Wallis on religion and politics

From Sojonet: "Religion simply doesn't fit neatly in the categories of left and right, liberal and conservative. Religion is at its best when it's not ideologically predictable or loyally partisan.
Martin Luther King said, 'The church' - today we'd say religion - 'is not meant to be the master of the state, nor the servant of the state, but is meant to be the conscience of the state.' Now that means we don't just grab the levers of power and force our agenda. I think the religious right makes that mistake again and again. James Dobson thinks he has veto power over American policy.
But neither are we the servant of the state, meaning we just clean up the mess of bad social policy, provide good social services. We're also the prophetic voice. That's what King meant. . . . Let's have a real, deep, rich conversation about moral values. If we do, it'll cut both left and right."