WASHINGTON (RNS) A new federation of two dozen conservative Christian groups announced plans Tuesday (June 30) to work together to strategize around moral values they feel are under attack across the country.
“We are not wed to a particular partisan candidate or party,” said Mathew Staver, founder of Liberty Counsel and an organizer of the Freedom Federation. “We are wed to core shared values.”
Those values include opposition to abortion, same-sex marriage and pornography and support for religious freedom, limited government and the right to own firearms.
The announcement followed a meeting of some 30 leaders who began a dialogue but did not draw up concrete action plans. Several leaders said work could include addressing health care reform and immigration reform and opposing gay marriage.
Asked if the federation is a response to the new Obama administration, with which many of the affiliated organizations often disagree, Staver said: “It certainly has heightened the concern. It didn’t start the concern.”
Representatives from the various groups, which include ethnic, women’s and youth organizations, said the federation will represent a more inclusive approach to addressing public policy.
“The stereotypical media-exacerbated image of the angry white evangelical will be replaced by an evangelical movement that will reconcile uncompromised values of compassion, truth with mercy, and righteousness with justice,” said the Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference
Wendy Wright, president of Concerned Women for America, said the federation will show the wide range of individuals and groups that agree on biblical guidelines.
“It is bringing together the different voices and different faces that all believe in the same core principles,” she said. “We are on the same page. We do believe the same things, regardless of our sex or our ethnicity.”
Among the groups represented are the American Association of Christian Counselors, the American Family Association, Catholic Online, Family Research Council, High Impact Leadership Coalition, Strang Communications, Traditional Values Coalition, Teen Mania, and Vision America.
By Adelle M. Banks
Copyright 2009 Religion News Service. All rights reserved. No part of this transmission may be distributed or reproduced without written permission.
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posted July 1, 2009 at 5:12 pm
Because really, nothing says Jesus like fighting for the right to own firearms.
posted July 1, 2009 at 6:25 pm
“Freedom Federation”?? Exactly how is it in any way related to freedom? It is being assembled to take away freedoms or deny any rights they believe to be “immoral”. A more appropriate name would be “Freedom From Any Person, Way of Life, or Belief That Doesn’t Agree With Our Narrow View of Christianity Federation”. But I guess that’s a bit of a mouth full isn’t it. God forbid anyone should be given the inalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness unless they are Christian. /sarc
posted July 1, 2009 at 7:18 pm
“Those values include opposition to abortion, same-sex marriage and pornography and support for religious freedom, limited government and the right to own firearms.”
I don’t believe abortion is mentioned in the Bible and it’s a stretch to find an indirect reference. Same for same-sex marriage. And I’m really interested in where they’ll find pornography or support for religious freedom in the Bible. (The main religion they seemed to support was their own; Judaism on the OT, Christianity in the NT). And as for the right to own arms, is that right after turning the other cheek?
Can you say “pathetic”?
posted July 1, 2009 at 8:31 pm
Most of my thoughts were mentioned above, so my comment is:
This can only be seen as NO PROGRESS!
They want “Freedom “? They’ve got that, in the USA. What they don’t have is their right to push their Bible oriented positions on those who aren’t interested….or to take our freedoms away. However I totally disagree with the “gun rights thing”. Is that in the Bible? Nothing says loving than a gun in church…Oh Yes!
posted July 1, 2009 at 8:59 pm
They keep trying, don’t they? It reminds me of the “The Crusade for a Christian Military”, I recently read about on the net. Are these people members of The Family, new paperback now by Jeff Sharlet? It’s about the secret Fundamintalism at The Heart of American Power. I haven’t read it yet, has anyone else? After reading Gates take on CNN this morning that maybe Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell should be more humanely used…..anyone else read that? It makes you wonder if The Crusade for a Christian Military, (Fundamentalist, that is) is so. Very scary.
posted July 1, 2009 at 10:43 pm
Sounds to me like the typical crap coming from the Religious Right fascists. So what else is new from these fundamentalist dupes?
As Sinclair Lewis said back in 1935, “When fascism comes to America it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross.”
posted July 2, 2009 at 7:15 am
To borrow a sentiment from those venerable prophetic voices The Who: Meet the new Religious Right/same as the old Religious Right/we won’t get fooled again.
posted July 2, 2009 at 9:42 am
“Freedom” Federation???
“Liberty” Council???
Orwell himself would be proud of such excellent doublespeak. These folks know NOTHING of liberties or freedoms. In fact, they sh!t on it for some Americans. Their “core shared values’ are, in fact, to restrict freedoms and liberties for some Americans.
No wonder the sselective fundamentalists are losing. Thinking people cn see right thru such blatantly transparent falsehoods.
Their insistence on the rest of “agree on biblical guidelines” exposes them for the theocrats they are.
They absolutely do NOT “support religious freedom” – certainly not that of gay people of faith.
“the federation will represent a more inclusive approach to addressing public policy” – yeah, R-I-I-I-G-H-T!!! So long as you agree with their” approach, you’ll be ‘included’.
“uncompromised values of compassion”
So now compassion means kicking people out of their jobs (or refusing to hire them in the first place), denying their families health care and other employment benefits, evicting them from hospital visits to their partners, taking away their children, anulling their marriages, arresting them for being in a public place and sending some to hospital with bleeding brains. PUH-LEEZE spare us from such “compassion” – it’s killing us. Really.
“It is bringing together the different voices and different faces”
LAFFF!. These people are afraid of different voices and different faces.
What. A. Farce.
posted July 2, 2009 at 12:08 pm
Are you kidding me? These are the same clowns from the 70′s and 80′s.
They are peddle the same old junk. Haven’t we have enough? Let’s give a BIG thummps down to these people. God will judge them for their bigotries and what they didn’t do for their fellow human being.
as the old say goes. If it walks like a duck. Talks likes a duck. Chances are are it is a duck. So much for the constipated duck.
The truth is the poor people are the big losers, since these conservatives tends to support the wealthy class of candidates and like minded people. God help us all!!!
posted July 2, 2009 at 1:43 pm
Pacific Justice Institute who say,if you google them, they defend Parental Rights, Religious, legal issue with abortion concent and etc. are trying to sue Castro H.S., in San Franciso for 15,000 because someone who was present at a special talk on diversity by a U.C.C. minister, who happened to be gay and female, was accused of instructing the students how to be come GLBT. Of course we all know this is a mock-up accusation but this is a legal group and stirring up more trouble as they did when Prop 8 was going great guns. The Anti-Defamation League condemned them for invoking Hitler and Nazi Germany in their campaign against Prop8. One more group to watch.
posted July 2, 2009 at 1:47 pm
I was a conservative in the Goldwater days when there were real conservatives and Barry would puke at what these people do. He didn’t like them when he was alive. But they aren’t interested in philosophy or probably even theology; they’re interested in power and they think combining the anti-gay bigots and the anti-abortionists and the NRA’rs and maybe pull in a few anti-pornography people they don’t otherwise have, and they hope they’ll get a majority again so they can get people in posts of power and money for their stupid sex-ed courses and on and on.
We must hope, and feel free to pray, that they fail badly.
Thanks Henrietta. Scary outfit. They scare as many foolish people as they can.
posted July 2, 2009 at 2:26 pm
Well I don’t consider myself as either foolish or scared but I do agree with many of their concerns and I would certainly support their right to the freedom to express such concerns. The attempt to silence any moral disagreement is communistic and lame so count me in and if I have a choice between liberal’s scare tactic’s and these concerns I pick this group to support.
posted July 2, 2009 at 2:50 pm
Cknuck I just don’t see how you can condone a group that wants to spit on what it is to be American. To be free. To be able to live and let live. THEY are the ones trying to silence any differing viewpoint. I don’t agree with you at all. I don’t agree with them at all. The difference that makes me a patriot and shows I have a true understanding of what it is to be a citizen of the United States is that I don’t want to legislate your rights to be different away. You support their freedom to take away freedoms from people with differing views and ways of life. Your and their need to punish difference is truly vile and disgusting.
posted July 2, 2009 at 3:32 pm
“The attempt to silence any moral disagreement is communistic and lame so count me in and if I have a choice between liberal’s scare tactic’s and these concerns I pick this group to support.”
Just what attempt is it you are talking about cknuck? This sounds like more conservative self pitying martyr complex.
posted July 2, 2009 at 3:58 pm
I’m having trouble figuring out how gun ownership became a moral value?
posted July 2, 2009 at 9:16 pm
“Freedom Federation”…sounds like the name of a superhero team. I guess they didn’t add “of America” at the end (patriotic though it would have been) for fear of being sued by DC. I suppose they would fight the evil Culture of Death (who in true comic book fashion would spell their name with a K). And the Kulture would consist of villains like Dr. Partial-Birth (abortion), the Tree Hugger (environmentalism), Don Gay McStereotype (Godfather of the Velvet Mafia), and a Salvation Army Santa Claus (socialism AND secularization of Christmas, a two-in-one threat). Not sure who’d be fit for the FF though. Superman’s an illegal alien, Batman hates guns, and Wonder Woman…come on. She lives in a society of warrior women, so by their logic she must be a lesbian. I hear Aquaman’s available though.
posted July 4, 2009 at 1:37 am
Couch it in all the pseudo-spiritual and religious wrappings you want, this is still nothing more than another political action group. For that it is flawed from the outset.
Morderd
I like your idea. But you need a Liberal Loud & Proud Clergy type. You might call him/her “ShadowFaith” (though I don’t think a 5:00 shadow would be mask enough). And they could be the Qal’ture of Death (a nod to Islamic spellings). This could work!!
posted July 4, 2009 at 12:52 pm
Pat the only thing vile and disgusting is your language you seem to not be able to have a conversation without name calling and using extreme terms. Is every opinion different than yours vile and disgusting? Grow up.
posted July 4, 2009 at 12:55 pm
nnmns what pity party I’m stating a fact not in pity I’ve lost nothing. Are you telling me that liberals are above using scare tactics? Because I’m not saying that conservatives are and if you indentify when that happens I’ll keep a open mind.
posted July 4, 2009 at 2:57 pm
Not all of them cknuck, but certainly yours are.
posted July 4, 2009 at 3:37 pm
Pat gave a good point that anti-gay people, for whatever reasons, are trying to take away the freedoms of GLBT. He was accused of using the words vile and disgusting. Well you called Heretic for Christ ridiculous on another article here to comment on, because you didn’t agree with him.
posted July 4, 2009 at 10:14 pm
H22 there is a difference between being ridiculous and being called vile please catch up. And there is a difference in trying to change marriage and rights. Many people disagree with the what is marriage, I happen to be on these people’s side.
posted July 5, 2009 at 2:02 am
Once again ck, get off the high horse and stop trying to play the victim. I never called you vile and disgusting, I called your opinions vile and disgusting. Catch up.
posted July 5, 2009 at 2:33 am
As much as I don’t ;ike you Pat I would never use those words concerning you. Being right is not being on a high horse be appropriate have a conversation that has to do with facts.
posted July 5, 2009 at 2:13 pm
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posted July 5, 2009 at 4:01 pm
55,000 is the equivalent to a small town
posted July 5, 2009 at 4:09 pm
Ck, criticism is criticim, no matter how colorful or plain it is.
It’s just that your facts do not match our facts.
posted July 5, 2009 at 8:20 pm
I would LOVE to have a conversation based on fact. CK does that mean you’re going to stop using the bible as your basis for conversation?
posted July 6, 2009 at 1:17 am
Pat I’d rather not have a conversation with you at all it would be a poor use of my time.
H22 I’ve respected your opinions mostly because you are generally civil not that you are right. Much of your homosexual information is based on emotional attachment and not fact. I respect that because most people are just people regardless to sexuality but that does not mean i have to agree on some of your stands.