A prominent black
civil rights activist criticized the Christian right
for focusing too much political discussion on abortion and
same-sex marriage, adding that black churches should
turn their attention to social justice issues such
as equal access to education and fighting
poverty. ''We have been inundated in the faith community
with bedroom sexual morality issues and not dealing
with the broader moral issues of poverty, of
injustice, and of health care,'' the Reverend Al Sharpton
told reporters Tuesday.
The Reverend
Jeffrey Johnson, whose Eastern Star Church hosted a two-day
meeting attended by Sharpton, said the issues at stake in
next week's election go beyond personal morality.
''Why are half of our Afro-American boys not
graduating from high school? Why is there 1.1 million more
people in poverty over the past few years while we're
talking about the better economy, and 11% of
African-Americans are unemployed?'' Johnson said.
Conservative
Christian leaders said the problems Sharpton and Johnson
cited are symptomatic of more fundamental ills. ''You've got
to go beyond that and address the root causes, which
is the breakdown of family and morality,'' said Tony
Perkins, president of the Washington, D.C.-based
Family Research Council. Stable homes for children will lead
to better education, higher social attainment, and
lower incarceration rates, Perkins said.
Sharpton, a 2004
Democratic presidential candidate, also condemned
Indiana's new voter identification law requiring people to
present government-issued documents at the polls to
verify their identity. (AP)
