Hello, I’m Jenna. So, I’m wondering about having seen leftist (anarchist, communist, socialist, etc) people around who are religious and I must say, it confuses me. I’m an atheist myself but is there any reason why religion and those leftist views are necessarily opposed to each other or can they co-exist?

zarohk:

rizaoftheowls:

derinthemadscientist:

leftist-daily-reminders:

electoralcollege:

left-reminders:

A lot of leftists believe religion and socialism are contradictory, but just as many believe that they’re entirely compatible (or just don’t care what individuals practice in their personal lives). I fall into the latter camp. Three weeks get added to my life every time I see a religious socialist, mainly because it gives me hope that we can win over deeply religious people on their own terms – after all, most religions can absolutely be used for anti-capitalist purposes, especially in their relatively-consistent rejections of greed. I’m probably a little biased, since I’m spiritual myself, but I think leftists should at least be less hostile to religion and at most see it as a potentially fruitful epicenter for anti-capitalist values.
-Daividh

As a Christian socialist, I can attest that my religion and my socialism are not opposed and are in fact complementary. I see the teachings of Jesus Christ as calling for a just and equitable society devoid of greed, exploitation, and class rule, and I feel it’s my duty as a Christian to work towards that sort of world.

☝️️👆There it is, another three weeks

Jesus was straight-up anticapitalist and pro-community and equity of course you can be a socialist Christian. Most major religions are the same, to a greater or lesser degree, in their general philosophies. 

As a Jew, though not a super-observant one, our concept of Tikkun Olam (“repairing the world”) seems to require building a more equitable society. Heck, our concept of helping others isn’t that it’s a kindness, but that it is serving justice – literally, the word for charity, “tzedakah” comes from the word “tzedek,” or “justice.” We’re not here to feel good by making token gestures; we’re here to fucking fix injustice.

As a Reform Jew, seconding the above. As someone who has done a critical reading of the Qu’ran, Mohammad’s main message was “Social Justice and community unity for tribal society 101”