Young Evangelicals Ditch the Right

I posted the video of Meghan McCain's Maddow interview earlier this week and while she's probably an expert on the ways in which the GOP is hemoraging young people because the religious right is scaring people off... here is further evidence that the extremist points of view in a much more modern time are becoming more moderate and mainstream.

A good friend who is a very faithful man sent me a piece he saw on Alternet that talks about Equality Ride a project of Soulforce Q. They have young LGBTQ folks riding around the country on a bus visiting evangelical colleges in the south to bring a public face to issues often opposed by that community and "to cut off homophobia at its source -- religious bigotry."

"Soulforce recognized that encouraging young people to engage in conversation with their peers who hold conservative views about homosexuality could be transformative for both sides."

"The Equality Ride targeted students whose identities as Christian are central to their lives. Such students' choice of attending a Christian school probably helps them resist some of the social pressures of modern life. A loving confrontation by fellow young people with contrasting views on homosexuality was designed to challenge orthodoxy and certainty."

Its a little like an intervention - we're doing this because we love you and we don't want you to live like this anymore... The light at the end of the tunnel is that young evangelicals still might be conservative but

"At the same time they are more inclined than their parents to support social justice efforts such as environmental stewardship, anti-poverty programs, or HIV/AIDS treatment. While they mostly believe that homosexuality is a sin, at least some of them support employment and housing rights for LGBTQ people."

Its a good start.

The piece goes on to say that out of the 4,000 colleges and universities in the US about 400 are Christian schools that identify as evangelical Protestant.

"Students attending these colleges enter environments where conservative Christian values are celebrated, and often codified. Most of these schools
explicitly prohibit drinking, smoking, sexual activity, and homosexuality, and some require students and staff to sign faith statements."

My friend told me that Barry Goldwater once said about campaigning "you go hunting where the ducks are." He said he thinks young evangelicals in Oklahoma, Texas and Kansas are areas prime with game if we want to reach folks. He believes some of the younger believers would be very open to the progressive, environmental stewardship for example not to mention a social justice message.

He's right. The article says that for evangelicals that know at least one LGBT person

"this issue [a constitutional amendment banning same sex marriage] became greatly troubling. The vast majority of conservative Christians strongly believe that marriage should be restricted to between a man and a woman, but they also value human rights and don't think that the government should treat anyone unfairly."

Hope and change.... hope and change...