The Progressives’ Bible
How Scriptural Interpretation Built a More Just America
“Perhaps things have gotten so bad in this country that even some of us who don’t have faith ourselves find comfort in listening to those who do,” wrote New York Times columnist Michelle Goldberg about the political success of James Talarico. He’s both a seminarian and a Democrat running for the US Senate in Texas, and his political approach does not shy away from fronting his faith. Time will tell, but I am struck by Goldberg’s hypothesis that some people who don’t have faith might find comfort in listening to those who do. Could this be true?
Of course, some recent uses of faith-based language in politics have caused many Americans, believing or otherwise, far more discomfort than comfort. During Trump’s second administration, federal agencies and officials have used scripture and other religious language to recruit ICE agents, defend an unjust war in Iran, and intensify social divisions. Christians often employ scripture to rubber-stamp immoral, dangerous political actions and positions as self-evidently “biblical.”
Progressive Christians in the United States, however, have a long history of contesting harmful misuses of scripture. In addition to arguing against misuses of scripture, progressives of earlier generations “fashioned [the Bible] into a force for improving society,” as Claudia Setzer shows in The Progressives’ Bible. Setzer profiles numerous figures who argued from scripture to support social justice causes, including abolition, women’s rights, temperance, and civil rights. Along the way, Setzer explores the shape and substance of these figures’ biblical interpretation. She asks what methods they used and how they disseminated their interpretations.
