Last week's column, "Mainstream Christians Must Stand Up to the Religious Right," caused quite a stir. Email flooded into my in-box, and there was much online discussion.
"[T]he number of mainstream Christians fighting the hate campaigns of the religious right is disappointing," I wrote. "With thousands of churches, millions of members, and a vested interest in fighting back against religious extremism, they have consistently underachieved and failed to reach their potential."
There were generally four reactions to the column. The first was from non-believers who completely dismissed religious people as loopy and seemed ambivalent to their assistance in fighting the right. The second was from non-religious people who agreed with the column and urged the religious left to stop passively sitting on the sidelines. The third was from people of faith who supported the column and wanted to join the fight for freedom: "Wayne, next time you need religious progressivÂes to stand with you contact the local Unitarian UniversaliÂst churches. We will be glad to march with you," wrote one person based in Charlotte, N.C.
The fourth reaction came from people in denial, who defended the deafening silence in too many liberal and mainstream churches, rather than admit their obvious shortcomings: "Just because they do not call a press conference or take to the streets does not discount the fact that millions of Christians are hearing a message of love and inclusion each week in services," wrote one person on The Huffington Post.
I agree that these religious leaders should not call a press conference. They should call dozens of press conferences until the media pays attention. And, yes, they should also be in the streets. As someone who organizes and participates in several protests each year, I can attest to the fact that they are often unpleasant and unglamorous. Sometimes it involves waking up at ungodly hours on weekend mornings to march for hours in inclement weather.
Is this reader suggesting that these churchgoers are somehow superior and shouldn't get their hands dirty? I find it elitist and reprehensible to push the burden of defending this nation's inclusive values onto a small group of dedicated individuals, when a broad-based movement is what is desperately needed. If we can't all be activists, at least we can be active. Why shouldn't we all be out there doing our part, standing up for our beliefs and speaking out against the zealots who would transform this nation into an unrecognizable beast?
Fortunately, we don't have to reinvent the wheel. Here are four examples of mainstream Christians who are leading the way:
Clearly, the loving and inclusive rhetoric of some mainstream Christians is fruitful. The million-dollar question is how do we get such voices to multiply and amplify? The decline of the religious right depends on faith communities rooted in fairness who pray to a Jesus that stands for justice.
Follow Wayne Besen on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Truthwinout
David Valdes Greenwood: It Got Better for Me... But That's Not Good Enough
Same-Sex Marriage | Christianity Today | A Magazine of Evangelical ...
Q&A: Jay Bakker on Faith, Grace and Gay-Friendly Churches - TIME
Christians and Gay Teen Suicides: "How could anyone ... - John Shore
Having been blessed with several opportunities to take a leadership role in local, state, and national activism for justice and equality, I know that activism begins at home at the local level and grows from there.
May it be so that the number of "gay-friendly" and "gay-supportive" Christians continues to grow and that the silent majority finally hear God's call to be loud and assertive in their work for fair treatment of all people.
Truth Wins Out is doing important work, but the way to encourage and motivate is not to harangue.
Perhaps if you reviewed my own resume, you would recall that I have and continue to do much to raise the voices of Christians and others in the cause for justice and equality.
I am sad that my comment prompted you to respond in such a mean way.
I wish you the best and hope that if your goal is truly to encourage Christians to do more, that you will develop better ways to motivate folks. God bless you for your work.
My point is that Christians (although they are holding press conferences) are doing much more important work than that - creating programs for homeless gay youth, hosting coming out support groups, sending clergy to lobby in Washington for gay equality, encouraging congregants to write letters to their elected representatives supporting gay equality, and supporting their congregations' ongoing AIDS ministries.
There are numerous congregations in Houston who have been sending volunteers every month to the oldest AIDS hospice in Texas since it was founded - those are the kinds of things we believe that Christ is calling us to do.
This isn't a new issue. I recall another discussion at HP where a progressive Christian explained, presumably with a straight face, that such messy, inconvenient things as public activism "just aren't 'us'. "
I do, however, agree with the author. As Jesus commanded, much of what we do is in relative secret. We do not give alms or care for the outcast for the glory of man. I believe, however, it's time for us to consider that most of the country, especially the nonbelievers, view our Faith as whatever is projected by the hard right. I simply believe it's time for us to be more vocal about who we are, and who we are not - that folks in this country have a choice within the Christian faith. God bless you for the work you're doing.
Sadly, the mainstream media would much rather report on hateful words spoken by fringe elements in the name of Christianity than more positive stories like hundreds of mainstream clergy converging on the U.S. Capitol last spring to lobby for justice and equality for gay people and against anti-gay bullying.
While of course I agree with Wayne's contention that Christians have a strong mandate to be prophetic voices for justice and equality in the name of Christ in the communities where we live and beyond, it does seem important to lift up and celebrate the important work that many are already doing. Of course, there is much more to done! God bless you for your voice and your actions.