What Did Spiritual Progressives Learn?
Back in May, I and several other “spiritual progressives” participated in a two-week online conference sponsored by The Rockridge Institute (a progressive think-tank lead by George Lakoff, author of “Don’t Think of An Elephant”). The goal was to discuss the interplay of religion and politics, and perhaps to find a way forward for people of faith unhappy with the current political climate.
The Rockridge Institute has finally issued their report on the conference. The entire document is available as a PDF file. The conclusion of the conference seems to be that we can work together so long as we concentrate on shared “values” instead of specifics of faith, and that further progress is going to be difficult and slow.
“The difficult task of analyzing modes of reasoning and discourse in order to know the existing elements of our shared “progressive theology” remains before us.”
There is a lot more to be said here. I’m still not sure that many of the criticisms of the conference were addressed fully by the report and that any clear way forward has been established for progressive people of faith to interact in a manner that equals (or even rivals) the political clout of the “religious right”. Despite my reservations, perhaps I should be flattered that I was quoted in the conclusion paper (unattributed, but all the same).
2 responses so far
The issue is not values. The issue is varying levels of moral and ethical development. The religious right is stuck at an adolescent level of development, which accepts external authority without question, sees the world as black and while, and lives in fear of not being on the right side of whatever authority, be it the Law. the rules or “God.” I don’t know how we are going to deal with people who are incapable of grasping the abstract concept that they might be wrong. Fundamentalism doesn’t occur in people able to understand abstract concepts – this is why they ridicule intellectuals and abhor “moral relativism.” It’s over their heads and it scares them. They need certainty, even if it means believing in nonsense about lakes of fire.
I would go a little further than Morgaine and say the religious right lives in fear of the rest of us not being on the right side of their chosen religious authority, and that’s the most frustrating source of intolerance we face. People who aren’t just content with being and letting others be, but insist on turning the rest of the world their way—or else. This form of intolerance, which we like to think of as extremist, can become widespread too easily (think Nazi Germany), so must be fought wherever it arises. Intolerance begets intolerance and can lead to violence. Tolerance begets peace.
Barbara