Editing Christian left (section)

{{short description|Political ideological movement emphasizing social justice in the Gospel}}
{{about|left-wing Christian political movements in general|the Chilean political party using the name "Christian Left" prior to 2013|Christian Left Party of Chile}}
{{Use Oxford spelling|date=April 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2024}}
{{Progressivism sidebar}}
{{Liberalism sidebar|expanded=religious}}
{{Liberalism US|variants and movements}}

The '''Christian left''', otherwise referred to as the '''religious left''', is a range of [[Christianity and politics|Christian political]] and [[List of Christian movements|social movements]] that largely embrace [[social justice]] principles and uphold a social doctrine or [[social gospel]] based on their interpretation of the teachings of [[Christianity]]. Given the inherent diversity in international political thought, the term ''Christian left'' can have different meanings and applications in different countries. While there is much overlap, the Christian left is distinct from [[liberal Christianity]], meaning not all Christian leftists are liberal Christians and ''vice versa''.

In the United States, the Christian left usually aligns with [[Modern liberalism in the United States|modern liberalism]] and [[progressivism]], using the social gospel to achieve better social and economic equality.<ref>{{cite web |last=Stanton |first=Zack |title=You Need to Take the Religious Left Seriously This Time |url=https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2021/02/25/religious-left-politics-liberal-471640 |access-date=2022-06-27 |website=Politico|date=25 February 2021 }}</ref> [[Christian anarchism]], [[Christian communism]], and [[Christian socialism]] are subsets of the [[socialist]] Christian left. [[Karl Marx]] and [[Friedrich Engels]], authors of the ''[[Communist Manifesto]]'', both had Christian upbringings; however, neither were devout Christians.<ref>{{cite web |last=Boer |first=Roland |title=Engels and revolutionary religion |url=https://www.culturematters.org.uk/index.php/culture/religion/item/2271-engels-and-revolutionary-religion |access-date=2022-06-02 |website=culturematters.org.uk }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Religion as Opium of the People |url=https://www.learnreligions.com/religion-as-opium-of-the-people-250555 |access-date=2022-06-02 |website=Learn Religions }}</ref>