“But let justice roll on like a river, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.” (Amos 5:24)

In Upton Sinclair's classic American novel The Jungle, the main character, Jurgis Rudkis, is a Lithuanian immigrant who has suffered endlessly working in Chicago’s meatpacking yards at the turn of the 20th century. After a series of devastating tragedies, Jurgis finds himself with a job at a hotel owned by a wealthy socialist and listening in on a speech being given about the Social Gospel. The speaker argues that not only was Jesus a socialist, he was the first socialist. Hearing these words, our protagonist is moved; he’s at peace knowing that he can be part of a socialist movement and still be a good Christian, because, as he learns, being a socialist is the pinnacle of what it means to be a true Christian.

In 2019, the income inequality level in the US hit a five-decade high. Over 28 million Americans don’t have healthcare presently, and just last week scientists moved the Doomsday Clock to 100 seconds to midnight – in part because of the threat the climate crisis poses to the survival of humanity. July’s Democratic convention is just five months away and many prominent white Protestant evangelicals have spent the length of the Democratic primary season proselytizing Truman-era propaganda of a socialist destruction that would befall America if a left-leaning candidate were to win the presidency – even though reforms like universal healthcare have been successfully implemented in other countries.

While black Protestant evangelicals have long disavowed white evangelical Republicans’ visions of social justice, and the NeverTrump evangelicals have spoken out against the current government since 2016, white evangelicals still make up a third of the Republican voting bloc. My father, a white evangelical and born-again Christian, is concerned about the US government taking a hard turn to the left if either Elizabeth Warren or Bernie Sanders were to win the presidency. We couldn’t be further apart on politics and I don’t think it’s easy for either of us. As a family, we try to gently agree to disagree.

But I wasn’t raised religious. I learned about Christianity at the Catholic schools I grew up going to, and from members of different Christian faith communities. My earliest impressions of what Christianity was really about came from reading about Jesus’s rejection of ancient Rome’s inequitable, oppressive and violent status quo, from his humility, his vision of brotherhood and his kindness and loving dedication to the disenfranchised.

And the warnings about socialism aren’t really directed at my generation. When Republicans call Democrats “socialists”, they are speaking to baby boomers haunted by the memories of the Cold War. For my parents, the word “socialism” meant nuclear standoffs – a government war against democracy, freedom of press, expression, privacy, and religion.

But for millennials who grew up in a time where the Cold War was just a chapter in a history book, many of us associate the politics of social democracy with the best educational outcomes in the world, like in Finland, and free, accessible healthcare for everyone in France and the UK, countries which have better survival and disease prevention rates than the US and which don’t impinge on personal freedoms.

A couple weeks ago, I spoke with author and National Catholic Reporter’s news editor Peter Feuerherd about his work on the history of evangelicals and social justice movements in the US. He told me about several periods when Protestant evangelicals, in the broadest sense of the definition, advocated for faith-based socialist political models of government. There was the pre-civil war abolitionist movement that started in the 1830’s and grew out of Protestant evangelicalism. The Social Gospel movement flourished between 1870 and 1920 with adherents who advocated for improved conditions for factory workers and immigrants, ending child labor and other critical social improvements for poor and working class Americans. And then there was the Civil Rights movement of the 1950’s and ‘60’s, where biblical scripture formed the centerpiece of Dr Martin Luther King’s fight for justice for black people in this country.

At the time Jesus lived, illness, poverty and misfortune were considered rebukes from God. In contrast to that belief, his ministry sought out the forsaken and persecuted by speaking directly to them and to those who wielded influence over their lives – the Romans.

In a conversation with Dr Elaine Klemen-Bassiouni, a social worker, counselor and Council Chair of the Wellington Avenue United Church of Christ in Chicago, I asked her about the less commonly referenced biblical passages that make mention of socialist principles. She reminded me of the Book of Acts (Acts of the Apostles), which contains the following passages:

“All the believers were together and had everything in selling their possessions and goods, they shared with anyone who was in need.” (Acts 2:44-45)

“All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had.” (Acts 4:32)

The Book of Jeremiah is also particularly relevant:

“This is what the LORD says: Administer justice and righteousness. Rescue the victim of robbery from the hand of his oppressor. Do no wrong or violence to the foreigner, the fatherless, or the widow.” (Jeremiah 22:3)

But perhaps even more compelling is Jesus’ proclamation of his ministry in a synagogue on the morning of the Sabbath, as he read the scroll of the prophet Isaiah:

“… the Lord has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;…

To comfort all who mourn…” (Isaiah 61:1–2)

In Jeremiah and Isaiah, is Jesus not speaking to the migrant children held in flu-infested cages on the border? Is he not speaking to young black men targeted by police officers because of their race? Is he not speaking to the millions of Americans who have to choose between paying for groceries or prescription drugs, or between taking on massive debt or getting a college education? In the Book of Acts, is he not speaking to our political class? Is there really any question about whether our capitalist system is working for most Americans and the planet?

According to the evangelical Republican senator Marco Rubio, “Socialism is wholly incompatible with America. Our unique, entrepreneurial spirit thrives in defiance of the notion of state control of markets.” But I ask if that’s still true even if those markets have left Americans spending more than most OECD states, but receiving worse quality healthcare?

Bernie Sanders responds to Hillary Clinton's 'nobody likes him' comments

When the Republican evangelical senator Lindsey Graham proposed an unconstitutional bill aiming to eventually overturn federal abortion law, he mentioned that he wanted to get off a list of seven other nations that granted citizens substantial abortion rights. Does he not also want to get off the list of the nations with the highest child poverty rate among OECD countries? Does Sen. Graham’s worry for the fetus in-utero not extend to the child in the cage on the border? If not, why?

When I asked Dr Klemen-Bassiouni about the dichotomy between the Gospels and the blind support of our current economic and political model by many white evangelicals, she told me that “with religious texts you can’t pick and choose, you have to look at them in their totality… Jesus’s ministry was about feeding the hungry, supporting the weak, helping the afflicted and honoring, respecting and caring for all human beings. When you pick and choose you can always find some statement to support your stance. But that’s not the way to understand Jesus’s message.”

And she’s right. The bible was used to support the pro-slavery movement and segregationists used biblical passages to defend their positions during the Civil Rights era.

Granted, I understand that both Sanders and Warren hold views that many evangelicals don’t support, including on issues like abortion. And even for the average Democrat that supports abortion rights for women and LGBTQ rights among many other progressive policies, Sanders and Warren are still far from being perfect candidates. But, of the remaining contenders, the two have the best track records on fighting for same overarching vision of social justice and equality for humanity that Jesus spoke about, and was crucified for, over 2,000 years ago – shouldn’t that matter to white evangelical Republicans?

I asked Dr Klemen-Bassiouni why she thought white evangelicals demonize Sanders and Warren for their “socialist” ideals and she told me, “In the US we have a culture of a bizarre kind of individualism: if you’re in a situation that’s bad it’s because it’s you’ve made the wrong choices. For privileged people that means I’ve made the right choices and thus I’m entitled to my privilege. This kind of thinking facilitates separatism and racism.” In other words, it justifies the haves and have-nots.

The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Show all 25 1 /25 The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Bernie Sanders The Vermont senator has launched a second bid for president after losing out to Hilary Clinton in the 2016 Democratic primaries. He is running on a similar platform of democratic socialist reform Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Joe Biden The former vice president recently faced scrutiny for inappropriate touching of women, but was thought to deal with the criticism well and has since maintained a front runner status in national polling EPA The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Elizabeth Warren The Massachusetts senator is a progressive Democrat, and a major supporter of regulating Wall Street Reuters The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Amy Klobuchar Klobuchar is a Minnesota senator who earned praise for her contribution to the Brett Kavanaugh hearings Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Michael Bloomberg Michael Bloomberg, a late addition to the 2020 race, announced his candidacy after months of speculation in November. He has launched a massive ad-buying campaign and issued an apology for the controversial "stop and frisk" programme that adversely impacted minority communities in New York City when he was mayor Getty Images The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Tulsi Gabbard The Hawaii congresswoman announced her candidacy in January, but has faced tough questions on her past comments on LGBT+ rights and her stance on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Pete Buttigieg The centrist Indiana mayor and war veteran would be the first openly LGBT+ president in American history Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Deval Patrick The former Massachusetts governor launched a late 2020 candidacy and received very little reception. With just a few short months until the first voters flock to the polls, the former governor is running as a centrist and believes he can unite the party's various voting blocs AFP/Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Beto O'Rourke The former Texas congressman formally launched his bid for the presidency in March. He ran on a progressive platform, stating that the US is driven by "gross differences in opportunity and outcome" AP The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Kamala Harris The former California attorney general was introduced to the national stage during Jeff Sessions’ testimony. She has endorsed Medicare-for-all and proposed a major tax-credit for the middle class AFP/Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Bill De Blasio The New York mayor announced his bid on 16 May 2019. He emerged in 2013 as a leading voice in the left wing of his party but struggled to build a national profile and has suffered a number of political setbacks in his time as mayor AFP/Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Steve Bullock The Montana governor announced his bid on 14 May. He stated "We need to defeat Donald Trump in 2020 and defeat the corrupt system that lets campaign money drown out the people's voice, so we can finally make good on the promise of a fair shot for everyone." He also highlighted the fact that he won the governor's seat in a red [Republican] state Reuters The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Cory Booker The New Jersey Senator has focused on restoring kindness and civility in American politics throughout his campaign, though he has failed to secure the same level of support and fundraising as several other senators running for the White House in 2020 Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Wayne Messam Mayor of the city of Miramar in the Miami metropolitan area, Wayne Messam said he intended to run on a progressive platform against the "broken" federal government. He favours gun regulations and was a signatory to a letter from some 400 mayors condemning President Trump's withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accord Vice News The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Kirsten Gillibrand The New York Senator formally announced her presidential bid in January, saying that “healthcare should be a right, not a privilege” Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: John Delaney The Maryland congressman was the first to launch his bid for presidency, making the announcement in 2017 AP The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Andrew Yang The entrepreneur announced his presidential candidacy by pledging that he would introduce a universal basic income of $1,000 a month to every American over the age of 18 Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Julian Castro The former San Antonio mayor announced his candidacy in January and said that his running has a “special meaning” for the Latino community in the US Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Marianne Williamson The author and spiritual adviser has announced her intention to run for president. She had previously run for congress as an independent in 2014 but was unsuccessful Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Eric Swalwell One of the younger candidates, Swalwell has served on multiple committees in the House of Representatives. He intended to make gun control central to his campaign but dropped out after his team said it was clear there was no path to victory Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Seth Moulton A Massachusetts congressman, Moulton is a former US soldier who is best known for trying to stop Nancy Pelosi from becoming speaker of the house. He dropped out of the race after not polling well in key states Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Jay Inslee Inslee has been governor of Washington since 2013. His bid was centred around climate change AFP/Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: John Hickenlooper The former governor of Colorado aimed to sell himself as an effective leader who was open to compromise, but failed to make a splash on the national stage Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Tim Ryan Ohio representative Tim Ryan ran on a campaign that hinged on his working class roots, though his messaging did not appear to resonate with voters Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Tom Steyer Democratic presidential hopeful billionaire and philanthropist Tom Steyer is a longtime Democratic donor AFP/Getty

When I posed the same question to Feuerherd, he had a similar take. He said, “They have forgotten to read the Acts of the Apostles. It describes a socialist system; everything held in common. People’s needs were taken care of and it was really a utopian community there.” He went on to explain that, according to the Social Gospel, “the Kingdom of God is right here, not in the afterlife…We need to build it up right here in this space, right now.”

Regardless of whether Elizabeth Warren or Bernie Sanders wins the Democratic Party’s nomination, neither of them are out to nationalize all American industry and freeze millionaire’s bank accounts – they’re simply looking to redirect part of a $1.3 trillion dollar military budget and cancel Trump’s tax cuts to the top 1 per cent, because we all know trickle-down economics don’t work. Like Sen. Warren has said time and time again, America should “ work for everyone”. It’s a simple message, consistent with the messages of the bible.