{"id":641,"date":"2009-01-15T10:45:47","date_gmt":"2009-01-15T10:45:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/stevenwaldman\/2009\/01\/centrist-evangelicals-forge-ne.html"},"modified":"2009-01-15T10:45:47","modified_gmt":"2009-01-15T10:45:47","slug":"centrist-evangelicals-forge-ne","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/stevenwaldman\/2009\/01\/centrist-evangelicals-forge-ne.html","title":{"rendered":"Centrist Evangelicals Forge New Agenda on Abortion, Gays, Torture and Immigration"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rachel Laser of the advocacy group Third Way<\/a> called it the “official beginning of the ending of the culture war.” Hmmm. This may not be quite “Mission Accomplished” territory but I suspect her prediction is a tad premature.
\nNonetheless, what was announced — a document called “Come Let Us Reason Together” — was genuinely noteworthy and possibly significant. Her group, along with Faith in Public Life,<\/a> has been working with a small cabal of centrist evangelicals to create a common ground agenda on the hottest culture war issues.
\nAnd they have made progress. Most significant…
\nThey got gay marriage opponents like Rev. Joel Hunter and Sam Rodriguez (the latter of whom actively supported Proposition 8 in California) to sign on to a gay rights agenda focused on employment discrimination and other issues. They got pro-gay rights leaders to stop shunning the likes of Rodrigues and Hunter.
\nSecond, they got pro-life evangelicals to endorse comprehensive sex education as a key part of reducing unintended pregnancies. Conversely, they got liberals to agree that the emphasis should be on abstinence and that there should be more government aid to fix the adoption system.
\nThe group also renounced torture and endorsed comprehensive immigration reform.
\nIt will be interesting to see whether any hardcore conservatives or liberals back the package.
\nBelow the jump is the full platform and full list of participants:<\/p>\n


\nPOLICY: Reducing Abortions Through Common Ground Policies<\/strong>
\nCommon ground on abortion means reducing abortions in America through
\npolicies that address the circumstances that lead to abortion: preventing unintended
\npregnancies and supporting pregnant women who wish to carry their pregnancies to
\nterm, as well as increasing support for adoption. This approach involves the following
\npolicy tracks:
\n1. Preventing unintended pregnancies.<\/u> Prevention policies include grants for sex
\neducation (age-appropriate, medically accurate and complete contraceptive
\ninformation with an abstinence emphasis) and support for teen pregnancy
\nprevention programs, including after school programs and resources to help
\nparents better communicate with teens, and increased access to contraception
\nfor low-income women.
\n2. Supporting pregnant women through to parenthood and support for new
\nfamilies.<\/u> Support policies include expanding Medicaid coverage of pregnant
\nwomen and S-CHIP coverage of children, prohibiting pregnancy from being
\nclassified as a pre-existing condition by insurance providers, and providing
\nsupport for pregnant and parenting students who are in school.
\n3. Increasing support for adoption<\/u>. Adoption support policies include expanding
\nadoption tax credit assistance and supporting optional adoption services at
\ngroup homes for pregnant and parenting women.
\nPOLICY: Protecting the Rights of Gay and Lesbian People to Earn a Living<\/strong>
\nEven amidst our different beliefs about the issue of sexual orientation, we agree on a
\npolicy that protects the basic rights of gay and lesbian people in the workplace. This
\npolicy has two provisions, which are grounded in core American values of fairness and
\nthe Golden Rule on the one hand and religious liberty on the other:
\n1. Making it illegal to fire, refuse to hire, or refuse to promote employees
\nsimply based on their sexual orientation<\/u>. This policy protects the basic rights
\nof gay and lesbian people to earn a living, and it is careful not to create, or imply,
\nany rights for gay and lesbian people that every other citizen does not already
\nhave.
\n2. Providing a clear exemption for faith-based employers that is identical to
\nthe religious exemption in Title VII of the Civil Rights Acts of 1964 (as
\nspecified in the bipartisan H.R. 3685, the Employment Non-Discrimination
\nAct).<\/u> We affirm that no legislation to protect the human dignity and rights of gay
\nand lesbian people should threaten the religious liberty of churches and other
\nreligious
\nPOLICY: Renouncing Torture<\/strong>
\nWe agree that the use of torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment against
\nprisoners is immoral, unwise, and un-American. We must be better than our enemies,
\nand our treatment of prisoners captured in the battle against terrorism must reflect our
\ncharacter and values as Americans.
\nWe agree that the U.S. should adopt a clear stance against torture that includes the
\nfollowing core provisions, modeled on the bipartisan Campaign to Ban Torture’s
\n“Declaration of Principles for a Presidential Executive Order on Prisoner Treatment,
\nTorture and Cruelty”:
\n1. Following the “Golden Rule.”<\/u> We will not authorize or use any methods of
\ninterrogation that we would not find acceptable if used against Americans, be
\nthey civilians or soldiers.
\n2. Implementing one national standard.<\/u> We will have one national standard for
\nthe interrogation and treatment of prisoners. Currently, the best expression of
\nthat standard is the U.S. Army Field Manual.
\n3. Upholding the rule of law.<\/u> We will acknowledge all prisoners to our courts or
\nthe International Red Cross. We will in no circumstance hold persons in secret
\nprisons or engage in disappearances.
\n4. Affirming a duty to protect<\/u>. We acknowledge our historical commitment to
\nend the use of torture and cruelty in the world. The U.S. will not transfer any
\nperson to countries that use torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment.
\n5. Ensuring checks and balances<\/u>. Congress and the courts play an invaluable role
\nin protecting the values and institutions of our nation and will have access to the
\ninformation they need to be fully informed about our detention and
\ninterrogation policies.
\n6. Maintaining clarity and accountability.<\/u> All U.S. personnel–whether soldiers
\nor intelligence staff–deserve the certainty that they are implementing policy
\nthat complies fully with the law. Henceforth all U.S. officials who authorize,
\nimplement, or fail in their duty to prevent the use of torture and ill-treatment of
\nprisoners will be held accountable, regardless of rank or position.
\nPOLICY: Creating Secure and Comprehensive Immigration Reform<\/strong>
\nWe agree that we need comprehensive immigration reform that creates an earned
\npath to citizenship and protects families, while securing our borders and treating
\nAmerican taxpayers fairly. The common ground solutions we present here enable us
\nsimultaneously to protect our borders, protect families, and protect our values. We
\nagree that we should adopt comprehensive immigration reform with the following
\nprovisions:
\n1. Securing the borders through rigorous enforcement.<\/u> We support active
\nefforts to secure the border and prosecute illegal trafficking, identification fraud,
\nand abusive employers.
\n2. Providing a practical, earned path to citizenship<\/u>. We support an earned path
\nto citizenship for existing undocumented workers in the U.S. that is fair to
\nAmerican taxpayers and restores the rule of law. We recognize that citizenship is
\na high honor and agree that it should come with basic obligations such as
\nobeying the law, paying back taxes and reasonable fines, and learning English
\nand American civics.
\n3. Establishing a fair guest worker program.<\/u> We support a guest worker
\nprogram that fills jobs where there is a need, but that does not unfairly
\ndisadvantage American workers. It should ensure that workers are not exploited
\nand that they are paid for the work they do.
\n4. Keeping families together<\/u>. We support policies and enforcement that are
\nsensitive to the value of preserving family integrity, keeping parents and
\nchildren together.
\nThe core group consisted of:
\n– Rachel Laser, Director of the Culture Program for Third Way;
\n– Dr. Robert P. Jones, Visiting Fellow at Third Way and President of Public Religion Research;
\n– Dr. David Gushee, Professor at Mercer University and President of Evangelicals for Human Rights;
\n– Rev. Dr. Joel Hunter, Senior Pastor at Northland, A Church Distributed;
\n– Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, President of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference;
\n– Dr. Ronald J. Sider, President of Evangelicals for Social Action;
\n– Katie Paris, Director of Communications Strategy for Faith in Public Life<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rachel Laser of the advocacy group Third Way called it the “official beginning of the ending of the culture war.” Hmmm. This may not be quite “Mission Accomplished” territory but I suspect her prediction is a tad premature. Nonetheless, what was announced — a document called “Come Let Us Reason Together” — was genuinely noteworthy…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":49,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-641","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\nCentrist Evangelicals Forge New Agenda on Abortion, Gays, Torture and Immigration - Steven Waldman<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/stevenwaldman\/2009\/01\/centrist-evangelicals-forge-ne.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Centrist Evangelicals Forge New Agenda on Abortion, Gays, Torture and Immigration - Steven Waldman\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Rachel Laser of the advocacy group Third Way called it the “official beginning of the ending of the culture war.” Hmmm. 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