IRD Debunks Religious Left's Supposed Nonpartisan Activity
by Jenni Parker
November 1, 2004
(AgapePress) - The head of a conservative United Methodist reform group says certain mainline religious groups that claim to be nonpartisan have expressed support for a liberal organization's "interfaith services" despite its very obvious left-wing political bias.Diane Knippers is president of the Institute on Religion and Democracy, a group committed to the reformation of the Church's social and political witness, as well as to promoting democracy and religious liberty. She contends that the mainstream media often accuse religious conservatives of hijacking faith for the purposes of politics, but seldom turns its "scathingly critical eye on the politicking of religious liberals."
While the media tend to harp on the perceived partisanship of "the so-called Religious Right," Knippers observes that "rarely is there attention given to the equally partisan nature of liberal religious groups." She goes further to suggest, in fact, that the political activities of the Religious Left "are even more over the line."
The Church reform advocate points out that the Religious Right is composed primarily of para-church groups, which are funded by direct mail. Meanwhile, the Religious Left is largely made up of actual denominations, whose officials use church collection plate money and the names of their churches to take often fiercely partisan positions, regardless of what their churches' members actually think. Knippers calls this "an abuse of the Church of Jesus Christ, whose identity and mission should transcend most political differences."
Nevertheless, the IRD spokeswoman notes that the liberal leadership of a number of mainline denominations and other liberal religious groups, fearless of media censure, do not hesitate to align themselves with partisan causes. As a prime example, she points to mainstream churches' support of the recent "Interfaith Service for Justice for Children and the Poor."
That event, hosted by the liberal Children's Defense Fund, was held at the National Cathedral in Washington, DC, on October 28. The service was endorsed by several religious groups, including the National Council of Churches, which is comprised of more than 30 mostly Protestant Christian congregations. The head of the NCC, former Democratic congressman Bob Edgar, called the interfaith service a "potent symbol of a mobilization" that cuts across denominational lines.
But Knippers contends the evening was really just a political rally to denounce Republicans before the November 2 election. She mistrusts the claims of nonpartisanship coming from the CDF, a group that lobbies for an expanded federal welfare state and often accuses its opponents of being anti-poor. In fact, the CDF news release for its interfaith service actually makes use of familiar Democratic rhetoric, as when it alludes to tax cuts for the wealthy. The CDF also seemed to suggest in its press release that America's current political leadership is largely to blame for child poverty.
Disingenuous Claims of Broad-Based Nonpartisanship
At a recent news teleconference, CDF president Marian Wright Edelman was joined by the NCC's Edgar, along with representatives of the liberal Jewish and Islamic faith communities. The religious leaders spoke with a unified voice, urging American citizens to hold their leaders accountable for the treatment of disadvantaged children in the world's riches nation.
"The point of our efforts," Edelman said, "is that it is not too late for leaders on both sides to do the right thing. There really is good politics in treating the poor justly .... Tax cuts for the rich have drained the country of resources. We must go out and vote and be there to hold our leaders accountable to address the dreadful, shameful facts of child poverty in this country."
Edelman also said she is pleased that "the faith community has responded with an extraordinary range of endorsers ... that reflects almost every denomination." She added, "We need to make judgments about who is speaking up for children and the poor."
But Knippers takes issue with the idea that those endorsing the CDF event really represent the broad range of faith that the Religious Left is suggesting. IRD notes that although the NCC routinely claims to speak for more than 50 million American church members, surveys show that most mainline Protestants vote Republican more often than Democrat.
Also, even though the National Council of Churches sponsored rallies at both the Democratic and Republican Conventions this election year, the IRD believes the religious body's partisan preferences can hardly be in doubt. The NCC's political activities this year have come under the "Let Justice Roll" program, which has mobilized liberal religious activists under the aegis of fighting poverty, but which IRD says the liberal council members have defined almost exclusively as expanding the federal welfare state.
At any rate, Knippers laments the way some churches in America are allowing their voices and resources to be used for political maneuvering. "Ideally," she says, "Christian churches should be able to include both Republicans and Democrats, without church leaders using the church to make partisan endorsements."
The IRD president goes on to say that Christians are called to apply their faith to their political decision-making, but they should "humbly decline to use the institutional church for partisan political purposes." Knippers notes that Christ did not use His ministry to choose political sides or dictate public policy advice to the secular rulers of his day, and she says modern Christian leaders should follow His example.
