A progressive understanding of Christianity won in the US elections | Bill McKibben

Two Democrats, James Talarico in Texas and pastor Adam Hamilton in Kansas, won elections while presenting Christianity as a force for social care and progressive politics. Their victories challenge the common portrayal of American Christianity as uniformly conservative and suggest voters were willing to support candidates whose faith-based views differ from that image.

Talarico argued Christians should tackle the systems that make charity necessary, while Hamilton linked Jesus’s teachings to support for vulnerable people and social safety nets. Hamilton, whose church welcomes gay members, had been urged by conservative preachers to leave the Senate race; Talarico faced attacks over his views on gender and sexuality. The article says both candidates prevailed despite those criticisms, though voters may also have been motivated by economic concerns.