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Democrats Court Religious Leaders |
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By Melissa Evans
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Friday, June 01 2007 |
Hoping to dispel the myth that Democrats aren’t religious -- and that the religious only care about abortion and gay marriage -- clergy and liberal politicians will come together for an unprecedented summit this weekend in Goleta.
The event, coordinated at the request of the California Democratic Party, is the result of more than a year of informal conversations and roundtable discussions with local clergy.
 Lois Capps
“Across the country there’s been this kind of wake-up call to progressive and moderate religious voices who say the religious extremists shouldn’t dominate the political dialogue,” Quimby said.
Speakers at the summit include: U.S. Rep. Lois Capps, D-Santa Barbara; retired State Sen. Art Torres, who chairs the California Democratic Party; Santa Barbara Mayor Marty Blum; and, Goleta Mayor Jean Blois.
Santa Barbara City Councilman Das Williams, an evangelical Christian, is also participating in a panel discussion on poverty. The other workshops will look at issues such as the environment, foreign policy, healthcare, immigration and “politics from the pulpit.”
The issues to be discussed were selected by clergy members through a poll conducted by Quimby over the last several months. She asked religious leaders to identify their top concerns; few named abortion and homosexuality, which have dominated public discourse when it comes to religion and politics, organizers say.
The religious left, however, has begun to slowly assert itself over the last few years. Leaders such as Jim Wallis, a liberal evangelical, and Rabbi Michael Lerner of the Tikkun community, a peace organization, have been speaking and writing about the need to focus on issues such as poverty and global warming.
Evangelical leaders such as Rick Warren, a best-selling author and head of a Southern California mega church, has also mobilized Christian followers to get involved in the worldwide AIDS epidemic.
“Our No. 1 goal is to create a space inside the Democratic party where religious leaders feel they have a place to speak out,” said Jonathon Saur, a Westmont College graduate who is helping organize Sunday’s event at the Goleta Valley Community Center.
“The Religious Right has been much more vocal when it comes to faith language, but it’s a myth that there’s no faithful Democrats out there,” Saur added.
As Democrats head into the 2008 Presidential Election, the religious moderates and progressives will be a crucial voice, Quimby said. She stressed that they don’t want to “use” religious leaders to create a front for social issues -- but rather incorporate their voices into the public dialogue.
Hussam Moussa, a leader at the Islamic Society of Santa Barbara and one of the panelists, said he is encouraged by the Democratic party’s attempt to include religious leaders as real players in the political future of the party.
“We have a unique situation here in Santa Barbara, a very good relationship between clergy and politicians,” Moussa said.
“I hope this will be a model for other groups across the nation,” he added.
The participants also include members of the Christian, Jewish, Buddhist and Native American communities. In a letter penned to media, a dozen religious leaders said they look forward to speaking on “critical moral issues facing our communities, our nation and our world.”
The event will be from 2 to 5:30 p.m. Sunday at the Goleta Valley Community Center. |
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