Religion Roundtable at YearlyKos

On Friday Mik & I hosted the religion round table at YearlyKos.

There was so much energy at that first session that we decided to continue the conversation today.

Enclosed is a brief synopsis of how it's gone to date--

We started by introducing ourselves and our respective work with CrossLeft.org and Jewish Funds for Justice and then asking each participant to introduce themselves and talk about what had drawn them to attend the session.

Their stories were diverse and compelling.

A small town church divided after being taken over by the right. A wicca-run homeless shelter forced to close its doors due. A progressive pastor who brought his conservative Republican father. Public school teachers who had taught comparative religion. Gay men who were deeply hurt by the role churches have played in advancing an anti-gay agenda. Atheists concerned about how progressives will deal with religion. A Methodist teaching Catholics to how to sing.

The discussion was free-wheeling. Some expressed optimism at the growing strength of the religious left. Others focused on their dismay at the influence and dominance of the religious right. A graduate of the Divinity School at University of Chicago commended a study it had conducted shows trends toward greater secularity and greater orthodoxy. All seemed to agree that this discussion about faith and politics was important for progressives and asked to continued the roundtable the next day.

The agenda Mik & I are proposing for this second session is as follows:

I. Challenges & Opportunities: What's Our Common Agenda?

II. How do we speak more powerfully about faith without alienating others who might not be of the same faith tradition, may have been hurt by religion or for whom faith is not a part of their everyday life?

III. Next steps: Where are we taking this online & off-line?