View source for Christian left

{{short description|Political ideological movement emphasizing social justice in the Gospel}}
{{about|left-wing Christian political movements in general|the Chilean political party using the name "Christian Left" prior to 2013|Christian Left Party of Chile}}
{{Use Oxford spelling|date=April 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2024}}
{{Progressivism sidebar}}
{{Liberalism sidebar|expanded=religious}}
{{Liberalism US|variants and movements}}

The '''Christian left''', otherwise referred to as the '''religious left''', is a range of [[Christianity and politics|Christian political]] and [[List of Christian movements|social movements]] that largely embrace [[social justice]] principles and uphold a social doctrine or [[social gospel]] based on their interpretation of the teachings of [[Christianity]]. Given the inherent diversity in international political thought, the term ''Christian left'' can have different meanings and applications in different countries. While there is much overlap, the Christian left is distinct from [[liberal Christianity]], meaning not all Christian leftists are liberal Christians and ''vice versa''.

In the United States, the Christian left usually aligns with [[Modern liberalism in the United States|modern liberalism]] and [[progressivism]], using the social gospel to achieve better social and economic equality.<ref>{{cite web |last=Stanton |first=Zack |title=You Need to Take the Religious Left Seriously This Time |url=https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2021/02/25/religious-left-politics-liberal-471640 |access-date=2022-06-27 |website=Politico|date=25 February 2021 }}</ref> [[Christian anarchism]], [[Christian communism]], and [[Christian socialism]] are subsets of the [[socialist]] Christian left. [[Karl Marx]] and [[Friedrich Engels]], authors of the ''[[Communist Manifesto]]'', both had Christian upbringings; however, neither were devout Christians.<ref>{{cite web |last=Boer |first=Roland |title=Engels and revolutionary religion |url=https://www.culturematters.org.uk/index.php/culture/religion/item/2271-engels-and-revolutionary-religion |access-date=2022-06-02 |website=culturematters.org.uk }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Religion as Opium of the People |url=https://www.learnreligions.com/religion-as-opium-of-the-people-250555 |access-date=2022-06-02 |website=Learn Religions }}</ref>

== Terminology ==
As with any section within the [[left–right political spectrum]], a label such as ''Christian left'' represents an approximation, including within it groups and persons holding many diverse viewpoints. The term left-wing might encompass a number of values, some of which may or may not be held by different Christian movements and individuals. As the unofficial title of a loose association of believers, it provides a clear distinction from the more commonly known [[Christian right]], or religious right, and from its key leaders and political views. The Christian left does not hold the notion that left-leaning policies, whether economic or social, stand in apparent contrast to Christian beliefs.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Williams |first=Anthony A. J. |title=The Christian Left: an introduction to christian socialism |date=2022 |publisher=Polity Press |isbn=978-1-5095-4281-9 |location=Newark}}</ref>

The most common religious viewpoint that might be described as [[left-wing]] is [[social justice]], or care for impoverished and oppressed [[minority groups]]. Supporters of this trend might encourage [[universal health care]], [[welfare spending|welfare]] provisions, subsidized education, [[foreign aid]], and [[affirmative action]] for improving the conditions of the disadvantaged. With values stemming from [[egalitarianism]], adherents of the Christian left consider it part of their religious duty to take actions on behalf of the oppressed. [[The Sheep and the Goats|Matthew 25:31–46]], among other verses, is often cited to support this view. As nearly all major religions contain the concept of a [[Golden Rule]] as a requirement to [[Golden Rule|help others]]),<ref>{{cite web |title=The "Golden Rule" (a.k.a. Ethics of Reciprocity) |url=http://www.religioustolerance.org/reciproc2.htm |access-date=3 February 2020}}</ref> adherents of various religions have cited social justice as a movement in line with their faith.<ref>Leilah Danielson, Marian Mollin, Doug Rossinow, ''The Religious Left in Modern America: Doorkeepers of a Radical Faith'', Springer, USA, 2018, p. 27</ref> The term ''social justice'' was coined in the 1840s by [[Luigi Taparelli]], an Italian Catholic scholar of the [[Society of Jesus]], who was inspired by the writings of [[Thomas Aquinas]].<ref>{{cite web |title=The FAQs: What Christians Should Know About Social Justice |date=17 August 2018 |url=https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/faqs-christians-know-social-justice/ |access-date=3 February 2020}}</ref> The Christian left holds that social justice, renunciation of power, humility, forgiveness, and private observation of prayer (as in {{bibleverse|Matthew|6:5–6|WEB}}) as opposed to publicly mandated prayer, are mandated by the [[Gospel]]. The Bible contains accounts of Jesus repeatedly advocating for the poor and outcast over the wealthy, powerful, and religious. The Christian left maintains that such a stance is relevant and important. Adhering to the standard of "[[turning the other cheek]]", which they believe supersedes the [[Old Testament]] law of "[[an eye for an eye]]", the Christian left sometimes hearkens towards [[pacifism]] in opposition to policies advancing [[militarism]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Damon |first1=Linker |title=Why Christianity demands pacifism |website=[[The Week]] |date=31 March 2014 |url=https://theweek.com/articles/448578/why-christianity-demands-pacifism |access-date=3 February 2020}}</ref>

The medieval [[Waldensians]] sect had a leftist character.<ref name="von Kuehnelt-Leddihn 1974 p. ">{{cite book | last=von Kuehnelt-Leddihn | first=E. | title=Leftism: from de Sade and Marx to Hitler and Marcuse | publisher=Arlington House | year=1974 | isbn=978-0-87000-143-7 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CFGFAAAAMAAJ&q=%22waldensians%22+%22leftist%22 | access-date=2023-04-01 }}</ref> Some among the Christian left,<ref>{{cite book | last=Cort | first=John C. | title=Christian Socialism | publisher=Orbis Books | publication-place=Maryknoll, NY | date=1988 | isbn=0-88344-574-3 | page=32}}</ref> as well as some non-religious socialists, find support for [[Christian anarchism|anarchism]], [[Christian communism|communism]], and [[Christian socialism|socialism]] in the Gospels, for example [[Mikhail Gorbachev]] citing [[Jesus]] as "the first socialist".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/m/mikhail_s_gorbachev.html |publisher=Brainyquote.com |title=Mikhail S. Gorbachev Quotes |access-date=23 February 2007}}</ref> The Christian left is a broad category that includes Christian socialism, as well as Christians who would not identify themselves as socialists.<ref name=":0" />

== History ==
=== Early years ===
For much of the early history of [[anti-establishment]] leftist movements, such as [[socialism]] and [[communism]], which was highly [[anti-clerical]] in the 19th century, some established churches were led by clergy who saw revolution as a threat to their status and power. The church was sometimes seen as part of the establishment. [[Revolution]]s in the [[United States]], France and [[Russia]] were in part directed against the established churches, or rather their leading clergy, and instituted a [[separation of church and state]].

In the 19th century, some writers and activists developed the school of thought of [[Christian socialism]], which infused socialist principles into Christian theology and praxis. Early [[socialist]] thinkers such as [[Robert Owen]], [[Henri de Saint-Simon]] based their theories of socialism upon Christian principles. [[Karl Marx]] and [[Friedrich Engels]] reacted against these theories by formulating a [[secular]] theory of socialism in ''[[The Communist Manifesto]]''.

=== Alliance of the left and Christianity ===
Starting in the late 19th century and early 20th century, some began to take on the view that genuine Christianity had much in common with a leftist perspective. From [[St. Augustine of Hippo]]'s ''[[City of God (book)|City of God]]'' through [[St. Thomas More]]'s ''[[Utopia (More book)|Utopia]]'', major Christian writers had expounded upon views that socialists found agreeable. Of major interest was the extremely strong thread of [[egalitarianism]] in the [[New Testament]]. Other common leftist concerns such as [[pacifism]], [[social justice]], [[racial equality]], [[human rights]], and the rejection of excessive [[wealth]] are also expressed strongly in the [[Bible]]. In the late 19th century, the [[Social Gospel]] movement arose (particularly among some [[Anglo-Catholicism|Anglicans]], [[Lutheran]]s, [[Methodist]]s and [[Baptists]] in [[North America]] and [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|Britain]],) which attempted to integrate [[progressivism|progressive]] and [[socialist]] thought with [[Christianity]] to produce a faith-based social activism, promoted by movements such as [[Christian socialism]]. In the United States during this period, Episcopalians and Congregationalists generally tended to be the most liberal, both in theological interpretation and in their adherence to the Social Gospel. In Canada, a coalition of liberal Congregationalists, Methodists, and Presbyterians founded the [[United Church of Canada]], one of the first true Christian left denominations. Later in the 20th century, [[liberation theology]] was championed by such writers as [[Gustavo Gutierrez]] and [[Matthew Fox (priest)|Matthew Fox]].

=== Christians and workers ===
To a significant degree, the Christian left developed out of the experiences of clergy who went to do pastoral work among the working class, often beginning without any social philosophy but simply a pastoral and evangelistic concern for workers. This was particularly true among the Methodists and Anglo-Catholics in England, Father [[Adolph Kolping]] in Germany and [[Joseph Cardijn]] in Belgium.<ref>''Index ac status causarum beatificationis servorum dei et canonizationis beatorum'' (in Latin). Typis polyglottis vaticanis. January 1953.</ref>

=== Christian left and campaigns for peace and human rights ===
{{see also|Peace churches}}
Some Christian groups were closely associated with the [[peace movement]]s against the [[Vietnam War]] as well as the [[2003 invasion of Iraq|2003 Invasion of Iraq]]. Religious leaders in many countries have also been on the forefront of criticizing any cuts to [[social welfare]] programs. In addition, many prominent [[civil rights]] activists were religious figures.<ref>Bass, S. Jonathan (2001) ''Blessed Are The Peacemakers: Martin Luther King Jr., Eight White Religious Leaders, and the "Letter from Birmingham Jail"''. Baton Rouge: LSU Press. {{ISBN|0-8071-2655-1}}</ref>

=== In the United States ===
{{See also|Evangelical left}}
In the United States, members of the Christian Left come from a spectrum of [[Christian denomination|denomination]]s: [[Peace churches]], elements of the [[Protestant]] [[mainline (Protestant)|mainline]] churches, [[Catholic Church in the United States|Catholicism]], and some [[Evangelicalism in the United States|evangelical]]s.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Hall|first=Charles F.|date=September 1997|title=The Christian Left: Who Are They and How Do They Differ from the Christian Right?|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3512477|journal=[[Review of Religious Research]]|volume=39|pages=31–32|doi=10.2307/3512477|jstor=3512477|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

==== Martin Luther King Jr. ====
{{See also|Martin Luther King Jr.|Southern Christian Leadership Conference}}
[[File:Martin Luther King, Jr..jpg|thumb|[[Martin Luther King Jr.]] in 1964]]
[[Martin Luther King Jr.]] was an American [[Baptist]] minister and activist who became the most visible spokesman and leader in the [[civil rights movement]] from 1955 until [[Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.|his assassination]] in 1968. Inspired by his [[Christian beliefs]] and the nonviolent activism of [[Mahatma Gandhi]], he led targeted, [[nonviolent resistance]] against [[Jim Crow laws]] and other forms of discrimination. In 1957, King and other civil rights activists founded the [[Southern Christian Leadership Conference]] (SCLC). The group was created to harness the [[moral authority]] and organizing power of black churches to conduct nonviolent protests in the service of civil rights reform. The group was inspired by the crusades of evangelist [[Billy Graham]], who befriended King, as well as the national organizing of the group in Friendship, founded by King allies [[Stanley Levison]] and [[Ella Baker]]. King led the SCLC until his death.
As a Christian minister, King's main influence was [[Jesus in Christianity|Jesus Christ]] and the Christian gospels, which he would almost always quote in his religious meetings, speeches at church, and in public discourses. King's faith was strongly based in Jesus' commandment of [[Golden Rule|loving your neighbor as yourself]], loving God above all, and loving your enemies, praying for them and blessing them. His [[Nonviolence|nonviolent]] thought was also based in the injunction to ''[[turn the other cheek]]'' in the [[Sermon on the Mount]], and Jesus' teaching of putting the sword back into its place (Matthew 26:52). In his famous "[[Letter from Birmingham Jail]]", King urged action consistent with what he describes as Jesus' "extremist" love, and also quoted numerous other [[Christian pacifism|Christian pacifist]] authors, which was very usual for him. In another sermon, he stated:<blockquote>Before I was a civil rights leader, I was a preacher of the Gospel. This was my first calling and it still remains my greatest commitment. You know, actually all that I do in civil rights I do because I consider it a part of my ministry. I have no other ambitions in life but to achieve excellence in the Christian ministry. I don't plan to run for any political office. I don't plan to do anything but remain a preacher. And what I'm doing in this struggle, along with many others, grows out of my feeling that the preacher must be concerned about the whole man.</blockquote>

== Beliefs ==
=== Homosexuality ===
{{more citations needed section|date=August 2018}}
The Christian left generally approaches [[homosexuality]] differently from some other Christian political groups. This approach can be driven by focusing on issues differently despite holding similar religious views, or by holding different religious ideas. Those in the Christian left who have similar ideas as other Christian political groups but a different focus may view Christian teachings on certain issues, such as the Bible's prohibitions against killing or criticisms of concentrations of wealth, as far more politically important than Christian teachings on social issues emphasized by the [[Christian right|religious right]], such as opposition to homosexuality. Others in the Christian left have not only a different focus on issues from other Christian political groups, but different religious ideas as well.

For example, some members of the Christian left may consider discrimination and bigotry against homosexuals to be immoral, but they differ on their views towards homosexual sex. Some believe homosexual sex to be immoral but unimportant compared with issues relating to social justice, or even matters of sexual morality involving heterosexual sex. Others assert that some homosexual practices are compatible with the Christian life. Such members believe common [[The Bible and homosexuality|biblical arguments]] used to condemn homosexuality are misinterpreted, and that biblical prohibitions of homosexual practices are actually against a specific type of homosexual sex act, i.e. [[pederasty]], the sodomizing of young boys by older men. Thus, they hold biblical prohibitions to be irrelevant when considering modern same-sex relationships.<ref>[http://www.tcpc.org/library/article.cfm?library_id=152 Why TCPC Advocates Equal Rights for Gay and Lesbian People] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120212223001/http://www.tcpc.org/library/article.cfm?library_id=152 |date=12 February 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.christianalliance.org/site/c.bnKIIQNtEoG/b.667209/k.5987/Equality_for_Gays_and_Lesbians.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051201012003/http://www.christianalliance.org/site/c.bnKIIQNtEoG/b.667209/k.5987/Equality_for_Gays_and_Lesbians.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=1 December 2005|title=Equality for Gays and Lesbians – Christian Alliance for Progress|date=1 December 2005}}</ref><ref>[http://www.pflagdetroit.org/BibleandHomosexuality.html Bible & Homosexuality Home Page] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150224172958/http://www.pflagdetroit.org/BibleandHomosexuality.html |date=24 February 2015 }}. Pflagdetroit.org (11 December 1998). Retrieved on 2013-08-24.</ref><ref>[http://www.whosoever.org/gayxian/articles.html] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070521212158/http://www.whosoever.org/gayxian/articles.html|date=21 May 2007}}</ref>

=== Consistent life ethic ===
{{main|Consistent life ethic}}
A related strain of thought is the (Catholic and progressive evangelical) [[consistent life ethic]], which sees opposition to [[capital punishment]], [[militarism]], [[euthanasia]], [[abortion]] and the global unequal distribution of wealth as being related. It is an idea with certain concepts shared by [[Abrahamic]] religions as well as some [[Buddhism|Buddhists]], [[Hinduism|Hindus]], and members of other religions. The late Cardinal [[Joseph Bernardin]] of [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago|Chicago]] developed the idea for the consistent life ethic in 1983.<ref>Bernardin, Joseph. ''Consistent ethics of life'' 1988, Sheed and Ward, p. v</ref> [[Sojourners Community|Sojourners]] is particularly associated with this strand of thought.<ref>{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NNqa8dmAZusC&q=sojourners+%22seamless+garment%22&pg=PT230 |title = Prophetic Encounters: Religion and the American Radical Tradition|isbn = 9780807013168|last1 = McKanan|first1 = Dan|date = November 2011| publisher=Beacon Press }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gXp5jJI1bZ8C&q=sojourners+%22seamless+garment%22&pg=PA514 |title = Social Ethics in the Making: Interpreting an American Tradition|isbn = 9781444305777|last1 = Dorrien|first1 = Gary|date = 25 March 2009| publisher=John Wiley & Sons }}</ref>

=== Liberation theology ===
{{Main|Liberation theology}}
{{Further|Latin American liberation theology}}
[[Liberation theology]] is a theological tradition that emerged in the [[developing world]], primarily in [[Latin America]].<ref>{{cite journal |author-last=Løland |author-first=Ole Jakob |date=July 2021 |title=The Solved Conflict: Pope Francis and Liberation Theology |url=https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s41603-021-00137-3.pdf |editor-last=Usarski |editor-first=Frank |journal=International Journal of Latin American Religions |volume=5 |issue=2 |location=[[Berlin]] |publisher=[[Springer Nature]] |pages=287–314 |doi=10.1007/s41603-021-00137-3 |doi-access=free |issn=2509-9957 |eissn=2509-9965}}</ref> Since the 1960s, Catholic thinkers have integrated left-wing thought and Catholicism, giving rise to Liberation theology. It arose at a time when Catholic thinkers who opposed the despotic leaders in [[South America|Southern]] and [[Central America]] allied themselves with the communist opposition. However, it developed independently of and roughly simultaneously with [[Black theology]] in the U.S. and should not be confused with it.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://koinoniarevolution.wordpress.com/2013/01/13/prophets-of-a-modern-era-an-introduction-to-liberation-theology/ |title=Prophets of a Modern Era: An Introduction to Liberation Theology | website=Koinonia Revolution |access-date=2013-10-22 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131027004008/http://koinoniarevolution.wordpress.com/2013/01/13/prophets-of-a-modern-era-an-introduction-to-liberation-theology/ |archive-date=27 October 2013 }}</ref> The [[Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith]] decided that while liberation theology is partially compatible with Catholic social teaching, certain Marxist elements of it, such as the doctrine of perpetual class struggle, are against Church teachings.

== Political parties ==
=== Active ===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
!State
! colspan="2" |Party
!Notes
|-
|{{Flag|Chile}}
|
|[[Christian Democratic Party (Chile)|Christian Democratic Party]]
|
|-
|{{Flag|Greece}}
|
|[[Christian Democracy (Greece)|Christian Democracy]]
|
|-
| rowspan="3" |{{Flag|Italy}}
|
|[[360 Association]], [[AreaDem]], [[Olivists]], [[Reformist Base]], [[Social Christians]], [[Teodem]], [[The Populars]], and [[Veltroniani]]
|Factions within the [[Democratic Party (Italy)|Democratic Party]]
|-
|
|[[Democratic Centre (Italy)|Democratic Centre]]
|
|-
|
|[[Solidary Democracy]]
|
|-
|{{Flag|Netherlands}}
|
|[[Christian Union (Netherlands)|Christian Union]]
|Economic left
|-
|{{Flag|Nicaragua}}
|
|[[Sandinista National Liberation Front]]
|
|-
| rowspan="2" |{{Flag|Poland}}
|
|[[AGROunia]]
| rowspan="2" |Agrarian and nationalist Christian left
|-
|
|[[Self-Defence of the Republic of Poland]]
|-
|{{Flag|Romania}}
|
|[[Social Democratic Party (Romania)|Social Democratic Party]]
|
|-
|{{Flag|Sweden}}
|
|[[Religious Social Democrats of Sweden]]
|Faction within the [[Swedish Social Democratic Party]]
|-
|{{Flag|Switzerland}}
|
|[[Christian Social Party (Switzerland)|Christian Social Party]]
|
|-
|{{Flag|United Kingdom}}
|
|[[Christians on the Left]]
|Faction within the [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]]
|-
| rowspan="2" |{{Flag|United States}}
|
|[[American Solidarity Party]]
| rowspan="2" |Economic left
|-
|
|[[Prohibition Party]]
|-
|{{Flag|Uruguay}}
|
|[[Christian Democratic Party of Uruguay]]
|
|}

=== Defunct ===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
!State
! colspan="2" |Party
!Notes
|-
|{{Flag|Belgium}}
|
|[[Humanist Democratic Centre]]
|Factions only
|-
|{{Flag|Canada}}
|
|[[Co-operative Commonwealth Federation]]
|Merged into the [[New Democratic Party]]
|-
|{{Flag|Chile}}
|
|[[Citizen Left]]
|
|-
|{{Flag|East Germany}}
|
|[[Christian Democratic Union (East Germany)|Christian Democratic Union]]
|Until 1989
|-
| rowspan="2" |{{Flag|Italy}}
|
|[[Democracy is Freedom – The Daisy]]
|Merged into the [[Democratic Party (Italy)|Democratic Party]]
|-
|
|[[Italian People's Party (1994)|Italian People's Party]]
|Merged into [[Democracy is Freedom – The Daisy]]
|-
| rowspan="2" |{{Flag|Netherlands}}
|
|[[Evangelical People's Party (Netherlands)|Evangelical People's Party]]
| rowspan="2" |Merged into [[GroenLinks]]
|-
|
|[[Political Party of Radicals]]
|}

==See also==
=== Early Christianity ===
* [[Christian anarchism]]
* [[Christian communism]]

=== Movements and denominations ===
A number of movements of the past had similarities to today's Christian left:
* [[Anabaptists]]
* [[Catholic Worker Movement]]
* [[Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)]]
* [[Congregationalists]]
* [[Diggers]]
* [[Emergent Church]]
* [[Episcopal Church (United States)]]
* [[Evangelical Lutheran Church in America]]
* [[Tolstoyan movement]]
* [[Fifth Monarchists]]
* [[German Peasants' War]]
* Heretical movements such as the [[Cathars]]
* [[Jesus movement]]
* [[Liberation theology]]
* [[Lollard]]
* [[Peace churches]]
* [[Progressive National Baptist Convention]]
* [[Quakers]]
* Role of Christians in the [[Peasants' Revolt]] in England, see Lollard priest [[John Ball (priest)|John Ball]]
* [[Seventh-day Adventist Church]]
* [[Unitarianism]]
* [[United Church of Christ]]
* [[Universalism]]
* [[Waldenses]]

=== Other ===
* [[Christian democracy]]
* [[Christian libertarianism]]
* [[Christian pacifism]]
* [[Christian politics]]
* [[Christian socialism]]
* [[Evangelical left]]
* [[Homosexuality and Christianity]]
* [[International League of Religious Socialists]]
* [[Jewish left]]
* [[Left-wing populism]]
* [[Liberal Christianity]]
* [[Pacifism]]
* [[Political Catholicism]]
* [[Progressive Christianity]]
* [[Progressive Muslim vote]]
* [[Religion and abortion]]
* [[Religious communism]]
* [[Religious socialism]]
* [[Religious Society of Friends]]
* [[Social Gospel]]
* [[Spiritual left]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== Bibliography ==
* Young, Shawn David (2015). ''Gray Sabbath: Jesus People USA, the Evangelical Left, and the Evolution of Christian Rock''. New York: Columbia University Press.

== External links ==
* {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090612101848/http://www.americansocialistvoter.com/ |title=American Socialist Voter |date=2009-06-12}} – Educational and interactive networking (non-partisan)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060106190531/http://www.anglocatholicsocialism.org/ Anglo-Catholic Socialism]
* {{webarchive |url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20080919020516/http://www.crossleft.org/ |title=CrossLeft: Balancing the Christian Voice, Organizing the Christian Left |date=2008-09-19}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20180810114852/http://christianleftist.org/ The Christian Leftist: The 'Religious' 'Right' Is Neither]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20040805202532/http://religiousmovements.lib.virginia.edu/nrms/Callrenu.html Religious Movements Homepage: Call to Renewal: Christians for a New Political Vision]
* {{webarchive |url=https://archive.today/20080831212520/http://www.socialdemocraticpartyofamerica.org/pointsofunity.htm |title=Points of Unity for Social Democratic Branches within the USA |date=2008-08-31}}
* [http://www.religioussocialism.com/vision.html Religion and Socialism Commission of the Democratic Socialists of America]
* {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070702113917/http://sp-usa.org/commissions/index.html |title=Socialism and Faith Commission of the Socialist Party USA |date=2007-07-02}}
* [http://www.sojo.net Sojourners Magazine]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060924235745/http://www.socialredemption.net/ Social Redemption]
* {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061206124025/http://www.tcpc.org/template/index.cfm |title=The Center for Progressive Christianity |date=2006-12-06}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060722010005/http://www.christianalliance.org/site/c.bnKIIQNtEoG/b.592941/k.CB7C/Home.htm The Christian Alliance for Progress]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20190116120506/https://www.knownauthor.com/ Known Author – discussion forum for liberal Christians]
* [http://www.zompist.com/meetthepoor.html The Bible on the Poor: Or Why God is a Liberal]

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Christian Left}}
[[Category:Christianity and political ideologies|Left]]
[[Category:Christian terminology]]
[[Category:Economic progressivism]]
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