With a president they view as more sympathetic to their causes, progressive religious activists are pushing the new Obama administration for aggressive action — on poverty, the environment and social justice issues — that would mark a significant shift in the faith agenda that dominated the Bush years.
Many faith groups close to President George W. Bush focused on abortion, stem-cell research and same-sex marriage. But now, liberal and centrist evangelicals and other activists say they are getting a voice and trying to turn the debate.
