The Religious Left

There are many problems with many Republicans and conservatives in power – their lying, blatant flaunting of laws and the Constitution, the illegal invasion and occupation in Iraq… the list goes on. But one of the most egregious problems with the Right is their stranglehold on Religion.

Many on the left are agnostics, atheists, religiously apathetic, or downright hostile towards religion. In the interest of full disclosure let me state that I myself am an ex-Catholic atheists, but not hostile towards religion (except when people bastardize religion for their own purposes). Between the cold reception that many religious people receive from the Left and the lies crimes being committed by the Right, many progressive or even independent religious or spiritual people are stuck with what seems like no choice.

In the antiwar movement at UIUC, we make a real attempt to bring in Muslim students and to work closely with Muslim student associations – ASA, MSA, CAIR, and SJP. This is for quite understandable reasons: the current US hegemonic interests lie in the middle east, and the War on Terror has also led to the creation and dissemination of the inherently fallacious idea of “Islamofascism.” Arabs and Muslims in general are targeted by racial profiling at airport and border checkpoints, and attacks on Muslims continues. The hajib is routinely criticized, the Qur’an and misquoted or quoted out of context, and the religion itself has been called a religion of hate. Muslims are routinely the bad guys in TV, movies, and video games, and the mainstream media coverage helps foster negative ideas about Muslims.

For these reasons and more, we actively seek out our Arab and Muslim brothers and sisters and invite them to join us in our cause. Yet at the same time we ignore our Christian and Jewish comrades. While we send representatives to the Atheists, Agnostics, and Free Thinkers organization on campus, we don’t even look to see if there are any Christian groups on campus that might be favorable to our cause.

Let us not forget that the Christian Extremists are also reviled in the mainstream media, and rightly so. Groups like the Westboro Baptist Church (whose homepage I will not link to) and documentaries like Jesus Camp show that there are many deranged individuals out there, following a belief that is as alien to the tenants of Christianity as the views of most Islamic extremists are alien to the very nature of Islam.

This is not supposed to give support to those Evangelical Christians who believe that the Earth was created in 6 days and is only 40,000 years old, or who seriously believe that Intelligent Design should be taught alongside Evolution in public schools. Nor am I giving any ground to people who claim that Hurricane Katrina was God’s wrath at New Orleans for the debauchery that goes on there. These Christian Extremists preach a rhetoric often just as bad as that preached by the Islamic Extremists, and often quite in line with them. These, and people less extreme, make up the Religious Right, who the Republicans have both maintained a hold on and in turn have themselves been molded by. And I say, let the Republicans have them.

However, focusing solely on the Religious Right is the narrow view of Christianity. There are many, many Progressive Christians who likely feel alienated by the Left. The fact that we do not reach out to them likely does not help at all. We in the antiwar movement must begin to make a real effort to reach out to Progressive and Leftist Christians, to make for them a safe and welcoming environment to protest the war. We may not see eye-to-eye when it comes to religion, but I think we can put that aside and focus on the more immediate problems facing us.

There is tricky situation when it comes to some Jewish people. Many in the Antiwar movement see clear parallels between the occupation of Iraq and the events occurring in Palestine. Some support the second Intifada, and call for a single state. Others call for a two state solution, but might show solidarity with Palestine. Many Jews have very strong opinions about the Israel-Palestine problem, with many supporting Israel. The problem of Palestine is not an easy one to confront, let alone solve. I take comfort in the fact that there are a growing number of Jews who support Palestine, either in a one state or two state solution, or at the very least think that Israel is approaching the problem the wrong way. But the issue of Palestine should not prevent the antiwar movement from reaching across the aisle and trying to embrace antiwar Jews as important members of the antiwar movement. It might mean toning down the pro-Palestine rhetoric during demonstrations put on with the support of Jewish organizations, which is obviously a contentious issue for some people.

There are many things the Right has claimed a monopoly on – Patriotism, the Flag, the Troops, and, yes, Religion. It is the job of the Left, especially the Antiwar Left, to reclaim these symbols, ideas, and people. Let it be OK to fly a flag at a protest, be it Iraqi, American, or upside down. Let it be OK to say, “Support the Troops: Bring them Home” as we so often do. IVAW has gone a long way towards showing people that the soldiers and vets are not the pawns of the Right, nor their property. They belong to themselves only, and can decide whom to support. Let it be OK to use the trite expression “Dissent is Patriotic” and mean both parts of the phrase, to reject the rhetoric that Patriotism is blind faith and support of the President and simply, mindless Jingoism. And let it be OK for religious people of all faiths to join the antiwar movement and find a welcoming, inviting environ in which to grow as activists. To quote two bumpersticker slogans, “Jesus wouldn’t own a gun and vote Republican” and “Who Would Jesus Torture?”

Iraq For Iraqis! Troops Out Now!