Spiritual left refers to a spiritually or religiously based position that shares the social transformative vision of the
left
Left may refer to:
Music
* ''Left'' (Hope of the States album), 2006
* ''Left'' (Monkey House album), 2016
* "Left", a song by Nickelback from the album ''Curb'', 1996
Direction
* Left (direction), the relative direction opposite of right
* L ...
and its commitment to social justice, peace, economic equality, and (in recent years) ecological consciousness, but who base their commitment on spiritual or religious traditions.
Two present-day examples of spiritual leftism are
Jim Wallis
James E. Wallis Jr. (born June 4, 1948) is an American theologian, writer, teacher and political activist. He is best known as the founder and editor of ''Sojourners'' magazine and as the founder of the Washington, D.C.-based Christian commu ...
,
editor of ''
Sojourners
''Sojourners'' is a progressive monthly magazine and daily online publication of the American Christian social justice organization Sojourners, which arose out of the Sojourners Community. It was first published in 1971 under the original tit ...
'' magazine, who finds a call for peace and for the elimination of poverty in the Christian Gospel and Rabbi
Michael Lerner Michael or Mike Lerner may refer to:
* Michael Lerner (actor) (1941–2023), American actor
*Michael Lerner (angler) (1890–1978), American angler and businessman
* Michael Lerner (rabbi) (born 1943), social activist
*Michael Benjamin Lerner (born ...
, editor of ''
Tikkun'' magazine, calling for a "New Bottom Line" where productivity, efficiency and rationality would be judged not only in material terms, but also in terms of love, generosity, peace, social justice, ecological sanity and awe and wonder at the grandeur of the universe.
See also
*
Buddhist socialism
Buddhist socialism is a political ideology which advocates socialism based on the principles of Buddhism. Both Buddhism and socialism seek to provide an end to suffering by analyzing its conditions and removing its main causes through praxis. B ...
*
Christian left
The Christian left is a range of left-wing Christian political and social movements that largely embrace social justice principles and uphold a social doctrine or social gospel.
Given the inherent diversity in international political thoug ...
*
Christian socialism
Christian socialism is a religious and political philosophy that blends Christianity and socialism, endorsing left-wing politics and socialist economics on the basis of the Bible and the teachings of Jesus. Many Christian socialists believe cap ...
*
Engaged Spirituality
Engaged spirituality refers to the beliefs and practices of religious or spiritual people who actively engage in the world in order to transform it in ways consistent with their beliefs. The term was inspired by engaged Buddhism, a concept and s ...
*
Islamic socialism
Islamic socialism is a political philosophy that incorporates Islamic principles into socialism. As a term, it was coined by various Muslim leaders to describe a more spiritual form of socialism. Islamic socialists believe that the teachin ...
*
Islamo-leftism
Islamo-leftism ( fa, چپ اسلامی; french: islamo(-)gauchisme, es, Islamo-izquierdismo), adjectivally Islamo-leftist (french: islamo(-)gauchiste, links=no), is a neologism applied to the alleged political alliance between Left-wing politics, ...
*
Jewish left
The Jewish left consists of Jews who identify with, or support, left-wing or left-liberal causes, consciously as Jews, either as individuals or through organizations. There is no one organization or movement which constitutes the Jewish left, how ...
*
Network of Spiritual Progressives
The Network of Spiritual Progressives (NSP) is an international political and social justice movement based in the United States that seeks to influence American politics towards more humane, progressive values. The organization also challenges w ...
References
Religion and society
Left-wing politics
Liberalism and religion
Political terminology
{{poli-term-stub