Five hundred religious leaders ― Christians, Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Sikhs and others ― have jointly endorsed the Democratic presidential ticket of Joe Biden and Sen. Kamala Harris, according to the multi-faith advocacy group Faith 2020.
The endorsees include some who have never publicly backed a White House candidate, such as Ron Sider, the founder of Evangelicals for Social Action. The list also includes clergy from diverse theological positions ― from the progressive Christian pastor Rev. Nadia Bolz-Weber, long a critic of President Donald Trump, to the evangelical preacher Rev. Rob Schenck, a former militant anti-abortion rights activist who has pledged to vote for a Democrat for the first time in 44 years.
Other prominent backers of Biden and Harris include Imam Talib Shareef of “The Nation’s Mosque” in Washington, D.C., Greg Epstein, a Humanist chaplain, Rev. John McCullough, president of the Christian humanitarian group Church World Service, Bishop Vashti McKenzie of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, and Rev. Greg Boyle, a Los Angeles Roman Catholic priest.
Lisa Sharon Harper, a Christian writer and founder of the faith-based consulting group Freedom Road, told HuffPost she believes Biden is a “man of true faith” who is guided by Jesus’ commandment to love God and love one’s neighbor. Harper decided to break from her regular practice and explicitly endorse the Biden-Harris ticket because she believes “now is the time for clarity.”
“There is no time to mince words. A second Trump term could deal a mortal blow to our democracy. It would surely deal a mortal blow to the witness of the evangelical faith,” Harper, who identifies as evangelical herself, told HuffPost.
“Faith leaders will be held accountable by God and history for how we used our voices right now,” she added. “Did we bless our neighbor or did we curse them. That will be the question.”HuffPost
