On the religious Left

Interesting article in the Strib about the growing religious left. Here in Minnesota there is a strong tradition of left leaning churches and other religious institutions so it's good to see that they get some recognition. I can't help but wonder if this has anything to do with Coulter's latest hit piece?
The article is interesting but weak in some important areas. The by line says:

As the religious left rises up, drawing in Protestants, Catholics and Jews, it is treading carefully so as not to violate the value that long kept it silent - belief in the separation of church and state.

But the article does little to explain how their tactics are very different than the religious right. As each fights for it's issues the pattern is largely the same. Religious belief fuels understanding of an issue and the appropriate policy stance. People of like belief then band together and organize towards that stance. It's hard to see any critical difference between doing so in opposition to abortion or for an increase in social funding. Both sets are saying 'I believe are values compel us to do this'.
One very interesting insight here is a basic difference between the religious right and left:

"The religious right tends to quote the Bible, while the left is moved by the longer narratives in which God calls people to do works of justice."

Two things with this, it implies that the right has no ability to analyze longer narratives. And it also suggests that merely quoting the Bible is irrelevant. It'd be pretty easy to charge the religious left with finding what they want in the Bible rather than listening to what it says, no? Anyway, I can only hope that open recognition of a religious left defangs the ridiculous (and dangerous) sentiment that religious speech has no place in the public square.