At event, evangelicals seek political common ground

One leader said he hoped people would see that Christians do care.
COLUMBUS (AP) -- Jim Wallis and Russell Johnson have much in common. Both are evangelical leaders who say they care deeply about politics in America. Both want to see God at the country's moral center.
But at a town hall-style dialogue on faith in politics Sunday, what observers were likely to see was their differences, said John Green, a political scientist the University of Akron.
"I think this event will show something very important, which is that the evangelical community is not monolithic," Green said last week. "I think they disagree on many things, and I think that will surprise people. A lot of people believe evangelicals speak with one voice and showing that isn't so serves the long-term goals of both men."
The Rev. Mr. Wallis, founder of the Christian social justice ministry Sojourners, said before the event he wanted the public forum to expand Ohio's "conversation on moral values" beyond hot-button issues such as abortion and gay marriage. He sees poverty, health care and the environment as more pressing.
Clearing up some points
Johnson, chairman of the politically active Ohio Restoration Project, hoped the public dialogue could clear up misconceptions -- and what he sees as outright distortions -- about the religious right that he says are contributing to political gridlock at the national level.
"I hope people can see that Bible-believing Christians, people of faith, are compassionate people, are caring," he said. "There's been an attempt by many on the left to marginalize what they call the 'religious extreme right."'
Mr. Wallis acknowledges gripes of his own about the religious right and said the movement is speaking less and less for the evangelicals he knows.
"The right wants to narrow the moral questions to only two: abortion and gay marriage," he said. "That's the biggest mistake they ever made, because now they are unable to control the moral discussion. Evangelicals care about abortion and gay marriage, but they also care about sex trafficking and Darfur, and HIV/AIDS, and global poverty and domestic poverty, and the environment. There's been a pretty narrow discussion going on in Ohio under these groups."
Where they stand
For the record, Mr. Wallis supports minimizing abortions but doesn't label himself on either side. He says he is pro-family and supportive of gay and lesbian rights.
Johnson opposes abortion and gay marriage and argues that the majority of Ohioans do, too.
"I think we show people that we can disagree and do that civilly, and maybe that's different than what's going on in Washington right now," he said. "I think the president is fighting a war on terror, and many on the academic left, and in the media, have decided to fight a war on the president. We need to be effective against the forces of evil and right now they [the left] have turned it into a political chess match instead of an effective, united front."
Wallis, who voted for Democrat John Kerry in 2004, opposes the war and pushes the point that God is nonpartisan.
"The heart of what I want to say on Sunday is religion should not be a wedge to divide us, but a bridge to bring us together," he said. "What I want to make clear is that God is not a Republican or a Democrat. The religious right has implied, or outrightly said, that God belongs to one political party and that's a heresy."
Johnson said Republicans often better reflect the values of his coalition and that the Democratic party is too closely tied to the radical left, which has "declared jihad on acts of religious expression in the public square."
In agreement
But he agreed with Wallis that it is ultimately not about party labels.
"They accuse us of being a puppet of the Republican party, but you know God was pro-life before there ever was a Republican party. God was pro-traditional marriage in the Garden of Eden," he said.
Green said Ohio's fall election stands to be the most religion-infused since the 1988 presidential race, when the Rev. Jesse Jackson ran as a Democrat and the Rev. Pat Robertson as a Republican.
In the Buckeye State, Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell, who often focusses his public talks on biblical values, is a leading Republican contender for governor. U.S. Rep. Ted Strickland, the Democratic front-runner, is a minister who mentions scripture in the first paragraph of his campaign biography. Attorney General Jim Petro, Blackwell's GOP rival in the May primary, also has sought to emphasize the importance he places on faith.