From over on BlueOregon – I’m not posting this there, because I think this topic threatens to derail the thread.
I have a question about the faith caucus. What’s that all about? Is the goal to reach out to people of faith and encourage them to see the morality and values inherent in traditional Democratic ideas, like universal health care and fighting poverty? Or is the idea to get the Democrats to change their views on hot-button issues - like abortion and gay rights? (Kari Chisholm)
is ‘religious communities’ code for ‘white evangelicals’ and ‘conservative catholics’, or does it include buddhists (of which there may be more of in oregon than there are jewish folk), muslims, quakers, unitarian universalists, wiccans, zoroastrians? or is it more an attempt to make inroads to traditional gop constituencies? … what i really want to know is the details of the type of outreach you have done, what are you planning, what religious leaders and communities have been contacted, what has the reaction been, etc? (pedro)
I am a member of the Faith Caucus, and a lifelong Quaker. Though I don’t speak for Mac Prichard, and I’m not an official representative of the Faith Caucus, I believe I can answer both of these questions. Karen Wood and Rob Brading would be able to give you the official answer, as they are the Co-Chairs of the Faith Caucus.
In any case, I was at one of the first organizing meetings of the Faith Caucus, this past summer, down in Eugene. At that meeting, there were a couple of times when one participant or another corrected someone else’s reference to places and/or times of worship. The correction was always toward the more inclusive. Even the name was a matter of some dispute, as we labored to craft an appellation that would be most inclusive.
I’m absolutely certain that there are dual memberships between the Faith Caucus and both the LGBT Caucus and the Women’s Caucus. I know this doesn’t mean these people necessarily have their heads on properly (somehow “straight” doesn’t work as an adjective here), but I think it is indicative that these perspectives will be well represented. Certainly, holding both of the issues identified above (inclusivity and choice) as close to my heart as I do, I expect the Faith Caucus to focus more on the Way, the Eightfold Path and liberation theology than on requiring compliance with Leviticus.
What the Faith Caucus has planned to do involves connecting our faith communities with our political worlds. This means both educating others about the role of faith in informing our Democratic values (eg: finding scriptural support for our platform positions in wisdom texts such as the Baghavad Gita, the Bible, the Koran, and/or the Tao te Ching, among many others), and bringing people together in listening sessions to learn more about each other (eg: a candidate with a congregation, or a monk to a Party meeting).