Editing Christian left (section)

=== Alliance of the left and Christianity ===
Starting in the late 19th century and early 20th century, some began to take on the view that genuine Christianity had much in common with a leftist perspective. From [[St. Augustine of Hippo]]'s ''[[City of God (book)|City of God]]'' through [[St. Thomas More]]'s ''[[Utopia (More book)|Utopia]]'', major Christian writers had expounded upon views that socialists found agreeable. Of major interest was the extremely strong thread of [[egalitarianism]] in the [[New Testament]]. Other common leftist concerns such as [[pacifism]], [[social justice]], [[racial equality]], [[human rights]], and the rejection of excessive [[wealth]] are also expressed strongly in the [[Bible]]. In the late 19th century, the [[Social Gospel]] movement arose (particularly among some [[Anglo-Catholicism|Anglicans]], [[Lutheran]]s, [[Methodist]]s and [[Baptists]] in [[North America]] and [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|Britain]],) which attempted to integrate [[progressivism|progressive]] and [[socialist]] thought with [[Christianity]] to produce a faith-based social activism, promoted by movements such as [[Christian socialism]]. In the United States during this period, Episcopalians and Congregationalists generally tended to be the most liberal, both in theological interpretation and in their adherence to the Social Gospel. In Canada, a coalition of liberal Congregationalists, Methodists, and Presbyterians founded the [[United Church of Canada]], one of the first true Christian left denominations. Later in the 20th century, [[liberation theology]] was championed by such writers as [[Gustavo Gutierrez]] and [[Matthew Fox (priest)|Matthew Fox]].