The religious left was never as powerful and cohesive as the religious right. But a new report based on many interviews with religious progressive leaders finds that the Obama era may have further weakened Democrats’ interest in the non-secular.

The report released Thursday by the Brookings Institution argues that religious progressives could be heading for a renaissance if they can focus on what some see as the civil rights issue of our time: economic justice.

The report, by the institute’s Governance Studies Program, is based on polling and interviews with many of the top players of Washington’s religious left. This includes John Carr, formerly of the U.S. Bishops Conference, evangelical writer Jim Wallis and Rabbi David Saperstein of the Reform Jewish movement.