October 11, 2004

Left Behind

There's an interesting article in USN&WR called, When Churches Head Left.

Many denominations continue to lean to the left despite shrinking membership and a decline in giving from members. The Presbyterian Church (USA) recently began divesting from companies whom they believe contribute to the "suffering of the palestinian people" in Israel. The article at US News highlights a study done by the Institute on Religion and Democracy. They found that mainline churches from 2000-2003,

of 197 human-rights criticisms by mainline churches and groups, 37 percent were aimed at Israel and 32 percent at the United States. Only 19 percent of these criticisms were directed at nations listed as "unfree" in Freedom House's respected annual listing of free, partly free, and unfree nations. So Israel was twice as likely to be hammered by the mainliners as all the unfree authoritarian nations put together. The fixation on Israel left little time and inclination for these churches to notice the most dangerous violations of human rights around the world. Not one nation bordering Israel was criticized by a single mainline church or group, the IRD report says. No criticisms at all were leveled at China, Libya, Syria, or North Korea.
The liberal tilt of these denomintions isn't new. During the cold war they were particularly adept at ignoring the repression of the Soviet Union and it's satellites while being critical of US and others' actions to rollback the iron curtain.
Of course, not all members of PC USA or other mainline churches are liberal, but a good many of them resent their money being used for overtly political purposes. Eventually, the bill for all of this political activism will come due and it won't be pretty.

Posted by jdmays at October 11, 2004 05:56 PM | TrackBack
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