DNC platform: Plenty for religious progressives to love

[rug]

A choir performs prior to the start of the first day of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on July 25, 2016. Photo courtesy of REUTERS/Mike Segar

By Kimberly Winston | 1 min ago

(RNS) The 2016 Democratic National Convention party platform includes much that religious progressives from multiple faith backgrounds might like. Approved Monday (July 25), it calls for expanding LGBT rights, combatting climate change and narrowing the income gap. Here are some of the hot-button social proposals:

Marriage

The platform explicitly states support for the Supreme Court’s 2015 decision that legalized same-sex marriage. It also states opposition to state laws that would discriminate against LGBT persons — a swipe at state laws that require transgender persons to use certain bathrooms and allow businesses to refuse to serve LGBT persons on the grounds that to do so would violate their religious beliefs.

“We support a progressive vision of religious freedom that respects pluralism and rejects the misuse of religion to discriminate,” the platform states.

Abortion

Democrats state their support for a woman’s right to control her reproductive status in several parts of the platform. “We believe unequivocally, like the majority of Americans, that every woman should have access to quality reproductive health care services, including safe and legal abortion –regardless of where she lives, how much money she makes, or how she is insured,” the platform states.

http://religionnews.com/2016/07/25/dnc-platform-plenty-for-religious-progressives-to-love/