If
atheists, GLBT groups and like-minded groups want to fight their battles in the
public arena, who should their allies be? There are the obvious choices, such
as the ACLU, women’s groups, unions, black and Latino groups, student
groups. But who among the religious
groups should they reach out to?
Most
important are the Christians who aren’t crazy fundamentalists, such as the mainstream Protestants, liberal evangelicals (they exist), Catholics (their
new pope is reaching out to gays and atheists), many Protestant denominations,
black Protestants who dislike gays but also dislike discrimination, and also
Judaism. These groups have a lot of clout out there, and a lot of them are
irritated with the evangelicals and their political allies.
The second group to go after includes smaller groups who
are open to homosexuality and new ideas: pagans, Wicca, Unitarians (a faith
that was actually born in Transylvania). Also, the groups who have experience
fighting for their rights: Native American religions, black prison Muslims,
Santeria (not the Jehovah’s Witnesses who are homophobic). Also a few other groups
who have faced persecution: Muslims (who are unfriendly to gays) and Sikhs (who
are attacked because people think they are Muslims).
The third group: Asian religions who stay out of
politics, such as the Hindus, Jains, Taoists, the Bahai (who dislike gays).
Also a few groups who have been hit by scandals, and are not well respected,
but could be looking for allies: Scientology, Christian Science, Buddhism (sex
scandals).
The bottom group: people whom no one takes seriously,
such as the Pastafarians and the Church of Satan. And of course mainstream
religions who are hostile to all liberality: conservative evangelicals,
Mormons, Eastern Orthodox.
