Sixty years ago, as he campaigned for president, Democratic presidential candidate John F. Kennedy promised voters that his Catholic faith would not interfere with his duties as president:
“I believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute, where no Catholic prelate would tell the president (should he be Catholic) how to act, and no Protestant minister would tell his parishioners for whom to vote; where no church or church school is granted any public funds or political preference; and where no man is denied public office merely because his religion differs from the president who might appoint him or the people who might elect him.”
Kennedy was shielding himself from claims rooted in anti-Catholic bigotry that he would be disloyal to the government of the United States. But in the years since, the politics of emphasizing your faith have totally changed.
Our 35th president would not have recognized this year’s campaign, which pitted two visions of religious faith—with both candidates vying for the endorsements of Jews, Catholics, and evangelical Christians. Faith leaders will continue to influence public policy.
But even in the 21st century—at a time when mixing faith and politics is the norm—it is difficult for progressive faith leaders to make a difference.
That’s largely because the people progressives want to influence largely are not religiously devout. In 2016, Hillary Clinton won more than six out of ten votes cast by those who did not identify with any faith. That was far better than she did with Protestants and Catholics. (Jewish voters remain strongly Democratic.)
Nevertheless, if faith does not move mountains these days, faith leaders can and do influence the progressive debate. Many of these leaders have found support and kinship through the historic Auburn Seminary in New York City, which awards fellowships to promising progressive faith leaders, helping them to work together and commit to common social justice goals. Some of the individuals profiled are well-known, others are not. All are making unique contributions at the intersection of faith and politics. Here are some leaders to watch in 2021:
The Rev. Dr. William Barber was one of the Black religious leaders who wrote to Biden in mid-August, urging him to nominate a Black woman for vice president, warning that Biden’s failure to do so would cost him the election, and arguing that for too long Black women had not assumed their rightful place in the party. Known for his social justice activism, in 2013 Barber led the grassroots “Moral Mondays” movement in South Carolina to protest policies advanced by an ultra-conservative Republican legislature and governor that hurt the poor and threatened to deny political power to people of color in the state. He’s been a fierce advocate for access to healthcare for the poor, charging that the repeal of the Affordable Care Act would be the country’s greatest “moral failing” since slavery. His eloquence and charisma have led some to consider him the rightful successor to slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.
In the faith political space where men often take most of the oxygen, April Baskin holds a key leadership role in the Union for Reform Judaism, comprised of nearly 850 Jewish congregations throughout North America. Named in 2015 as Vice President of its Audacious Hospitality initiative, Baskin is the daughter of a Jewish mother and African-American father who has worked to make Jewish communities more racially diverse and inclusive. As Black and white Jews have mobilized against racial injustice, Baskin has been on the front lines, marching against police violence, lending support to Jewish people of color.
Rev. Jennifer Butler heads Faith in Public Life, a D.C.-based nonprofit that connects an estimated 50,000 progressive faith leaders in many denominations throughout the country in a fight for “social justice and the common good.” Butler, an author and Presbyterian minister, chaired President Barack Obama’s Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. She’s chastised white Christian women for not doing enough to fight the systemic racism that benefits them and their families but oppresses Black women and their loved ones. A strong critic of Trump’s policies, Butler also has made clear that unlike conservative Christians, the progressive believers she represents are willing to criticize Democrats when they fail to live up to social justice values. “We see ourselves as reporting to a higher authority,” she said in 2017.
Sister Simone Campbell: As executive director of NETWORK, a social justice lobby based in Washington, DC and founded by women religious in 1971, Campbell made headlines with her first “Nuns on the Bus” tour of the U.S. in 2012, critiquing House Republican budget proposals, and calling attention to the ways that budget would hurt the poor. Campbell’s NETWORK also campaigned for the Obama administration’s Affordable Care Act, extolling it as a “pro-life” initiative, a position that put her at odds with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, wary that the law would spend federal dollars on abortion. Campbell is a seasoned lobbyist who knows when to quietly advance her agenda on Capitol Hill and when to use grassroots politics—and the media—to make her point. On October 20, Campbell announced she would retire as NETWORK’s head in March 2021. Nevertheless, expect her to speak forcefully to a new administration about NETWORK’s priorities in the coming months.
Stosh Cotler leads Bend the Arc, the progressive Jewish social action nonprofit, and Bend the Arc PAC, which contributes to progressive candidates. Over her 30 years as a social justice organizer, media outlets as diverse as the Jewish Forward, the New York Times, and Glamour Magazine have paid attention to her influence on the national political discussion. Cotler, who was a victim of an abusive relationship as a young woman, has called out President Donald Trump’s sexual abuse history, and how his approach to governing reflects that history.
Bishop Michael Curry, the descendant of slaves, is the first African American to hold the title of presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church in the U.S. Curry’s joyous and rousing sermon at the royal wedding of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry made headlines in 2018, as did his forthright exhortation that Christians must use the “redemptive power of love” in their lives. Curry is known for his work to advance social justice, racial reconciliation, immigration reform, and marriage equality. Although he’s largely stayed nonpartisan in his official statements, Curry strongly condemned President Donald Trump for his use of St. John’s Episcopal Church near the White House for a photo op in the wake of protests of the police killing of George Floyd. He accused the president of using a “church building and the Holy Bible for partisan political purposes.” At a time of “deep hurt and pain in our country,” Curry’s statement continued, “his actions did nothing to help us or heal us.”
Julian DeShazier, pastor of University Church, Chicago, is also the Christian rapper, J.Kwest. He’s been active in promoting better healthcare options for the residents of Chicago’s Southside, and forged a partnership with University of Chicago Medicine, and now chairs its new Community Advisory Council. He played a key role in a grassroots coalition that successfully pushed for the development of an emergency care and trauma center for the South side. In 2017, Crain’s Chicago Business named him one of the city’s “40 under 40” leaders.
Cardinal Wilton Gregory, named the nation’s first African American cardinal, the highest office in the church, aside from pope. In 2019, when he was named the head of D.C.’s archdiocese, he became the nation’s only African American archbishop. Gregory literally has a “bully pulpit” near the White House from which he can instruct the new president. Gregory sharply rebuked Trump for using an Episcopal church near the White House and a Bible as props for a photo op, as police cleared his path, tear gassing peaceful crowds protesting the police killing of George Floyd. As the first Black president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Gregory had been known for his non-confrontational style. But now, presiding over one of the country’s most racially diverse Catholic communities, he might prove a vigorous advocate for civil rights in the new administration.
Evangelical minister and ethics professor David Gushee became a pariah among many in his flock when he wrote, “Changing Our Mind” in 2014, reversing his long-held condemnation of homosexual conduct, and urging evangelicals to accept LGBTQ individuals. In his 2017 memoir, “Still Christian,” Gushee wrote that he was leaving his high-profile role as a “public intellectual” and no longer considers himself an evangelical, but remains a faithful believer. Will the opportunity to reclaim America’s soul pull him back into the fray?
Van Jones is not usually identified as a faith leader. But the grandson of a Black Methodist minister, whose early career as an attorney was spent on police reform, preached to a TV audience about the power of forgiveness in his CNN series, “The Redemption Project.” The series, which aired in 2019, brought victims and perpetrators together in an effort to provide restorative justice. Jones has said that the program is about faith, grace and the power of forgiveness. He also observed that the words “God” and “prayer” were uttered more often on these segments than in the entire universe of cable television programming. “We’ve got to start giving people the opportunity to come home, and do well and make the contributions that God made them to give,” Jones contended. Jones may be a powerful spokesman for prison reform in 2021.
Rabbi Jonah Pesner, an energetic community organizer who had successfully collaborated with other faiths to achieve greater access to healthcare in Massachusetts, became director of Reform Judaism’s Religious Action Center (RAC) in 2015. He was tasked with bringing the group’s advocacy into the 21st century. RAC now has organizers in Jewish communities in D.C., as well as Texas, California, Illinois and New York. RAC opposes anti-Semitism, but its issue portfolio is much broader and includes gun control, reproductive rights, and immigration reform. Racial justice remains a major priority. In 2019, Posner led a successful effort to commit the Union of Reform Judaism’s 850 congregations to support a federal commission considering slavery reparations for African Americans. He said that the time had come for a “national conversation” on systemic racism.
Sister Helen Prejean’s book “Dead Man Walking” made her the poster child of the anti-death-penalty movement in the U.S. The book was the basis for the critically acclaimed film of the same name. She is also the only nun to have been played on screen by Susan Sarandon, who won an Oscar for the role. Prejean uses social media adeptly; she has more than 100,000 Twitter followers. At a time when systemic racism in law enforcement is being discussed in Congress, is this her moment to push for an end to the death penalty?
Linda Sarsour called President Barack Obama “terrible on civil rights,” but was later honored as a “Champion of Change” by the Obama White House. The Palestinian American had been part of the progressive Million Muslim Votes effort in the 2020 election, but her support of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement against Israel and defense of Palestinian rights led the Biden campaign to disavow her last August, a move than even some progressive Jewish groups found unwise and contrary to the “big tent” philosophy Democrats espoused. Sarsour’s activism may be a thorn in the side of a new administration.
The Rev. Alyn E. Waller, a senior pastor at Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church in Philadelphia, with 15,000 members, backed Biden in 2019, when many had written off the former vice president after his lackluster performance in primary debates. Waller contended that Black voters could trust Biden to help them “get their footing back” after the Trump years. Biden is not likely to forget that early support and Waller’s efforts to increase Black voter turnout in 2020.
Jim Wallis may be a “rara avis” in U.S. church circles. The popular author has been called a progressive evangelical who embraces the Black Lives Matter movement and opposes the Trump administration’s stance on immigration and civil rights. As a young man, Wallis grew disillusioned with the evangelical faith and segregated white churches of his childhood, and sought a deeper faith in the Black churches of Detroit. Nearly 50 years ago, Wallis founded Sojourners magazine, whose print and online presence reaches an estimated 5 million readers a year. Last August, Wallis stepped down as editor in chief of Sojourners amid a controversy over his decision to remove a story critical of Catholics from the publication’s site. He recently welcomed Adam Russell Taylor as Sojourners new president. Nevertheless, Wallis will continue to write for the publication and be active in the “Circle of Protection” coalition focused on alleviating poverty.
Dr. Barbara Williams-Skinner: If prayers could move mountains, Skinner would have nudged the Rockies a few feet. She has a practice of praying for members of Congress and sending daily scriptural readings to many lawmakers. Skinner is a co-convener of the National African American Clergy Network, representing 15 million members. A former executive director of the Congressional Black Caucus, she helped found the annual Black Caucus Foundation Prayer Breakfast. In 2012, the Obama administration honored her work with low-income young men of color by naming her a “Champion of Change.” Marriage to her late husband Rev. Tom Skinner prompted her to leave Congress and join him in the ministry. They both founded the Skinner Leadership Institute, which aims to produce a “new cadre” of leaders who are “technically excellent and spiritually mature.”
Rev. Raphael Warnock: Even if doesn't win his Senate race in Georgia, Warnock—the senior pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta (Martin Luther King Jr.'s church)—will be an important figure to watch in coming years, as Georgia continues to turn blue. And if Warnock does become a U.S. Senator, he'll be a figure unlike any other seen in that chamber before.
