There are many religious people who are sick of the conservative/Republican hijacking of Christianity.
These are the types of people who leave church because they’re sick of organized religion, opting instead for their own way of worshiping the Christian God.
For example, here’s an article about Donald Miller, author of Blue Like Jazz: Nonreligious Thoughts on Christian Spirituality:
For [Miller], the word [“Christianity”] conjured up conservative politics, suburban consumerism and an “insensitivity to people who aren’t like us.”
To quell his rage, he sat in his boxer shorts and banged out a memoir of his experiences with God, stripped of the trappings of religion.
“Blue Like Jazz: Nonreligious Thoughts on Christian Spirituality” sold just enough to pay a few months rent. Then five years later, spurred by a grass-roots movement of 20-something Christians longing to connect to God without ties to the religious right, the book became a sudden hit.
Fans were buying caseloads and passing out copies to friends. It peaked at No. 18 on The New York Times list of best-sellers among paperback nonfiction in November.
…
Supporters say Miller’s authentic, graceful approach to God has finally given a voice to their brand of Christianity. The book also debuted at a time when the emerging church movement – which emphasizes the individual’s faith experience and varied worship styles – is flourishing, signaling a fertile audience for such religious musings among more socially liberal evangelicals.
(Thanks to Donna for that link)
Vjack also points out an article by Gary Vance about the “Institute for Progressive Christianity”:
The pendulum of religious influence on socio/political issues has begun to swing back to the Left and thank God for it. The unholy merger of neo-conservatism with the holy fever of the Religious Right is at last being countered by a growing contingency of left leaning Progressive Christians. A Christian think tank, the Institute for Progressive Christianity (IPC) has risen up like young David to stand against the multi-headed Goliath incarnation of heavily funded Conservative think tanks and fundamentalism.
…
The IPC is arising as a strategic nerve center for research and development of the Progressive Christian movement and offers a robust response to the Right. The institute has hosted innovative symposiums, published revolutionary research papers, issued provocative press releases, and is designing compassionate public policy proposals while championing the separation of church and state.
Not that moderate Christianity is “more appealing” to many atheists, but it’s nice to see people from the Religious Left speaking out in public against the extremists. We need more Christians to do that. They’re a lot more effective than an atheist ever could be.
[tags]atheist, atheism[/tags]
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