A New Progressive Vision for Church and State
The old liberal vision of a total separation of religion from politics has been discredited. Despite growing secularization, a secular progressive majority is still impossible, and a new two-part approach is needed—one that first admits that there is no political wall of separation. Voters must be allowed, without criticism, to propose policies based on religious belief. But, when government speaks and acts, messages must be universal. The burden is on religious believers, therefore, to explain public references like “under God” in universal terms. For example, the word “God” can refer to the ceaseless creativity of the universe and the objective validity of human rights. Promoting and accepting religious images as universal will help heal culture-war divisions and promote the formation of a broad-based progressive coalition.
Bruce Ledewitz is Professor of Law at Duquesne Law School. He was Secretary to the National Coalition Against the Death Penalty, 1985-1990. He has written in both legal journals and national media such as the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and the Chicago Tribune. His latest book is Hallowed Secularism: Theory, Belief, and Practice (Palgrave Macmillan 2009). His earlier book, American Religious Democracy: Coming to Terms with the End of Secular Politics (Praeger 2007), was widely discussed and reviewed. Professor Ledewitz’ wrote on religion in the 2008 Presidential campaign in the Denver Post, Baltimore Sun, Newsday and other newspapers.
Rev. Chuck Freeman serves as Minister of Spiritual Life with Live Oak Unitarian Universalist Church in Austin, Texas. He is the creator, producer and host of the radio program “Soul Talk." The program airs on Progressive Blend Radio in Washington, D.C. http://www.progressiveblendradio.com/.
Chuck is the Founder and President of The Free Souls Project, promoting the integration of spirituality, democracy and ethics from a liberal faith perspective. He is also a regular author on The Seminal, http://www.theseminal.com/.
His Op Ed Pieces have been published in the Austin American Statesman and with Austin’s NPR affiliate, KUT.
Frederick Clarkson is an independent journalist whose writing about politics and religion (especially the Religious Right) has appeared in magazines and newspapers from Mother Jones, Ms. and Church & State magazines to Salon.com and The Christian Science Monitor, for twenty five years. He is the author of Eternal Hostility: The Struggle Between Theocracy and Democracy and editor, most recently, of Dispatches from the Religious Left: The Future of Faith and Politics in America. He goes in and out of media fashion, but his major media appearance include the BBC, CBC, ABC's 20/20, CBS Evening News, and Democracy Now!
Witold (“Vic”) Walczak graduated from Colgate University and Boston College Law School. He joined the ACLU-PA in 1991, and became Legal Director in 2004. He has handled many nationally high-profile cases involving free speech, police misconduct and immigration. Vic has also developed expertise in religious-liberty cases, handling numerous school prayer, religious display and other disputes. In 2005, Vic was one of three lawyers who successfully tried Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District, the first case challenging the teaching in public schools of “intelligent design” (ID), which a federal judge concluded was simply creationism repackaged.
Rev. Dr. Janet Edwards has been an ordained minister for over 30 years. She currently serves as Co-Moderator of More Light Presbyterians, a network that seeks full inclusion of LGBT people in the church, and is a board member of Demos, a public policy research and advocacy organization. She also blogs for the Newsweek/Washington Post site “On Faith” and at www.TimetoEmbrace.com.
Rev. Edwards’ faith has always informed her progressive activism — from acting as precinct captain for MoveOn.org in the 2004 presidential election to presiding at the wedding of two women, for which she was tried twice by her church and ultimately acquitted 9-0. Rev. Edwards lives in Pittsburgh, PA with her husband and two dogs.
