Religious left.

• Author: Peters, Charles
• Position: Tilting at Windmills

Our campaign to take religion back from the fight recently became less lonely. "More than 350 political liberals of many faiths gathered in Washington," reports The Washington Post, "to begin what some pollsters say is a quixotic task: restoring the voice of the religious left in the nation's political debate." The gathering was brought together by John Podesta, Clinton's last chief of staff, who now heads the Center for American Progress.

One of the speakers was Taylor Branch, the author of Parting the Waters and one of the most distinguished of the Monthly's alumni. Branch explained that the great surge of the Christian left that was a major factor in the civil rights revolution fell apart and lost its steam over the issue of abortion, with most liberals becoming rabidly pro-choice. To reach out to moderate Christians, Branch argues, the left must move beyond polemics:

"Not many people who call themselves pro-choice actually want to celebrate abortion, and not many of those who call themselves pro-file want to put women in jail for having abortions. It's more of a show than a debate with polarizing options that aren't real. Both sides profess that they love children, but you really don't have the two sides doing very much to...