Thread by @emmaogreen

Over the past few weeks, we've seen a huge amount of hopefulness about 2020 from folks who identify as the "religious left," and nobody has inspired that more than Pete Buttigieg, who argues that Christianity has a progressive-friendly message.

But! 1/x

theatlantic.com/politics/archi…

A few notes for the wave of religious-left enthusiasm. The first is that campaign infrastructure, time, and dollars matter more than rhetoric for getting votes. Where will 2020 Dems put their resources? 2/x
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Two: Faith language is often window dressing in politics. That leads to events that look like “Noah’s ark," with "50 religious leaders [talking] about how dang moral the Democrats are versus the Republicans," as @shauncasey57 put it. 3/x
theatlantic.com/politics/archi…

@shauncasey57 Three: How much will 2020 Dems like Pete Buttigieg purposefully weave faith and moral purpose into their policies and message? So far, a lot of the God talk has been reactive. As @MichaelRWear put it, "most of the faith outreach has been done by CNN.” 4/x
theatlantic.com/politics/archi…

@shauncasey57 @MichaelRWear Finally: It is simply not the case that there is a religious left that is equal and opposite to the behemoth of institutions and dollars that we call the religious right. Rhetoric is one thing. Manpower and money is another. 5/x
theatlantic.com/politics/archi…

@shauncasey57 @MichaelRWear No doubt, 2020 Dems are faith-curious. They see an opening to take the moral high ground and take down Donald Trump. But there's still a lot ahead to determine what role religion is going to play in left politics in 2020.
theatlantic.com/politics/archi…

P.S. Some must-read links on 2020 Dems and faith:

@spulliam interviews Pete Buttigieg:
washingtonpost.com/religion/2019/…

@jackmjenkins interviews Cory Booker:
religionnews.com/2018/10/24/cor…

And some history, @amychozick on HRC's [faith-related] missteps:
nytimes.com/2016/11/10/us/…