Evangelical left

Evangelical left
The Evangelical left is a Christian left movement in Evangelical Christianity that affirms conservative evangelical theology and are politically progressive. It is mainly based in the US, but is also found in Latin America.
Doctrine
The movement affirms conservative evangelical theology, such as the doctrines of the incarnation, atonement, and resurrection, traditional view on marriage and see the Bible as the primary authority for the Church. Unlike other evangelicals, however, those on the evangelical left often support and utilize modern biblical exegesis. They often support a more progressive political platform and are concerned about issues of social justice. Many, for example, are opposed to capital punishment and are supportive of gun control, welfare programs and welcoming foreigners. In many cases, they are also pacifists.
History
The origins of the movement are located in the 16th century in the Anabaptist movement which fought against The Establishment and campaigned for democracy and the participation of every human. Other movements were significant, such as Abolitionism in the United Kingdom of the 18th century and Abolitionism in the United States of the 19th century. Some evangelicals have campaigned for women's rights, such as pastoral ordination and right to vote.
Due to the fundamentalist controversy of the early 20th century, the movement and social activism lost momentum. However, in the late 1940s, evangelical theologians from Fuller Theological Seminary founded in Pasadena, California, in 1947, championed the Christian importance of social activism. It experienced a new impetus in the 1960s with the foundation of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1957, led by Baptist pastor Martin Luther King Jr.
During the 1960s and 1970s, the evangelical left stood for antiwar, civil rights, and anti-consumption principles while supporting doctrinal and sexual fidelity. The Sojourners magazine founded in 1971, has been an important voice of the movement. In 1973, 53 evangelical leaders have signed The Chicago Declaration of Evangelical Social Concern thus contributing to the foundation of Evangelicals for Social Action. The evangelical left helped the broader evangelical movement by helping to elect the first born-again U.S. president, Jimmy Carter in 1976.
21st century
In 2007, the organization Red-Letter Christians was founded by Tony Campolo and Shane Claiborne with the aim of bringing together evangelicals who believe in the importance of insisting on issues of social justice mentioned by Jesus (in red in some translations of the Bible).
The election of Donald Trump in 2016 led to a resurgence of the evangelical left against some of his policies. Some evangelical Christians see the phrase as political and have since changed how they name themselves.
See also
Christian anarchism
Christian left
Christian socialism
Evangelical environmentalism
Liberal Christianity
Progressive Christianity
Red-Letter Christians
Social Gospel
Sojourners
References
External links
Every Church a Peace Church
Social Redemption
The Christian Left - An Open Fellowship of Progressive Christians
Red Letter Christians US
Red Letter Christians UK
Further reading
Evangelicalism in the United States
Christianity and politics
Christian terminology
Left-wing politics