As a follow up to my earlier post about influential evangelicals, and how some have co-opted the "moral values" debate, I wanted to post a quote from Jim Wallis' new book God's Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn't Get It.

"We contend today with both religious and secular fundamentalists, neither of whom must have their way. One group would impose the doctrines of a political theocracy on their fellow citizens, while the other would deprive the public square of needed moral and spiritual values often shaped by faith. In a political and media culture that squeezes everything into only two options of left and right, religious people must refuse the ideological categorization and actually build bridges between people of goodwill in both liberal and conservative camps. We must insist on the deep connections between spirituality and politics while defending the proper boundaries between church and state that protect religious and nonreligious minorities and keep us all safe from state-controlled religion. We can demonstrate our commitment to pluralistic democracy and support the rightful separation of church and state without segregating moral and spiritual values from our political life."

To which I can only reply, "Hear, hear!" It's refreshing to hear someone point out that Christians can still have an active voice in politics without attempting to turn America into a "Christian nation".