Christian left
The Christian Left is the intersection of left-wing or socialist ideals and Christian ideals.
For much of the early history of anti-establishment leftist movements such as liberalism and socialism, the Christian church was an important foe to progress. People viewed the church as part of the establishment. Throughout the United States, France, and Russia, the course of revolutions attacked the established churches and reduced their powers.
In the twentieth century, however, it began to be realized that the left and Christianity had much in common. Mikhail Gorbachev said that "Christ was the first socialist" and there is an extremely strong thread of egalitarianism in the New Testament. Other common leftist concerns such as pacifism, justice, racial equality, human rights, and the rejection of excessive wealth can also be found in the Bible.
In the late 19th century and early 20th century the Social Gospel movement arose, particularly among some Baptists and Methodists in North America and Britain, which attempted to integrate progressive and socialist thought with Christianity and produce social activism.
Religious groups were closely associated with the peace movements against the Vietnam War as well as the 2003 Invasion of Iraq. Religious leaders in many countries have also been on the forefront of criticizing cuts to social welfare programs.
The Christian left has sometimes been viewed as a counterpart to the Christian right, but it is very different. While the Christian right is almost uniquely American, the Christian left is more global and multifaceted.
One of the most important strains of Christian left thinking has been in the developing world, especially Latin America. During and since the 1960s Catholic thinkers who opposed the despotic leaders in South and Central America allied themselves with the communist opposition. Out of this alliance arose Liberation Theology, a wide ranging attempt to integrate socialism and Catholicism. However, Pope John Paul II, a fierce opponent of communism in Europe, decided against Liberation Theology and led the Catholic Church to abandon it.
The Christian left often departs from conventional Christian teaching on issues such as homosexuality. Some groups reinterpret the Bible, while to others it is more a matter of focus -- viewing the prohibitions against killing, or the criticism of concentrations of wealth, as far more important than those against homosexuals.
A related strain of thought is the Consistent Life Ethic, which sees opposition to capital punishment, militarism, euthanasia and abortion as being related. It is not specifically Christian (being subscribed to by Buddhists, Hindus, and members of other religions), but uses arguments broadly similar to those used by Christian leftists.
Notable Christian leftists
See also
