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| <back | home Network of Spiritual Progressives Launched at Berkeley Conference by Sally Carless Many religious and political leaders would have us believe that “God” is American, votes Republican, believes in bombing countries into peace and freedom, and thinks that only people of the opposite sex should fall in love with each other. Could it be, though, that God is actually not a card-carrying member of the Republican Party with an American flag flying outside her door? That it is not just conservatives who define their lives and their voting in terms of what is sacred to them? That people can have a connection with divinity — whatever that might mean to them — without using it as a weapon or as a means of division? The 1,300+ people (hundreds more had to be turned away) who gathered in Berkeley in late July for the Spiritual Activism Conference would answer with a resounding “Yes!” There is a new movement afoot, a call to spiritual progressives to bring their spirituality out of the closet, church, mosque, temple, meditation room, etc. and into the world. The conference marked the launch of the Network of Spiritual Progressives (NSP), a grassroots interfaith organization formed around the ideas articulated in Rabbi Michael Lerner’s article, “Why America Needs a Spiritual Left.” The conference was convened by the Tikkun Community, an interfaith organization chaired by Rabbi Lerner and co-chaired by Sister Joan Chittister and Professor Cornel West. Tikkun means to heal, repair, and transform the world, and that was certainly the aim of the activists gathered on the UC Berkeley campus. The Spiritual Activism Conference brought together a diverse group that included: progressive social change activists, educators, scientists, Palestinians and Israelis seeking reconciliation, lawyers, doctors, and spiritual leaders from a wide spectrum of traditions including Buddhists, Jews, Christians, Muslims, pagans, and atheists. Everyone who came to speak (over 100 presenters) paid their own way. Some of the more well-known speakers included Jim Wallis (author of God’s Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn’t Get It — reviewed in this issue), Matthew Fox, Fritjof Capra, Riane Eisler, Arun Gandhi, Mubarak Awad, and Joan Borysenko. Workshop topics covered a wide range, including: the environment; globalization; science, technology, and spirituality; reproductive rights and sexuality; and building a spiritual politics within the feminist, civil rights, gay rights, labor and green movements. A recurring theme at the conference was the need for a progressive politics of meaning that speaks to people’s longings. Lerner asks people to “Imagine if John Kerry had been able to counter George W. Bush by insisting that a serious religious person would never turn his back on the suffering of the poor, that the Bible’s injunction to love one’s neighbor required us to provide health care for all, and that the New Testament’s command to ‘turn the other cheek’ should give us a predisposition against responding to violence with violence.” Spirituality and social issues are a natural partnership, and linking them does not have to mean forcing religious beliefs on anyone. Lerner states that “We are not advocating that people on the Left should all become religious or spiritual. What we are advocating for is a Left that is friendly not only to secularists and militant atheists, but also to people of faith who share a commitment to peace, social justice, and ecological sanity but who also believe that an even more powerful critique of this society can be rooted in challenging the way this society’s capitalist marketplace fosters an ethos of selfishness and materialism.” The goals of the Network of Spiritual Progressives (NSP) are: Challenge the misuse of God to justify militarism, dismantling of social justice and ecological programs, and assaults on the rights of women, gays, and lesbians. Challenge the anti-spiritual biases in some parts of “The Left.” Support a New Bottom Line of kindness, generosity, ecological sensitivity, and awe and wonder at the grandeur of the universe to replace the dominant ethos of selfishness and materialism. This conference was just the first step in the development of the Network of Spiritual Progressives. Statements from the Berkeley work groups’ collaborations will be posted on NSP’s site. Participants at a follow-up conference in Washington, D.C. in the spring of 2006 will expand upon their work. Michael Lerner’s newest book, The Left Hand of God, will be published in January, 2006. Rabbi Lerner envisions this work leading to the creation of a platform for spiritual progressives, which the NSP hopes to present at the Democratic National Convention in 2008. If you have been longing for a progressive activist movement that speaks not just to your political views but also to your heart and soul, then take a look at the Network of Spiritual Progressives. Building the movement is truly a grassroots effort; there are numerous ways to get involved. Local NSP groups are springing up around the country. Anyone inspired by NSP’s vision is welcome to join NSP, join a local group, or start their own group. For more information visit www.tikkun.org or www.spiritualprogressives.org. Sally Carless is passionately committed to a vision of a more peaceful, just, and loving world. She is also a writer, musician, and founding director of Global Village School (www.GlobalVillageSchool.org). <back | top^ |