people in the United States do not agree with the narrow legislative agenda of the leaders of the Christian Right. Polls also show that most people think of themselves as part of an organized religion, and that as many as 100 million of our neighbors think of themselves as Christian evangelicals or "born again." Why would an organizer start out by offending half their potential audience with language that is abrasive?

We need to challenge conservative policies as part of a progressive grassroots organizing effort based on civil and constructive dialog. The whole idea of grassroots organizing is to reach out to people who may not already think they agree with you. As a community organizer, when I heard discussions about slogans, I always asked: "What's my next line?"

Let's role-play. So here I am knocking on a door in Emporia, Kansas, and when the door opens I lead with "We have to stop the religious political extremists!" What's my next line? (That's assuming my nose wasn't broken when the door was slammed in my face). Unless the person already agrees with me, there is no constructive next line.

I think it's time to stop using phrases such as "religious political extremist" and "radical religious right." A lot of my friends and allies use this language, but what are friends for if they can't tell you when they think you are wrong? I also think that we should be asking folks in the Christian Right to stop pasting labels on those of us who are liberal or progressive. I'm an equal opportunity curmudgeon.

Getting over -- over-heated language -- gives us the freedom, to get into the substance, in strong language, as appropriate: Berlet writes, for example:

Few in the mainstream media have dared confront the fact that the best-selling Left Behind series is a primer valorizing bigotry, paranoia, and guerrilla warfare against those who promote tolerance, pluralism, and global cooperation. Almost four years ago, however, author Gershom Gorenberg, blasted the Left Behind series for its open "contempt for Judaism," making a "fanatic killer" a hero, and general rejection of tolerance and democratic civil society.

Gorenberg, writing in the American Prospect, objected to the Left Behind series because in it LaHaye and Jenkins:

"promote conspiracy theories; they demonize proponents of arms control, ecumenicalism, abortion rights and everyone else disliked by the Christian right; and they justify assassination as a political tool. Their anti-Jewishness is exceeded by their anti-Catholicism. Most basically, they reject the very idea of open, democratic debate. In the world of Left Behind, there exists a single truth, based on a purportedly literal reading of Scripture; anyone who disagrees with that truth is deceived or evil."

Dr. Thistlethwaite also contributed a guest front page post to Talk to Action about the documentary film Jesus Camp.  

Jesus Camp is an award-winning documentary about an evangelical camp called Kids on Fire. The movie is neither satire nor a Michael Moore type "shock-umentary" designed to show only the worst aspects of the camp. Pastor Becky Fisher, the camp's leader, has said that she thinks the film represents what she is trying to do. The film, while sympathetic to kids and leaders alike for their beliefs, raises very troubling questions about whether children have the right to be free from extreme political indoctrination, even in religiously motivated political movements that are very sincere.

Make no mistake--the leaders of this camp and its supporters are quite comfortable with the idea that they are training "God's Army" to be warriors in a life-and-death struggle to shape future politics in the United States. The camp makes no pretense at being anything but a way to create a generation of voters who will determine the outcome of elections.

...Jesus Camp raises a number of troubling questions. Should children be used as a means for their parents' political and religious ends, or do they have their own rights to some religious and political freedom in a democracy? How can they learn to be free if they're not allowed to achieve goals separate from their parents and be with those who expose them to different views? How can they become effective citizens in a pluralistic democracy without learning a definition of freedom that includes the public good?

Registration for The Yearly Kos closes on July 14th.

Meanwhile, If you are not able to attend, many of the sessions will be available live on the internet via Second Life, some of it interactive. It's all new to me. Check it out. It sounds quite amazing.  

Of related interest will be a panel organized by Pastordan:

Faith or No: Building Secular-Religious Coalitions

Aug 3 9:15am - 10:15am

How can religious and secular progressive bloggers work and play together productively? Find out through examinations of the current religious and political climate, practical tips on working across the divide, and a how-to guide on starting flamewars.

I'll have more on all this as the convention gets closer.

Update [2007-6-30 0:19:37 by Frederick Clarkson]: People may be interested to read Dr. Thistlethwaite's testimony against the nomination of John Roberts as Chief Justice. I remember hearing it live on NPR. It stands up well. PDF.