Religious leaders must fight for social justice in Trump era, says gay rabbi – By Harriet Sherwood (The Guardian) / Nov 28 2019
Michael Latz, based in Minneapolis, urged people of faith to ‘be moral leaders’ and delivered a message of radical religion at global peace forum Rising 19
Faith leaders must mobilise their communities to fight for economic and social justice by lobbying for policies based on fairness and taking part in rallies, marches and protests, a senior rabbi from Minnesota has said.
Michael Latz, who delivered a message of radical religion to Rising 19, a global peace forum at Coventry cathedral in the UK attended by 250 people earlier this month, told the Guardian: “We have to mobilise people of faith.
“We have to put pressure on elected officials, show up at town hall meetings, educate communities on what the key issues are and how they impact people, be present at rallies and marches and protests, and be moral leaders in our communities around issues of equity, justice and fairness.”
Latz, who is based at the Tikvah synagogue in Minneapolis, said: “There is no possible way to read the Bible as anything other than a political document. It is a document about how society should be organised, about how leaders should behave, about how vulnerable people should be treated by society. The Bible is an inherently political document, and religion is a political animal.
“If people of faith are going to their churches or mosques or synagogues as though it’s some sort of spiritual jacuzzi, it’s a denial of the very heart of religion. Religion is about morality and it’s about public morality. It’s about how we treat our neighbours but its purpose is also to ask why people are not able to buy food or pay their rent or pay for healthcare. That is a moral question.”
Continue to article: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/nov/28/religion-faith-leaders-social-justice-fight-trump-era
‘We have to put pressure on elected officials, show up at town hall meetings, educate communities on what the key issues are and how they impact people,’ said Latz. Photograph: Courtesy Advent Communications
