Are Progressives Harming the Cause by Attacking Organized Religion and People of

[CactusCarlos]

Are Progressives Harming the Cause by Attacking Organized Religion and People of Faith?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/121836806

A loyal AlterNet reader raises key questions about the role of faith and religion in the battle for social change.

AlterNet / ByJames Rohrer

July 21, 2012 - Editor's Note: ​A short time ago, AlterNet received a very thoughtful letter from one of our readers. Professor James Rohrer wrote that while he was a long-time loyal AlterNet reader, he was concerned about our coverage of faith and religion. His complaint was that AlterNet too frequently portrays religion as the domain of right-wing fundamentalism and carries an overall anti-religious editorial tilt. Rohrer argued this has the effect of alienating millions of our readers who are progressively inclined. He challenged us to consider whether this approach stands in the way of building the unity we need to achieve the broad social change that the vast majority of Americans want.

"One would never know from AlterNet that there are today significant numbers of evangelical Christians who work for peace and justice, such as the Christian Peacemaker Teams who embed themselves as witnesses for peace in the midst of war zones," Rohrer wrote to us. "One would never know that much of the history of socialism in America has been intertwined with religion. One would never know that many brilliant philosophers, scientists, artists, and scholars in virtually every field of research are also people who have a deep personal faith in some traditional religion."

Rohrer's letter, which echoed concerns we receive from time to time from colleagues and readers, prompted an extensive internal conversation, and we concluded that something has to change. In that spirit, we asked Prof. Rohrer to write an article about his thoughts on the matter, published below. Over the coming weeks we will be relaunching our Belief section, and publishing a wider array of coverage on faith and religion and its role in daily life and politics. (We have already started down this path with Vision editor Sara Robinson's recent article, "Six Reasons We Can't Change the Future Without Progressive Religion.")

***

My brother and I took divergent spiritual paths at an early age. More than half a century ago my brother, now a high-school science teacher and a militant atheist, mortified my mother when he told a sweetly smiling Sunday School teacher that he planned to return the following week “to break every damned window in this place.” My mother was not shocked by his lack of piety—she was a feminist with Unitarian Universalist leanings and had left orthodox Christianity behind years earlier –but by his rudeness. In truth we rarely ever attended church because my mother refused to sanction patriarchal religion and my dad hated to worship alone. But mom was gracious, even to people that she disagreed with in matters of religion and politics.


http://www.alternet.org/belief/156384/are_progressives_harming_the_cause_by_attacking_organized_religion_and_people_of_faith/

[ADsOutburst]

Oh geez...

Most Americans are religious, and yet these progressives are just now realizing they might be undermining themselves by their derision of the religious?

[Mr Mannn]

Oh geez...

Most Americans are religious, and yet these progressives are just now realizing they might be undermining themselves by their derision of the religious?

This is just ONE writer. I doubt that progressives as a group have any idea that their bigotry might hurt them at all. In fact, denial of any wrongdoing on their end is standard operating procedure.

if this were posted on DU, the response would be, "We don't hate people of faith, we just hate the religious right." and then they would fall back onto broad statements of hate for people of faith.


Progressives are defined by who they hate, not by who they love.
they are united by hate.
they are energized by hate.
they are motivated by hate.

No, they cannot recognize they may be harming themselves.
They are blinded by hate.
Hate controls them.
in the end, hate will destroy them.

I have never seen anyone as intolerant as a liberal.

[I_B_Perky]

Oh geez...

Most Americans are religious, and yet these progressives are just now realizing they might be undermining themselves by their derision of the religious?

The liberals just cannot seem to fathom that. They denigrate people that do not believe as they do, mock their religion, mock their beliefs, say they are racist, say they are stupid, say they vote against their own interests, and then sit there and wonder why people do not vote for them!!!!

Then they say that the whole problem is they just cannot get their message out!!!

The one that pisses me the most is that, according to them, I am too damn stupid to know what my best self interest is!!! These same people cannot figure out how to run their own life or survive without the government and have the damned nerve to tell me what is in my best interest! Not give me persuasive arguments, mind you, but freaking TELL me I am too stupid to know what is best for me and mine.

It just boggles my mind sometimes. 

[USA4ME]

rug

Are Progressives Harming the Cause by Attacking Organized Religion and People of Faith?

Depends on what "the cause" is.  If the case is to frame themselves in such a way they appear petty, jealous, and intolerant, then they have found success.

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