Ever since the rise of the religious right, liberals have longed for a religious counterpart on the left. But that notion was always dubious, and the recent turmoil within the Episcopal Church should put it to rest for good. Without the wholehearted participation of the mainline Protestant churches, there can be no religious left remotely comparable to the Christian right in Protestant-dominated America. And churches in the throes of schism hardly have the wherewithal to marshal their resources in the service of battles in the secular political arena.

Are these schisms the result of the intolerance of conservative religionists towards liberal religious ideas? If so, then this answers a question raised in my post about "Bad Religion" -- here is at least one reason why the influence of liberal religion has waned with the rise of militant conservative religion.

More: The Green Knight confirms what I suspected:

Yes, but why is this happening? Because it's a situation that has been specifically and intentionally cultivated, that's why. Because powerful and organized pressure groups have been conducting stealth campaigns in the mainline Protestant churches to accomplish exactly this result. Because the churches -- which were, up until the 1980s, among the foremost voices and forces in the quest for social justice -- have been intentionally shattered by an organized right-wing campaign. And yes, it really has extended overseas, especially in the case of Anglicanism.

The reaction of people like these folks and these and many others has been to get organized, tell the story of what's happening, and start to push back. We're having an effect, too; even the media's beginning to find out about it now. And just at that moment -- Stan tells us not to bother. Nice.

Look -- there's nothing more stupefying than the idea that a "religious left" could or should ever be exactly like the religious right. That was never the point in the first place. The left in general and the right in general are not the same in outlook or tactics. So in that sense Stan is right. She's also right to notice that there's a big battle joined in the churches right now. But where she's wrong is in thinking that the correct thing to do is therefore just to give up on a valuable but embattled institution. The Democratic establishment has done that too many times, especially with unions and progressive activist organizations.