Date: Tue, 26 Dec 1995 17:51:21 -0500 (EST) From: Chris Purdom Subject: IWG Inquirer/David Boldt/Pew letter The following went out on IWG letterhead listing 2 congregations, 4 religious organizations and 19 clergy from 9 denominations. If you are in the general Philadelphia area and represent a congregation or religious organization or are clergy, let us know if you want to be added - all faiths are welcome. We will also be happy to help start similar organizations in other areas. Visit the web page at http://www.qrd.org/qrd/www/religion/orgs/iwg/. The Philadelphia Inquirer PO Box 8263 Phila., PA 19101 Dear Editors: On December 19, David Boldt lauded a Pew Charitable Trust study that divides the electorate into nine segments. Based on Mr. Boldt's assessment, the study sounds suspiciously like an article published earlier this year in U.S. News and World Report dividing Americans into seven "tribes." Two of the groups in that article were "Liberal Activists" and "Conservative Activists," which are apparently akin to the "seculars" and "moralists" of the Pew study. The names assigned to these groups suggest that this study, like the U.S. News and World Report article, is fatally flawed in that it both fails to recognize a religious motivation in liberal activism, and equates theocracy and anti-sexual attitudes with "morality." Placing Americans in pre-defined niches may be a useful marketing strategy, but reducing politics to a marketing exercise by stereotyping our beliefs does not aid the cause of democracy. Sincerely, Barbara Purdom Christopher Purdom Interfaith Working Group Coordinators