In November, 2006, Rev. Joel Hunter was named president-elect of the Christian Coalition, long a model of activism for the religious right. His stated intention—to broaden the focus of the socially conservative organization beyond the hot-button themes of abortion and same-sex marriage to include global warming, poverty, and the AIDS epidemic—met with so little support that Hunter chose to step down before his term of office began. EnlightenNext's Igal Moria spoke with Rev. Hunter about his experience with the Coalition, his insider's view of the religious right, and his ongoing efforts to promote a broadly inclusive, philosophically sophisticated, and socially progressive alternative to America's Christian constituency. Who knows: it's possible that the open-minded and deeply humanitarian inclinations of Rev. Hunter and other like-minded religious leaders could one day change the face of American society. By offering clear alternatives to the arch-conservative platform of the religious right, the axis of American morality, justice, spirituality, and politics might just shift significantly toward a more tolerant and inclusive middle.
BIO
Dr. Joel Hunter is the Founder of The Alliance for the Distributed Church. He is working to bring the church into the future as a connection point for global Christian leaders, and to expand the agenda of the Christian right to include such issues as reducing poverty and fighting global warming. In November 2006 he stepped down as President elect from the Christian Coalition because the group did not want to broaden its agenda beyond hot-button social issues.
Dr. Hunter received his Bachelor of Science in education (history and government) from Ohio University, and his Master of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry in culture and personality from Christian Theological Seminary. In 2005, Belhaven College awarded him an honorary Doctor of Humanities. He is the author of "The Journey to Spiritual Maturity" series and "Right Wing, Wrong Bird", in which he argues that large numbers of conservative Christians feel misrepresented by the Christian right's narrow focus on moral issues to the exclusion of broader economic, environmental, and social concerns.
