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Let's talk about that @ChrisCoons article that @Morning_Joe retweeted yesterday because... well because it's bad y'all. For reference here's the article in question, which was published last week: theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/…
The first thing I want to point out is that the article conflates "religion" with Christianity. It's clearly talking about Christianity and at no point does it correctly state it's honest basic premise: Democratic Christians should talk about Christianity.
It does this weird thing wherein it conflates religion and faith with Christianity but it never talks about Jewish Democrats, Muslim Democrats, atheistic or humanistic Democrats, Buddhistic Democrats or any polytheistic Democrats. But all of us exist and vote y'all & we matter.
If this article wanted to talk about RELIGIOUS Democrats and not just CHRISTIAN Democrats it would have. Especially because the majority of non-Christian theistic politicians in the USA are Democrats. This is a huge point for the religious left. thehindu.com/news/internati…
The Democratic Party is, in fact, a coalition of different faiths, and the overwhelming majority of non-Christians in office are Democrats y'all. That's a KEY argument the religious left should be making, but for some reason a lot of them don't make that argument.
What Senator Coons is discussing in this article of his is for there to be a reformation of sorts among Democratic Christians, but don't for a second think he wants non-Christians who are Democrats to discuss their faiths. He doesn't. If he did he would say so. Yet he doesn't.
I think Democrats discussing faith distract us from the real issues plaguing our country and divide us, but if we are to discuss faith then let's do so honestly and not use the word "faith" as a tool to push away non-Christian Democrats. Let's celebrate religious diversity.
Here's the thing: Democrats can do that. The Democratic Party is uniquely situated to celebrate religious diversity because it is a religiously diverse party. That should have been the focus of Senator Coons' article assuming he was being forthright with his premise. He wasn't.
Senator Coons wants us to ignore secular voters, which is a bad idea. Don't do that. Don't downplay secular voters, even if you find that your faith is a powerful political weapon. Progressive Christians are a powerful political force, but so are non-Christian & secular voters.
Senator Coons clearly wants Christian Democrats to make their faith a bigger part of their platform. He was probably scared of being honest about that, but it's his argument. He should own it. It's okay to say that. But he shouldn't conflate his party with Christianity.
One of the greatest strengths of the Democratic Party is that it is a diverse party strengthened by members of all faiths as well as by members who have no faith. Senator Coons article is bad because of the conflations it makes and how it ignores diversity among Democrats.
As a proud member of the Democratic Party I am going to tell the Senator something: I am a secular person, I have no faith, at least not of the religious variety, I'm going to run for office and when I do I will be forthright about my humanism, in the South. And I'm gonna win.
Democrats don't need to talk about their faith. It won't help us win. What we need to talk about are the issues, in ways that are universal and don't rely on us sharing the beliefs of our constituents but us uplifting the lives of everyone in our districts.
And if Democrats are to talk about our faiths, I hope we do so in ways that are inclusive, focus on our party's diversity, and highlight beliefs that bring us together even with people who don't share our beliefs. We need to be the party of hope, progress & kindness.
Our diversity makes us a wonderful party. Celebrating that doesn't & shouldn't mean "Preach the Gospel at all times. When necessary, use words." as Senator Coons famously says in his article. That is not the American way, nor should be it the way of the Democrats.
This has been a long thread, but I hope that @ChrisCoons reads it. Because it's important. It's important that people recognize what non-Christian Democrats are saying. Our party isn't a Christian party. Nor should it be. Our emphasis should be inclusion, hope & progress.
If Senator Coons thinks our party is a Christian party and not a party of inclusion, hope & diversity, then I will happily prove him wrong. I and hundreds of other currently elected as well as soon to be elected politicians will prove him wrong.
If you're a Democrat and you want to talk about faith, go ahead. I just hope you do so in a way that brings people of diverse beliefs together in hope, kindness, and inclusion. Because when I talk about humanism, I'll do so in ways that bring my constituents together.
