This weekend, a small event at a big church in Cambridge, Massachusetts may be remembered as a turning point in the struggle with the religious right -- and in the reinvention of the once-dynamic religious left.

For much of the 20th century, progressive religious ideas, organizations, and eventually institutions advanced major movements for social justice in the United States and around the world. Since the end of the Vietnam war, the voice and more importantly, the political and cultural influence of progressive religious communities has declined. Parallel to this, has been the rise of the well-organized religious right political and social movement, accompanied by efforts to sew dissent and division among the historic churches of mainline protestantism.

Contemporary Americans of a wide range of religious and political orientations find themselves adrift.  Adrift in the sense that we do not know where we stand in history; American history that is.  Therefore, we too often end-up relying on the latest poll. or trend article in the newspaper for our understanding of our political moment. Polls, although they are mostly snapshots in time, also sometimes to a good job of spotting and describing trends. Sometimes they are wildly misguided or grossly biased. Same goes for trend articles.

The problem many of us face is that we do not know enough about our history as a nation: as contending religious groups, classes, interest groups, and political parties. We don't know enough about the gradual extension of rights to more and more classes of people from the time of the founding.  We don't usually know that the struggles over the nature of religious freedom and separation of church and state are not new in our history, and that there is much to learn from the stories of how these matters were handled and how we got to where we are today. This has signficant implications for those of us who seek to engage the religious right of our time.  

I will be appearing on the Mike Malloy Show on Air America tonight at 11pm - midnight Eastern Time. My old friend Laura Flanders, (the usual host of America's Radio Nation program), is guest hosting. We will be talking about all the usual stuff -- the religious right and what to do about it.  It's a call-in, so do stop by for a chat!

If you aren't sure, check with your Air America affiliate to see if they carry the show. If not, you can also listen on streaming audio from the Air America web site.

I have good news.

It is personal good news, but I think, depending on your point of view, it is also good for all of us.

I have an opportunity to do something I have wanted to do for  long time. It is a writing project that I can't do alone.

To find out about this gig -- and what you can do to help make it happen -- read on.

Talk to Action, the blog site about the religious right and what to do about it I co-founded, has not sought media attention since our initial press release last November. We focused primarily on making the site a must-read, and we would worry about the media later.

But this week, a project that has been in the works for some time comes to fruition -- and some other media attention serendipitiously came our way.

Regular readers know that three Talk to Action writers (John Dorhauer, Mainstream Baptist, and Andrew Weaver), will appear on State of Belief, a national radio show hosted by Welton Gaddy, president of the Interfaith Alliance, and broadcast on Air America -- this Sunday.

I was interviewed for an article about the antigay, and anti-mainline Protestant politics of the rightist Institute on Religion on Democracy some time ago.  It finally appreared in, the Washington, DC weekly, The Washington Blade. A somewhat different version appeared in Southern Voice.

As notable as all this may be, it can't hold a candle to Tanya Erzen's Talk to Action piece on the Christian Right and immigration -- that was cited by the Associated Press and appeared nationwide, including (among many, many, others),in the online editions of New York Times, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, USA Today, ABC News, as well as BeliefNet.

I am sure that the story will also appear in many print editions of newspapers across the county over the next few days as well.

Having a difficult time making sense of the religious right? It is alien territory for many Americans in terms of the religious, political and public policy aspects. If we are going to be able to have conversations about the politics of the Christian right, it helps to have some foundational knowledge.

Yesterday, I did a round-up of some of the best and most important blog posts about the religious right from the past week. And as I did, it occurred to me that even as most people find it difficult to learn about the religious right, let alone have a thoughtful conversation about it, it is also hard to figure out how to learn the things that are most important to know. Blogs are helpful, but it is hard to get a foundation of knowledge from blogs alone.

Over the next little while, I will do a series of posts that can be your own personal home school curriculum on the subject. To start, here are five basic books (among many on the subject) that, taken together, provide a good foundation of knowledge that will be helpful in the run-up to this year's elections, as well as the elections of 2008. This foundation will also help to make sense of ongoing news reporting and blog posts you may encounter, and to provide some common knowledge and language among people who share your concerns about this powerful political movement.

Esther Kaplan will be the featured guest this Friday evening on on Writer's Voice, a weekly radio program devoted to discussion of books and publishing. The topic is Kaplan's recent book, With God on Their Side:  How Christian Fundamentalists Trampled Science, Policy, and Democracy in George Bush's White House.

Frederick Clarkson (that's me) will also appear to talk about Talk to Action, and the importance of books in the development of political culture.

It is possible to hear the show via streaming audio, over your computer.

Streaming audio is one way for us to hear things we need to hear, that may not be airing in our part of the country. It is very likely to be a crtical part of the communications infrastructure necessary to contend with the religious right.

Talk to Action, the first national interactive blog site devoted to discussing the theocratic Christian Right -- and what to do about it -- launches today!  It is intended to provide a platform for the kinds of conversations that need to take place in order for us to see the strength of the theocratic movement recede in favor of a refreshed and rebounding constitutional democratic movement. That is a tall order, I know. But I think it is not only necessary, but possible. And I invite you to join us in making the vision a reality.

If you are going to be in the Boston area at the end of next week, you are invited to hear my speech at Harvard titled The Dramatic Progress of the Theocratic Right -- What in the World do We Do Now?

Sunday,  November 27, 2005; Phillips Brooks House, Harvard Yard, 1:30 PM  

Tom Ball, founder of Political Cortex, asked us, the "Featured Writers," to introduce ourselves.

It seemed like a simple enough assignment.

But not for me. I don't usually write about myself. Like many public people I am a private person. That said, you can reasonably expect that on any given Tuesday or Thursday here in the Cortex, I will have something to say about the Religious Right and/or those opposing it; or something to say about progressive Democrats in general, and in Massachusetts in particular.

And then, once in awhile, I will surprise you.

I have been a professional writer, editor, book author, public speaker and sometime activist for more than 20 years. I am best known for my reporting about the Religious Right. And I suppose, I could tell you about all that today. But if I did, it would obscure the real reason I am here.