In recent years, for better or for worse, being Christian has become almost synonymous with being conservative and Republican. However, there is a group of Christians who do not fit into that categorization and are increasingly asserting their own social and political views in opposition to conservative Christians:

Kety Esquivel, a young Latina co-executive director of CrossLeft, one of the conveners, explains their driving spirit: “We want Heaven on Earth, not war and suffering. Christ has always been about justice and love for the poor. Christianity is about inclusion, not exclusion through narrow political agendas or wedge issues.” . . .

These attempts to revive left activism among Christians bring up knotty questions about the relationship between faith and politics. While the activists want unity among Christians on the one hand, their focus on social justice issues divides them from right-wing fundamentalists and literalists.

Still, these efforts appear to be part of an emerging trend. An Evangelical coalition recently declared adherence to environmentalism. The Vatican and several mainline Protestant churches have separately offered a strong defense of Darwin’s theory of evolution, criticizing “intelligent design” as unscientific.

I think it’s awesome that there are other Christian voices emerging that stand in opposition to the far-right ideology of many conservative Christians. I happen to agree with the belief that Jesus never discriminated against anybody and in fact, championed the marginalized, the ostracized, and the oppressed.

It’s truly sad to see how so many conservative Christians have apparently forgotten this simple fact.