The rise of the religious Left?

“Welcome home, Matt”: Bishop Robinson welcomes Matthew Shepard — and gay Christians — back to the church

[...] Retired Bishop Gene Robinson, who presided over the service, told attendees, “Many of you have been hurt by your own religious communities, and I want to welcome you back.” He added that Shepard’s symbolic return to the church represented “a remarkable step forward” for LGBTQ Christians. ”It’s the cathedral saying some churches are different,” Robinson said. “Some churches have been on this journey with you, and we will not only welcome you, we will celebrate you.”

Later, he added another message of welcome and hope: “There are three things I’d say to Matt: ‘Gently rest in this place. You are safe now. And Matt, welcome home.’ Amen.”

[...]

Robinson’s speech, like Curry’s before it, should be seen in a much wider context: the potential resurgence of the mainline Protestant tradition for political progressives. While historically centrist Protestantism has been in decline for the past few decades — ceding its cultural and political influence to the evangelical right — prominent mainline figures and institutions have become increasingly political in recent years.

Earlier this year, for example, activists and pastors Rev. James Barber and Rev. Liz Theoharis launched a renewal of Martin Luther King Jr’s Poor People’s Campaign, a religiously-infused series of protests against income inequality and social injustice in America. Last month, the National Council of Churches — a body that represents most mainline Protestant traditions, as well as some other Christian denominations — demanded Brett Kavanaugh, who was accused of numerous instances of sexual harassment and assault, abandon his Supreme Court nomination.

It may be working ....

I hope that it does. I am so tired of the Religious Right, the Evangelicals that support Trump no matter what awful thing he does, the toxic conservative Catholicism which has produced Trump allies like Steve Bannon, Brett Kavanaugh, and John Kelly. It's past time for the religious Left, the actual majority of American Christians, to stand up and be counted.