We live in difficult times.

Inequality is high, and on the rise. More people are locked up than at any time in our nation’s history. Our economy and society reflect the empire that killed the prophets and Jesus, rather than the world they envisioned and fought to build.

We will not be silent.

The People’s Lobby Faith Liberation Movement is a movement of clergy and people of faith who work together to transform our economy and society so that justice might reign, and not the dominant values of greed and individualism.

The Faith Liberation Movement is:

• Inspired by the radical call to action for Jubilee (forgiveness of debt, redistribution of wealth), freeing of the captives, a society and economy that puts the poor and marginalized first, and good stewardship of God’s good Creation. This call is extended in both the Hebrew Scriptures and the Gospel of Christ.
• Unapologetically radical, with a clear analysis of how corporate power, inequality, and structural racism are the powers and principalities standing against that radical vision in today’s society.
• Committed to naming and targeting structural racism in our organizing and campaigns; clear on the ways that communities of color are hurt first and worst by every issue; and dedicated to fighting racism’s role in reinforcing oppression and dividing the 99% so that the 1% can maintain their wealth and power.
• Clear on the need for a long-term agenda for social justice that goes beyond single issues, focuses on structural change, and envisions a fundamentally different economy that follows the values of our faiths in putting people and the planet above the false idols of concentrated wealth and corporate profits.
• Committed to an organizing methodology that includes deep, intentional relationship-building to train faithful witnesses to God’s work of justice, and strengthen our organizations; and a momentum-building strategy that can capture the political moment and involve thousands of people in actions that go far beyond the limits of individual outreach.
• Willing and able to follow the call to prophetic ministry. This includes engaging in confrontational actions and civil disobedience such as the Moral Mondays Illinois actions initiated by the People’s Lobby Institute that escalated up to 1200 people with more than 150 people arrested.
• Able to partner with political organizations like Reclaim Chicago so that elected officials know that they will win or lose elections based on whether they do the right thing on our issues.
• People of faith, leaders in our communities who will not be silent in the face of oppression and abuse, but rather work boldly to transform the world, encouraging one another, and helping one another along the way.

To learn more about the Faith Liberation Movement, contact Will Tanzman at wtanzman@thepeopleslobbyusa.org.