In Religion Dispatches, Frederick Clarkson argues that a document purporting to “end the culture wars” is really an attempt to woo religious progressives to the agenda of the religious right. Clarkson is the editor of the recent volume, Dispatches from the Religious Left: The Future of Faith in Politics in America, and he discusses ongoing debates between the document’s authors and contributors to his book:
A recently released manifesto titled “Come Let Us Reason Together: A Governing Agenda to End the Culture Wars,” sparked a renewed round of debate between the official Religious Left and religious progressives. The document was produced by DC think tanks Third Way and Faith in Public Life, in collaboration with a group of white, male, and mostly conservative evangelicals, and outlines a few areas of agreement between some Democratic insiders and some prominent evangelicals.
The agenda proposed, the process by which it came about, and who was included, excluded, and why, have been met with some criticism to which Robert P. Jones, one of the principal authors, has issued a stinging retort. Unfortunately the response doesn’t address the substance of the criticisms raised, though its diversionary tactics do say much about the state of the debate.
Continue reading at Religion Dispatches.