If only you were more educated, then you would agree with me

I was sitting with a woman—a Mainline Christian woman—and we were
chatting about my background. I explained to her that my family is
politically and theologically conservative but that I had changed many
of the views that I grew up with as a young adult. She shook her head,
sighed, and said, “Well, people just need more education, that’s all.”

It’s a common mistake that progressives make, but I really wish we
would stop it. More education did, indeed, make me become a more
progressive Christian. But I always cringe when I hear progressives say,
“Well, they just need more education” when it comes to political,
sexual, or theological issues. Why?

•We are assuming that conservatives are uneducated, and that is not true. We
are way past the point in our country when we can make those
assumptions, and it’s naïve to do so. In D.C., there are plenty of
conservative religious think tanks, with highly skilled and educated men
and women who have been pumping out articles for decades. But I cannot
think of many progressive religious think tanks. Only a few come to
mind. Please correct me if I’m wrong about this…but religious
progressives seem to be woefully inadequate in this area.