Clipping the Religious Wings

There are a number of different political groups or labels we hear about in the news as the presidential primaries keep rolling on and if I may, I'd like to share some thoughts surrounding two of the more popular labels that are used to describe the Left Wing and Right Wing as they relate to faith and religion.

The "Evangelical" "Right"
evangelical: "1: of, relating to, or being in agreement with the Christian gospel especially as it is presented in the four Gospels 2: Protestant 3: emphasizing salvation by faith in the atoning death of Jesus Christ through personal conversion, the authority of Scripture, and the importance of preaching as contrasted with ritual 4 a capitalized : of or relating to the Evangelical Church in Germany b often capitalized : of, adhering to, or marked by fundamentalism 5: marked by militant or crusading zeal". (definition from Merriam-Webster online)

Right or Right Wing: "7 often capitalized a: the part of a legislative chamber located to the right of the presiding officer b: the members of a continental European legislative body occupying the right as a result of holding more conservative political views than other members 8 a often capitalized : individuals professing support of the established order and favoring traditional attitudes and practices and conservative governmental policies b often capitalized : a conservative position". (definition from Merriam-Webster online)

Looking at definitions 1, 2, and 3 I see myself as being described as evangelical but what is scary is how often this group of people can seem rather fundamentalist and I'm not sure I want that guilt by association. In our country, the Right is associated with the Republican party as it is known as the more conservative of the two major political parties but does the label "evangelical right" mean that there aren't or can't be evangelical democrats? Is it a conflict of interests to be a conservative Christian but not a Republican?


The "Religious" "Left"
religious: 1: relating to or manifesting faithful devotion to an acknowledged ultimate reality or deity 2: of, relating to, or devoted to religious beliefs or observances 3 a: scrupulously and conscientiously faithful b: fervent , zealous". (definition from Merriam-Webster online)

Left or Left Wing: 3 often capitalized a: the part of a legislative chamber located to the left of the presiding officer b: the members of a continental European legislative body occupying the left as a result of holding more radical political views than other members 4 often capitalized a: those professing views usually characterized by desire to reform or overthrow the established order especially in politics and usually advocating change in the name of the greater freedom or well-being of the common man b: a radical as distinguished from a conservative position". (definition from Merriam-Webster online)

I can see myself as being described as religious though I would like to think I have some zeal about my faith I certainly wouldn't call myself, good or bad, a zealot. The Left Wing is considered to be the "wing" of the Democratic party and would be considered liberal compared to the Right. The Religious Left focuses on social issues that concern the poor and oppressed, which as I understand the Gospel, should be the concern of Christians regardless of which "wing" we use to fly our politics with. Does this mean that the "Evangelical Right" doesn't care about the poor or oppressed or social issues that may impact both or either? Is there a difference between being "evangelical" and being "religious"? Are evangelicals not considered religious or vice versa?

I think these are important questions to ask and think about before we claim to favor one "wing" over the other or even worse, claim that the "other wing" has it all wrong, stands for nothing good and shouldn't even consider themselves Christians. Maybe that's why there is so much imbalance in the Church, because we find ourselves trying to fly with only one "wing" and can't figure out why we keep going in circles.