Glenn Beck doesn't get to decide what a "real" religious issue is
Since Faithful America unveiled its new radio ad last week challenging Glenn Beck's claims about social justice, Beck has ramped up his attacks. As Media Matters notes, Beck responded to the ad by alleging that issues important to 100,000 Faithful America members had nothing to do with religion, but in fact were the products of "fascism" and "evil."
While dismissing health care reform, immigration reform and ending war and torture, he directed particular attention to Faithful America's commitment to addressing climate change. Beck complained:"If your pastor or priest or whoever is talking about social justice and it is, 'God is telling you that the government needs to solve global warming', run for your life."
Beck may not want to believe climate change is a religious issue, but there's a reason people of faith across the spectrum-- from evangelical leaders and the conservative Christian Coalition to the Pope, numerous mainline protestant churches, and Jewish groups-- have called for action on this issue. Not only is our current energy infrastructure unsustainable, but it disproportionately harms the poor. As climate change continues to worsen, access to clean water and food supplies deteriorate, and extreme changes in weather uproot entire communities--hitting developing countries the hardest. Our faiths call us to care for both creation and those in need, both of which will be devastated if we fail to act.
Beck's attempt to appoint himself arbiter of what is or is not a religious issue may make for good radio, but by ignoring the broad religious concern for the issues he's dismissing, Beck reveals his true ignorance.
Standing Up to Beck's Attacks on Social Justice
Yesterday Faithful America unveiled a new Christian radio ad campaign calling out Glenn Beck for his attacks on churches that preach about social justice. (You can listen to an audio recording here.) The ad -- which has already earned media coverage at Time and The Atlantic -- will run on Christian stations in several cities Beck visits on his national summer tour, airing in each market while he is in town. The campaign will kick off with Beck's July 31st event in Westbury, NY, and continue through later stops in New Jersey, Washington, DC, and South Carolina.
The ads are part of Faithful America's "Driven by Faith, Not by Fear" campaign, an effort to counter the fear, lies and hateful rhetoric of extreme pundits and the Tea Party.
If you're just joining us, Beck kicked off his anti-faith campaign in March, when he linked social justice to communism and Nazism and urged his audience to abandon churches that preach social justice, saying:
"I beg you, look for the words 'social justice' or 'economic justice' on your church Web site. If you find it, run as fast as you can. Social justice and economic justice, they are code words. Now, am I advising people to leave their church? Yes."
Since then Beck has kept up the effort, attacking Sojourners CEO Jim Wallis, Jewish Funds for Justice CEO Simon Greer, and a host of others. Most recently, he lashed out at Black Liberation Theology. And Beck's almost certainly not done yet. Regardless of what he and other demagogues say, Faithful America and the broader religious community dedicated to social justice will continue to stand up to their vitriol and stand up for our values.
Enslaved by absurdity
Faithful America's "Driven by Faith, Not by Fear" campaign this summer is mobilizing people of faith across the country to stand up to hateful rhetoric that distorts and inflames our public dialogue. An example of this kind of speech came up at a political rally in Colorado this weekend, where Rep. Michele Bachmann said America has moved toward a return to slavery since President Obama took office. From the Colorado Independent:
In a room of 600 conservative voters brought together by former Colorado Senate president John Andrews' Centennial Institute, along with Liberty on the Rocks and Colorado Christian University, Bachmann brought the crowd to its feet more than once as she called for an end to the progressive agenda she said has taken over Washington.
"'We are determined to live free or not at all. And we are resolved that posterity shall never reproach us with having brought slaves into the world,'" Bachmann read from founding father John Jay , ending her reading with the statement, "We will talk a little bit about what has transpired in the last 18 months and would we count what has transpired into turning our country into a nation of slaves."
Seriously, a nation of slaves? Show me the chains, the lashes, the sale of human beings, the captivity, the brutal working conditions, the denial of basic personal freedom. We have Constitutional amendments ensuring that this never happens again. Suggesting that America is on its way back to slavery couldn't be more misleading. People of faith need to stand up and declare that this kind of rhetoric has no place in public discourse. It's antithetical to our values. To join Faithful America's summer campaign to counter misleading fearmongering such as Bachmann's, visit Faithfulamerica.org.
Also, Colorado Christian University, which participated in the event, lists among its strategic objectives "be seekers of truth" and "debunk 'spent ideas' and those who traffic in them." I hope they execute these objectives in the wake of Bachmann's remarks. The most cursory search for truth would reveal her accusations to be groundless. Furthermore, conservative arguments that progressive policies will lead to the demise of freedom - accusations made about Social Security, Medicare and now health care reform - have repeatedly not come true. How long until such rhetoric gets classified as a "spent idea"?
We have a winner!
Last week, Faithful America - FPL's online community of people of faith - launched a contest to create a slogan for our summer campaign to stand up for our values and denounce the hateful rhetoric that's received disproportionate media attention and poisoned our public debates in recent months. After submitting hundreds of nominees, the Faithful America community voted for their favorite among the five finalists, selecting "Driven by Faith, Not by Fear" as the winner. We've turned this winning slogan into a bumper sticker and are sending it to everyone who joins the campaign and pledges to "Drive Out" hate.
To join the campaign and receive a free sticker, visit the Faithful America petition page here.
Faith community takes action on financial reform
As the Senate begins debate on financial reform legislation (well, eventually -- a filibuster will likely delay the start of the debate), many of our allies in the faith community are working to curb the predatory and reckless practices of our nation's largest financial institutions, which have devastated families and communities across the country.
PICO National Network and Faithful America have launched Our Money, Our Values - a campaign to organize congregations and individuals to divest millions of dollars from the big banks if they don't agree to end unjust practices like funding predatory lending and kicking people out of their homes unnecessarily. And faith groups will take part in massive demonstrations this week on Wall Street, as well as at the annual shareholder meetings of Bank of America and Wells Fargo, calling on them to take responsibility for their role in the financial crisis, keep families in their homes, and invest in communities affected by the recession.
Undergirding much of this activism are rich theological arguments for financial reform. Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good released a statement today pointing out that reining in the abuses of powerful financial institutions is consistent with centuries of Catholic social teaching, as well as Pope Benedict's encyclical addressing the financial crisis as a moral issue. And over at Associated Baptist Press, David Gushee grounds support for financial reform in the tradition of Christian social ethics that inspired the fight to end child labor in the 19th century.
I'd add simply that many opponents of reform are using demonstrably false talking points to make their case. Hopefully these mendacious efforts won't lead lawmakers astray or convince the American people that financial reform will lead to institutionalized bailouts.
We're Gonna Need a Bigger Boat, Ctd.
Looks like Tom Toles had the same idea as Avaaz.org and Faithful America (albeit a few months later).
A step toward making nukes history
When President Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed the START Treaty this week -- which places additional limits on the circumstance under which use of nuclear weapons is authorized and reduces nuclear weapons stockpiles by 1/3 -- faith leaders responded with strong statements of support, which received ample news coverage. Religion and Ethics Newsweekly and the Washington Post's On Faith section placed the treaty in the context of the faith community's decades-long efforts to abolish nuclear weapons, citing Catholic, Evangelical, Methodist, and Presbyterian advocacy on the issue. Catholic News Service reported that the US Conference of Catholic Bishops endorsed the pact, and outlets such as Associated Baptist Press, World Magazine, Religion News Service and the Christian Post reported support for the treaty among evangelical leaders such as Rich Cizik, Joel Hunter, and Two Futures Project executive director Rev. Tyler Wigg-Stevenson. (A USA Today article on the treaty also included a quote from Tyler.) The breadth of coverage speaks to the faith community's dedication to this issue.
And it's not just statements. People of faith are organizing and pushing for a action, as well. Today, Faithful America circulated a petition from True Majority calling for "a legally binding verifiable agreement, including all nations, to eliminate nuclear weapons by a date certain."
Spinning and Distorting Faith
When former Bush administration staffer Marc Thiessen appeared on EWTN (a Catholic television network) last week and cloaked torture under the euphemistic guise of "enhanced interrogation" and made a theological case for waterboarding, many people of faith took exception and refuted Thiessen's preposterous claims.
Now Faithful America is launching the taking the "Don't Spin Our Faith" campaign, flooding EWTN with email petitions calling for a correction of Thiessen's misinformation -- which they made no effort to do while he was on the air or afterward -- and reminding them that they have a moral and journalistic responsibility to tell the truth about torture.
EWTN is certainly not the first outlet to let torture defenders spin and deceive (recall that the Washington Post hired Thiessen as a columnist), but religious media have a special obligation to the millions of people of faith rely on religious media to stay informed on the pressing issues of the day in a manner consistent with their values. Click here to join Faithful America's campaign to make sure that religious media is a "No Spin Zone" when it comes to torture.
Keeping the ball moving on climate change
Even though climate change legislation has been relegated to the side stage for the moment, the issue is still receiving some political attention. The Wall Street Journal reported today that the 2011 federal budget holds some promising measures:
Mr. Obama's budget calls for $39 billion in tax increases on fossil-fuel producers over 10 years. It also includes an estimated $1.4 billion to help developing countries address the impacts of climate change, reduce deforestation and shift to low-carbon energy sources. And it proposes tripling federal support for nuclear energy, by adding $36 billion in new loan authority for an Energy Department program aimed at speeding the construction of new reactors. (emphasis added)
Although the challenge of equipping people who are already feeling the effects of climate change requires greater investment than this, it's encouraging to see that it hasn't fallen off the radar, even as legislation stalls. The thousands of Faithful America members who joined the DaySix campaign are watching closely, as are countless other people of faith across the country and around the world.
No more scripture on US weapons
Following an ABC News investigation and efforts from faith groups such as Faithful America and The Interfaith Alliance, the weapons manufacturer that had been putting Bible verses on gun sights used by US troops in Iraq and Afghanistan is changing its practices:
Trijicon, the gunsight maker that has imprinted Bible verse numbers on its scopes, has announced that it will no longer imprint the verses on the sides of scopes intended for the U.S. military, and will also provide clients with the kits to remove the Bible verse numbers from existing scopes.
Thanks to everyone who stood up to this misuse of faith -- including over 5,000 Faithful America members!
Keeping our faith in our sights
UPDATE: The manufacturer is now going to remove the Bible verses from the gun sights.
ABC Nightline News broke an unsettling story this weekend-- apparently, the U.S. Army and Marine Corps have been outfitting their troops with high-powered rifle sights that bear Biblical inscriptions.
When asked about it, the military seemed nonchalant. A military spokesman yesterday said, "This situation is not unlike the situation with U.S. currency... Are we going to stop using money because the bills have 'In God We Trust' on them? As long as the sights meet the combat needs of troops, they'll continue to be used."
Seems to me that's a faulty analogy which doesn't account for the fact that the purpose of the gun, unlike a dollar bill, is to inflict bodily harm upon another human being.
While there has been a slight change of tone since then--- a separate military spokesperson said, "We are aware of the issue and are concerned with how this may be perceived"-- the situation still gives me pause.
Obviously Trijicon, Inc., the firm producing the rifle sights, should be allowed to put whatever inscription on their product they like. But that the U.S. Armed Forces used taxpayer dollars to pay for these sights is troubling, not only from a constitutional perspective, but especially from a religious perspective.
It sounds like these inscriptions weren't just innocuous decorations on firearms. Michael Weinstein, a former Air Force attorney now with the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, said that members of his group on active duty spoke of commanders who referred to weapons with the sights as "spiritually transformed firearms of Jesus Christ."
Regardless of one's views on the morality of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, I think we can all agree that God's messages of love and hope for the world are a bad fit for a tool used to aim a rifle at another human being.
Sign Faithful America's petition to make your voice heard on this abuse of faith.
The ark...
We're gonna need a bigger boat...
This Saturday, people of faith and activists all over the world are stepping up the pressure on the world's leaders to come away from the Copenhagen climate talks with a real deal: one that is fair, ambitious and binding.
In Washington DC, Faithful America is teaming up with Avaaz.org's Action Factory DC to show our leaders what "Plan B" looks like, in case Copenhagen fails: an ark. Yep, like Noah's Ark. The ark is in the construction phase right now (if you're in DC, you can stop by and see it -- it's on the National Mall around 13th St. NW). On Saturday, hundreds will gather for a vigil in front of the ark, joining their voices with tens of thousands all over the world to urge the world's leaders to ensure a "real deal" on climate.
While of course we won't be able to save the earth by marching two-by-two into a giant boat, the ark is a great symbol of the extent of the destruction we can expect if we don't do anything to stop climate change.
Aside from the obvious religious significance of the ark, faith communities will be well-represented at Saturday's candelight vigil. Rev. Derrick Harkins and Greater Washington Interfaith Power and Light Director Joelle Novey are scheduled to speak alongside other activists and leaders.
Combined with the faith delegation in Copenhagen itself, and the world-wide coordinated churchbell ringing this Sunday, Saturday's vigil is a real testimate to the leadership many people of faith have shown on this issue.
And with a problem as big as climate change, we're going to need all the leadership we can get!
In the DC area and want to check out the Ark or maybe even help with construction? Check out more details here.
(image courtesy of Action Factory DC)
Thousands Ask Sen. Brownback to Demand Accountability for Misuse of Faith
Update on yesterday's post. To support the efforts of Faithful America and Catholics United, Faith in Public Life issued this press release:
Over 3,000 Americans of faith are calling on Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kansas) to set the record straight about his position on a recent fundraising letter sent under his name, which called into question the sincerity of the faith of seven Catholic members of Congress. The group also insists that funds raised from this misuse of religion are returned or donated to charity.The letter claimed to be a voice for "real Catholics" and questioned whether six Democratic Catholic senators and the Speaker of the House are genuine in their faith, calling several senators' faith a "smokescreen." The letter was a fundraising appeal for Catholic Advocate, an organization run by former Bush advisor Deal Hudson.
Sen. Brownback's office has said they are not pleased with the letter and do not want his name used in future appeals, but they acknowledge that permission was granted by a former staffer to send it under Sen. Brownback's name. This has resulted in conflicting news reports about Sen. Brownback's position on the letter. Meanwhile, Catholics across America have already received the fundraising appeal under Sen. Brownback's name, and Catholic Advocate is continuing to raise money off of it.
Signatories of the petition-- members of Faithful America and Catholics United-- are asking Sen. Brownback to set the record straight and ensure that Hudson's Catholic Advocate won't profit from this misuse of faith, by asking for the funds raised by the letter to be returned or donated to Catholic Charities. Faithful America also contacted Sen. Brownback's office directly to explain the petition and offer assistance in distributing a clarifying statement.
Faithful America is an online community of thousands of people of faith upholding the common good. Faithful America is hosted by Faith in Public Life. Catholics United is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to promoting the message of justice and the common good found at the heart of the Catholic Social Teaching.
And the story is picking up some steam!
Clearing the Air
Since yesterday, the blogosphere has been abuzz with the story (originally broken by the National Catholic Reporter) of a fundraising letter, on official-looking letterhead, purportedly from Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kansas) questioning the sincerity of some prominent Congressional Catholics' faith:
It is so important that we ask our "Catholic" politicians to vote in accord with our traditional moral values. I can't tell you how grateful I am that Catholic Advocate has by back in this fight. Real Catholics need a new voice--not the likes of Ted Kennedy and Nancy Pelosi who have campaigned as Catholics while voting to undermine the values we hold most dear.
Sen. Brownback's office has since put some distance between the senator and the letter, stating that neither the Senator nor his chief of staff approved the letter, but Deal Hudson (whose organization, the Catholic Advocate, was the beneficiary of the appeal) is maintaining his actions were authorized.
Given the shocking nature of the letter (one elected official allegedly calling into question others' religious faith) Faithful America and Catholics United teamed up to get some more clarity.
The organizations are currently petitioning Sen. Brownback to help undo the damage done by this letter by clarifying his position on the letter's content to all those who received it and encouraging Deal Hudson to return or donate any funds raised by the offending campaign.
If you'd like to join this stand for a more civil discussion on faith and politics, you can add your name here.
Faithful America Misleadingly Attacked in Political Ad
Cross-posted at Raising Kaine.
Faithful America, an online community of more than 80,000 people of faith administered by Faith In Public Life, yesterday became the subject of a political attack ad for speaking out against the abuses committed Abu Ghraib in 2004.
The misleading ad, which is running on southern Virginia television stations, refers to Faithful America as a “liberal group that ran ads on Arab TV apologizing for the actions of U.S. troops.” The attack does not mention that the Faithful America ads were a specific response to the abuses committed at Abu Ghraib, or that America’s political and military leaders similarly deplored and condemned the abuses of detainees at the Iraqi prison.
Faithful America mobilized around the tragic brutality at Abu Ghraib prison in 2004 by raising money from its grassroots network to place an advertisement on Arabic-language satellite television expressing sorrow for the abuse. The ad said:
As Americans of faith, we express our deep sorrow at abuses committed in Iraqi prisons,” the ad stated. “We stand in solidarity with all those in Iraq and everywhere who demand justice and human dignity. We condemn the sinful and systemic abuses committed in our name, and pledge to work to right these wrongs.
We stand by Faithful America's response to Abu Ghraib, and we're circulating a petition calling for this distortive and offensive ad to be taken down. It doesn't belong on the airwaves in Virginia or anywhere else.
Faithful America to candidates: Don't bear false witness at debate
Today FaithfulAmerica.org began flooding the Mississippi airwaves with radio ads demanding accountability and honesty from the candidates at Friday’s presidential debate because, as the ad states, “the Ninth Commandment wasn’t just a suggestion.”
“In Mississippi, we teach our kids to let their 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and their 'No' be 'No,'” it begins, echoing the Sermon on the Mount. “Unfortunately, politicians are often more interested in scoring political points and attacking each other than in telling us the whole truth about how they’re going to lead our nation.”
Listen to the ad here.
It encourage voters to contact debate moderator Jim Lehrer to request that he “hold both candidates accountable when they bear false witness about themselves or their opponent.” Faithful America members nationwide are joining in this call to action as well. You can join the effort too at faithfulamerica.org.
The ads are running on Christian and Country radio stations throughout Northern Mississippi and Western Tennessee. Click here to give it a listen.
Faithful America calls for truth-telling in presidential debate
The first presidential debate will take place this Friday at the University of Mississippi, and there's more at stake than the presidency. The race is crossing threshold after threshold of sleaze: character attacks, innuendo, outright lies. A key enabling factor of this debasement is the media's hesitancy to call a lie a lie and a smear a smear. We need truth-telling, and for better or worse we need the media's to help make it happen.
To this end, during the run-up to Friday night's presidential debate, Faithful America is placing ads on Mississippi Christian radio urging listeners to contact debate moderator Jim Lehrer and tell him to hold the candidates accountable if they bear false witness about themselves or each other. Listen to the ad here.
When there's no accountability, commandments get treated like suggestions and integrity becomes a liability. That's not the political culture we need. To help us fund this ad demanding accountability and honesty from the presidential candidates, click here. Thanks!
Faithful America thanks community organizers
Faithful America recently purchased advertisements in the St. Paul Pioneer-Press and Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel thanking community organizers for all they do to advance justice and improve their communities. The ads were funded by contributions from hundreds of Faithful America members who, in response to derisive comments about community organizers, responded to an action alert calling for an expression of gratitude to these humble servants.
Click here to view a PDF of the ad.
If you're not a member of Fatihful America, click here to join the online community of tens of thousands of activists dedicated to the common good.
Faithful America relaunches
It's a big day at Faith In Public Life, where we're relaunching Faithful America, an online community of people of faith dedicated to promoting the common good and reclaiming the values debate. We'll be sending out email alerts at critical moments calling for action that'll really make a difference on issues that matter to people of faith.
Today we launched our first campaign, a petition to the media pollsters asking them to stop pigeonholing people of faith in the presidential primary exit polls. The response so far has been impressive. It's only been live for a few hours and we're already aproaching 3,000 signatures!
In the weeks and months ahead we'll be launching campaigns on issues such as poverty, the environment and human rights. If you're not a member of Faithful America and want to join, click here to sign up. Hope you'll join us!