Huh?
Christian group vows to counter religious right
By Tom Stuckey
ASSOCIATED PRESSJ
uly 24, 2005

COLUMBIA, Md. -- Some Marylanders who describe themselves as progressive Christians are organizing to counter conservative religious groups that they say are dominating political debates about moral and religious issues.

"We've allowed the Christian right to commandeer and exclusively appropriate the term Christian for themselves," said Paul Verduin, a Silver Spring resident who has helped start Maryland Christians for Justice and Peace. "We refuse to be marginalized by some of their right-wing and extreme positions.

" To be sure, conservative and fundamentalist churches that once avoided politics are increasingly active in national and state governments over the last three decades -- lobbying state and federal legislators on such issues as abortion, stem-cell research and same-sex "marriage."

Conservative religious groups played an important role in some battleground states in the 2004 presidential election, including Florida and Ohio, both of which President Bush won.

The 20 persons who gathered recently at an Episcopal church in Columbia to talk about the future of the new group came from a variety of religious backgrounds, including the Church of Christ and Lutheran, Methodist and Roman Catholic churches. They also have been active in issues such as civil rights, the environment, war and helping the poor and elderly.

A big first step for members has been to agree on which issues to focus. So far they are united on one issue: the belief that the most important teachings of Jesus are not dominating the political dialogue in Maryland and elsewhere in the country.

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