I am hostile to those who would use their faith as an excuse for bigotry and intolerance. I also believe (perhaps naively) that there exists a huge number of people of faith who are victims of their leaders. These are good people, led astray by ancient superstitions and prejudices. I am encouraged by this story:
The Journey, a megachurch of mostly younger evangelicals, is representative of a new generation that refuses to put politics at the center of its faith and rejects identification with the religious right.
They say they are tired of the culture wars. They say they do not want the test of their faith to be the fight against gay rights. They say they want to broaden the traditional evangelical anti-abortion agenda to include care for the poor, the environment, immigrants and people with H.I.V., according to experts on younger evangelicals and the young people themselves.
"Evangelicalism is becoming somewhat less coherent as a movement or as an identity," said Christian Smith, a sociology professor at the University of Notre Dame. "Younger people don't even want the label anymore. They don't believe the main goal of the church is to be political."
Make no mistake. These young people are not on our side, but they seem to be able to examine their consciences and question their Authorities.
These young people are, in my opinion, educable.
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