The intersection of religion and politics is a historic and controversial tradition in American discourse, and one given contemporary insight by a diverse panel of members of the faith community brought together by The Capital Times Thursday night.
“I was kind of hoping to think of a joke about everyone on this panel walking into a bar,” joked moderator and Cap Times reporter Jessie Opoien.
Faith has often been a galvanizing factor in American politics, from the scripture-charged battle against
“The big divide you see now is that many millennial evangelicals are multiethnic, passionate about justice, and climate change … while with older generations, it was really centered around gay marriage and abortion,” said training pastor R.D. McClenagan of the Door Creek Church. “In our
While the evangelical community remains divided, other communities of faith have been galvanized toward like-minded political action.
“In this environment of Islamophobia, it is very important for the
Trump’s proposed ban on Muslim immigration into the U.S., which has since been altered into bans on travel from specific regions, has had a profound impact on the M
“That’s where things changed,” said Akhtar, “We as a community, young, old, male, female, we all decided to fight against him.”
Though communities of faith may come to wildly differing conclusions in the realm of politics,
“When we listen to each other, we
As the presidential election draws near, the debate over the direction of American values rages on.
