The Unknown Brothers: Progressives and Religious Conservatives

In the United States few political rivalries compare to those between "liberals" and "religious conservatives". Looking more closely at both groups' doctrines however, one begins to see neither faction is really all that far off from the other. With a few minor differences put aside these two forces could create a substantial shift in U.S. politics.

Perhaps one of the most notable religious excerpts which favor liberal politics is the Sermon on the Mount. Here we can find allusions to non-violence with statements made by Jesus Christ such as "turn the other check". Of course, these direct quotes do not simply stop there. Again, we see more liberal leaning stances with, "if someone asks you for your shirt, give him your jacket, too", and "the greatest among you is the servant of all".

These thoughts not only come from a text written roughly 2,000 years ago, but also from more recent declarations made by prominent individuals such as Pope Leo XIII. "A firm and preserving determination to commit oneself to the common good; that is to say, to the good off all and of each individual, because we are all really responsible for all." Even going as far as alluding to economic equality with his statement, "Solidarity helps us to see the 'other' - Whether a person, people, or nation - not just as some kind of instrument, with a work capacity and physical strength to be exploited at low cost and then discarded when no longer useful, but as our 'neighbor,' or 'helper' to be made a sharer on par with ourselves in the banquet of life to which all are equally invited by God."

Many of these statements found in religious texts are fully compatible to modern progressive thought. Why should someone be entitled to 45 million dollars of income a year and another only 20,000 dollars? It is highly unlikely the lifestyle of that individual with 45 million dollars would be changed at all of he only made 44 million dollars. However, should you give a fraction of that million dollars to someone making 20,000 dollars, say a simple sum of 10,000 dollars from that total, their life would be altered quite noticeably. It is these subtle differences in wealth which create the deplorable conditions between appalling poverty and insatiable wealth.

Of course, modern laissez-faire advocates would condemn such a thought, saying our system of prosperity only exists because individuals can obtain anything their heart desires and have no limits. This however, is contradictory to one chief thought for religious conservatives. The entire notion of being humble and living for the betterment of all, not merely yourself, must once again retain a prominent standing within conservatives viewpoints.

Perhaps it is one of the conservative and laissez-faire movements' most profound followers, Ayn Rand, who shows the ultimate challenge to uniting progressives and religious conservatives. In a 1961 interview she aptly stated, "Religion is a private matter and must not be brought into political issues." It is a simple matter of realizing both groups are essentially advocating for the same end, simply with different means; one being secular and the other spiritual in nature.