The Rise of The Christian Left

A couple of years ago, a professor of mine in seminary in a class on Evangelism in the Congregation made an interesting point… Many ultra-conservatives in America are concerned about two problems: the rising secularization of their nation AND the immigration problem (specifically from across our southern border). He made the case that perhaps the best way for them to stop worrying about “problem” A was to stop seeing “problem” B as a problem at all. He made the observation that so many of our illegal immigrants are highly religious in their background and culture that they may in fact be the basis for a resurgence of faith in America.

So when The New York Times published an article recently addressing the surprising religious fervor in the Democratic party, it was less surprising than it should have been, but it raised some new questions about those implications on our two-party system.

The author of this new article in the Times posed the question, “Which political party’s members are most likely to believe that Jesus will definitely return to earth before midcentury?” You might have guessed Republicans, but you’d be wrong. Here’s what Charles M. Blow had to say…

“On the surface it may seem surprising, but, in fact, it’s quite logical. Blacks and Hispanics, two highly religious groups, are a growing part of the Democratic Party. A June 2009 Gallup report found that blacks and Hispanics constituted 30 percent of the party…

According to a Gallup report issued last Friday, church attendance among blacks is exactly the same as among conservatives and among Republicans. Hispanics closely follow. Furthermore, a February Gallup report found that blacks and Hispanics, respectively, were the most likely to say that religion was an important part of their daily lives. In fact, on the Jesus question, nonwhite Democrats were roughly twice as likely as white Democrats to believe that He would return to earth by 2050…

Welcome to the Religious Left, which will continue to grow as the percentage of minorities in the country and in the party grows.

People often ask whether the Republican Party will have to move to the left to remain viable. However, the question rarely asked is whether the growing religiosity on the left will push the Democrats toward the right…

For the most part, it seems to have made its peace with the mishmash of morality under the Democratic umbrella, rallying instead around some core Democratic tenets: protection of, and equality for, the disenfranchised and providing greater opportunity and assistance for the poor.

The unanswerable questions are whether these highly religious, socially conservative Democrats will remain loyal to a liberal agenda as they become the majority of the party and their financial and social standing improves. Or whether Republicans will finally make headway in recruiting them.”

Then again, as Blow points out, this could all be a moot point, if those in either party are right about the return of Christ being so soon…