Washington, DC – A new breed of evangelists says faith does not belong just to liberals, conservatives, Republicans, or Democrats. Instead, they say moral values should influence voters on such issues as hunger, war, and the environment, not just abortion and sexuality.
"Voting your values" is a new movement that is gaining ground among New Hampshire voters. As evangelist and author Jim Wallis puts it, it's not about the left or the right, but about considering what your faith has to say on issues like peace, poverty, and the planet.
"I think there's a chance that, by putting down our left-right baggage –- and those aren't religious categories, they're political ones –- we can transcend some of that, and find some real solutions."
Wallis is the president of Sojourners/Call to Renewal, and author of the best-selling book, "God's Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn't Get It." In his view, the values that shape our everyday choices and decisions should shape our votes, too. Wallis says, from the ending of slavery to the struggle for civil rights, it's not unusual for movements to form in times of national crisis.
"I think there are some big issues now, major moral issues, that politics is failing to solve and, when that happens, what often occurs is that movements rise up to change politics."
Wallis speaks at events tonight at Dartmouth, and tomorrow at Plymouth State University, the University of New Hampshire, and the Durham Community Church.
