Faith in social justice
Saying that “inequality is the root of social evil,” Pope Francis has made economic justice a focus of his papacy. With young Americans turning away from organized faith communities, though, can religion really play a part in progressive social movements, as it did in the 1960s? Dan McKanan, Ralph Waldo Emerson Unitarian Universalist Association Senior Lecturer in Divinity at Harvard Divinity School (HDS), shares his thoughts on a new report from the Brookings Institution that contends that “religious voices will remain indispensable to movements on behalf of the poor, the marginalized, and middle-class Americans.” HDS: Last week the Brookings Institution released “Faith in Equality: Economic Justice and the Future of Religious Progressives,” a report that “details the challenges and opportunities religiously affiliated progressives face in building a movement for economic justice.” Do you agree with the authors’ conclusion that religion can continue to play an important role in U.S. social movements, despite...