The attention span of the American media is short and the time span between Religious Rhetorics posts is longer.
By now, many may have forgotten about the “Manhattan Declaration: A Call to Christian Conscience.” A document produced at the end of last year (2009), it is a Christian ecumenical statement on the contemporary issues of abortion, (gay) marriage, and religious liberty, taking an anti-abortion, anti-gay marriage, and pro-religious liberty stance on each issue, respectively. Those who sign the Declaration pledge to speak up and take political action on what the document declares to be the three most pressing issues of the day—life, marriage, and liberty, which are the “foundational principles of justice and the common good.”
At the time of the writing of this post, the Manhattan Declaration website boasts over 400,000 signatures. On Facebook, the document has over 78,000 fans. It marks a striking coalescing of an often fractious religion over three issues to effect socio-political change.
Regardless of the actual effects of the text in the political sphere, which remain to be seen, the Manhattan Declaration represents some of the arguments made in Christian circles where similar positions are taken, and for this reason, it deserves our analytical attention. (more…)
