Progressive Christian organizers, artists, activists and politicians are adding their names to the mix of prominent leaders supporting Kamala Harris for president.
Following the major success of events like “White Women for Harris” and “White Dudes for Harris,” which were attended by hundreds of thousands of people and raised millions of dollars for the Harris campaign, people of faith gathered for a similar Zoom-style rally called “Love, for the Win: Christians for Kamala” on Monday, Aug. 12.
The event was organized by popular Christian author and pastor John Pavlovitz, and singer and actress Malynda Hale.
“I was on the call for ‘White Dudes for Harris’ a couple of weeks ago and I posted on social media and asked, ‘Where’s the Christian representation? Who’s going to be doing this?’” explained Pavlovitz, who has a social media following of more than 412,000 people. “And one of my readers said, ‘Well, you need to do it,’ so it was as simple as that.”
Over the next couple of weeks, Pavlovitz and Hale recruited over 30 speakers to join them. The speaking lineup ran the gamut, from well-known Christian authors and artists such as Brian McLaren, Antonique Smith, Jim Wallis, Jacqui Lewis and Diana Butler Bass to elected officials like Sen. Cory Booker and Texas state Rep. James Dell Talarico, and even to actor, comedian and radio host John Fugelsang.
A similar event, called “Evangelicals for Harris,” will take place online Wednesday, Aug. 14. The two events are not related in organization. Catholics for the Common Good, an offshoot of Vote Common Good, is hosting a “Catholics for Kamala” event on Thursday, Aug. 15.
Screencap of some of the presenters at the “Christians for Kamala” event.
For his event, Pavlovitz said “Christians for Kamala” had a three-fold purpose: to raise money for the campaign, to ask people to volunteer with the campaign, and to commit to pray for the Kamala and Walz team and encourage ongoing partnerships among people of faith.
As of Tuesday afternoon, Pavlovitz said “Christians for Kamala” was viewed by more than 40,000 people and had raised more than $155,000. He hopes to raise $250,000 by the end of August.
The event also was driven, Pavlovitz said, by the broader purpose of supporting freedom of religion in the U.S., a stark contrast to what he sees in the Republican Party’s vision for another Trump term in the White House.
“We are people of faith who believe that faith should be voluntary and not compulsory,” he explained. “And what we’re seeing from the Republican platform and from what Donald Trump has stated and the partnership with Project 2025 is an effort to legislate theology for other people.”
“We are people of faith who believe that faith should be voluntary and not compulsory.”
“We are Christians who believe America should be a place where people have freedom of religion but also freedom from religion,” he added. “We know we can’t separate our personal faith convictions from the way we vote but we also don’t want our beliefs to be mandated for other people.”
The multi-hour event took on a similar Zoom format as the “White Women” and “White Dudes” events, but the call was limited to the featured speakers and then livestreamed across social media sites. This, Pavlovitz explained, was to avoid some of the technical glitches experienced during previous calls caused by the massive attendance. It was livestreamed on the Christians for Kamala YouTube page, as well as Pavlovitz’s own social media and the sites of partners like the Christian Left, Vote Common Good, Faith Forward and Christian Democrats of America.
Hale and Pavlovitz served as emcees for the event, introducing speakers and sharing updates on their fundraising efforts throughout the night. The rally-style event felt at times like a virtual revival of sorts, with speakers sharing why they were supporting the Harris ticket with reflections that touched on the theological, political and personal. Speakers covered topics they said are a part of their Christian faith, including care for the earth, help for the poor, loving others and opposing Christian nationalism.
“I have been a progressive Christian and I know like many, I feel like my faith has been hijacked by people who only talk about what they’re against,” Hale said in her opening remarks. “We know this election is important and that is why we are choosing love for the win.”
Jacqui Lewis, pastor of Middle Collegiate Church in New York City, addressed the importance of Christians focusing on those who are marginalized in America and to stay rooted in what she called the “kin-dom of God.”
“We who follow Jesus in the Way have to be located in the ones who have been marginalized. That’s what it means to be Christians for Kamala,” she said. “This conversation is not just about Kamala, it’s about us. It’s about those of us who yearn for the kin-dom of God.”
A common theme was how Christian faith has been co-opted by Republicans and other groups and used for their own aims, rather than for living out the values of Jesus.
“I love Jesus like I love Elvis; I love him but I’m afraid of some of his fans.”
“I love Jesus like I love Elvis; I love him but I’m afraid of some of his fans,” quipped actor and comedian John Fugelsang. He called using Jesus’ name while working against everything he stood for Republican’s “greatest trick.”
Another motif for the evening was an invitation to Christians who may be “in the middle” politically or may question the uncritical allegiance of certain Christian groups to Trump.
“What we want to do with this movement is give people of faith permission to deviate from the political party they grew up in or to examine the candidates, to look at them critically and then make a decision based on what’s in front of them,” Pavolvitz said.
He said his work has shown him there is a large number of people who have faith but don’t feel they have a safe place to live it out. “These people are deeply spiritual and they haven’t felt like they have a place in Mainline, conservative churches,” he noted. “This is giving them an opportunity to have a sense of belonging and have a faith perspective that reflects their hearts.”
“Christians for Kamala” is one of the first public efforts to rally Christian voters to the Democratic presidential ticket in a race where religion could play a major role. In 2020, according to Pew Research Center, Trump expanded his support among white evangelicals, garnering 84% of their votes, while Biden had strong support from Black Protestants (91%) and the religiously unaffiliated (71%). The two nearly split the Catholic vote, with 49% backing Biden and 51% backing Trump.
This year’s election brings an array of religious diversity to both tickets: Harris is a Baptist, Walz a Lutheran and JD Vance, Trump’s running mate, is Catholic.
“There will be a faith factor in this election,” said longtime social justice advocate and Sojourners founder Jim Wallis. “And it could be decisive.”
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