The 'religious left' gets a little bigge

"I admit from the outset that I know literally nothing about this group or who's behind it, but for those who believe the 'religious left' should do more to take on the 'religious right,' it appears there's a new organization committed to doing just that," writes Steve Benen, who quotes the group's statement at length. It bears re-requoting:

The success of the Religious Right in appropriating the language of Christianity has led many people to become generally wary of religion in the public sphere and of Christianity in particular. The Religious Right has used the language of Christianity to promote an extreme and divisive political agenda that has helped polarize our nation. But foundational Christian values like compassion, justice and peace are largely absent from our political discussion. And there are millions of Christian Americans who share progressive views, or, at a minimum, are increasingly turned off by the extreme rhetoric and political agenda of the Religious Right... The Christian Alliance advances a renewed, progressive vision of Gospel values and seeks to help Americans express this moral vision in our lives and in our politics.