Coral Ridge church to de-emphasize politics

While we're pondering the impact of this development, let us remember that DNC Chair Howard Dean asked us months ago to keep the new churches in mind as we seek to expand our reach. When Dean talked to Miami-Dade Democrats at Parrot Jungle, he pointed out that progressive politics may be welcome at some of the new mega-churches. Good values include caring for the poor and sick, I seem to remember from Sunday School, and that's an area where we stand out from the neo-conservatives.

Herald feature on religious left: local angle

Monday's Miami Herald has a feature on the rise of the religious left, pegged to the televised discussion tonight about values in politics among the presidential candidates. Our Dave Patlak is quoted in the piece, which has quite a lot of Florida in it.

Tonight's discussion is on CNN at 7 p.m., with Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards on the panel.