The Christian Left

THE CHRISTIAN LEFT. Founded in March 2010, as a counter to the evangelical Christian Right, The Christian Left (TCL) grew mainly through social media into a sizable educational and advocacy movement. Its co-founders –Charles Toy, Reverend Mark Sandlin, Mark Baldwin, and Roger Smith—believed many Christians felt marginalized, their faith “hijacked,”as Toy explained, by the right. The four founders hoped to foment a reformation by backing a political agenda aligned with the teachings of Jesus Christ that had been debased by the Christian Right. Against “unregulated plutocracy,” TCL embraced a progressive or liberal political agenda, endorsing universal health care, woman’s reproductive rights, environmental protection, gay rights, and the establishment of a meaningful social safety net. Like Jesus, they aspired to drive the money-changers from the temple and promoted instead social justice and equality. For this reason, TCL took up the cause of the oppressed, the poor, and the down-trodden. Its mission statement began with Psalm 140:12: “I know that the LORD secures justice for the poor and upholds the cause of the needy.”

Despite their left leaning, the founders found socialism inadequate unless subordinated to Christian faith, their core belief. Unaffiliated with any church, on theological issues TCL envisioned itself closest to the Disciples of Christ in claiming only one defining tenet: the acceptance Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. No creed served as a test. TCL therefore reached out to other progressive Christian leaders, such as the Reverence William Barber II of the Moral Monday Movement, Sister Simone Campbell of the Catholic Network Lobby, and Richard Rohr, advocate of contemplative spirituality; and eagerly welcomed Pope Francis, who made their hearts “jump with joy.”

A decade after its founding, TCL sponsored a Facebook page with nearly 400,000 followers and an Instagram account with more than 13,000 followers. The TCL website listed its many products –mugs, caps, t-shirts, beach towels-- emblazoned with progressive Christian slogans such as “Lord please protect me from some of your followers” and “All I want for Christmas is the abolition of imperialist white supremacist capitalist heteropatriarchy.” The TCL 2020 Christmas blog presented a brutal pairing of President Donald J. Trump and Nero, both allegedly guilty of ignoring the perils facing their citizens.

Currie, Chuck. “The Christian Left Has a Voice in 2016.” Huffpost.com. August 17, 2015. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-christian-left-has-a-voice-in-2016_b_7996210

The Christian Left.org. Website. http://www.thechristianleft.org