Religious Left
The Religious Left or more specifically the Christian Left (aka Liberal Christians) are groups of religious people who combine the Christian faith with left-wing politics. They may agree with Conservatives about issues such as abortion and same sex marriage but they see issues such as global warming, poverty, and war as moral issues. While all Chrisitans see poverty and war as important moral issues, the Religious Left takes liberal positions on all of these issues. While conservative Christians believe that poverty can be solved by private charity and learning self-sufficieny, liberal Christians think that government handouts are the answer. They believe in public healthcare, public education (minus the secular component), and social welfare. Liberal Christians also tend to be supportive of evolution and at least tolerant of deviant homosexual behaviour. They have been criticized by conservatives as straying away from original Christian teachings. Conservative Christians believe that Christ is a personal saviour not a social one.
Christian Leftists
- Tommy Douglas - Minister and former leader of the NDP. Founder of Canadian Public Healthcare.
- Jimmy Carter - Evangelical Leftist, Human Rights Activist, and Former President of the United States.
- Hugo Chavez - Venezuelan Leftist President who calls Jesus the world's first socialist.
- Jesse Jackson - Liberal civil rights activist.