Thought Theater

In a recent presentation, E.J. Dionne discussed the waning influence of the religious right and the general shift in the focus of religious organizations to include issues that have been relegated to the back burner for the last thirty years. Dionne's presentation is included in the video below.

Dionne offers insights into the politics of faith and how religious organizations are undergoing a sort of reformation that includes a dismantling or reworking of the political alliances that have made them a formidable voting block.

Dionne points out that much of the ideology embraced by evangelicals would not be compatible with the teachings of Jesus. Dionne posits that the agenda of these organizations includes a reconnection with some of the issues that might have garnered the attention of Jesus.

Dionne calls it a "whole bird" mentality...meaning that some religious organizations are moving away from the left-right view of politics and attempting to embrace all of the Jesus' values and not simply the issues that became their link to the GOP and served to blindly unite evangelicals behind Republican candidates.

Dionne closes with an argument that social justice may be reemerging as the defining value and is in many ways a return to the principals that made the movie, It's A Wonderful Life, such a success.