Many major corporations have general nonprofit programs--usually allowing one to donate a certain percentage of a purchase to a charity, or giving discounts for charities, or both--that are generally done for both the tax writeoffs (for the corps) and for good PR and community support. Dominionist groups--partly because the vast majority are organised as 501(c)3 tax exempt groups--have taken advantage of this increasingly as a funding source. An example that I've found is with the American Family Association of Kentucky (run by notorious gaybaiter Frank Simon), who per their own website maintain "charity affiliate" relationships with Kroger's, Office Depot, Staples (yes, fully two of three office companies here), Thorton's Gas, and Everycall USA. Very often, companies are not aware of what they are funding. To give an example of some of the stuff AFA-KY and/or Frank Simon have pulled in past:
Quotes from Simon and other dominionists (compared with comments from the Nazi Party regarding Jews) Simon also, notably, has promoted The Pink Swastika in his literature--that book is a bit of Holocaust revisionism that claims not only that gays were not murdered en masse by the Nazis but that the gays were, quite literally, not only Nazis but the very architects of the Holocaust (which is a bit of Holocaust revisionism designed specifically to appeal to "Christian Zionists"--Simon is the head deacon of the specific Assemblies of God church I walked away from, and the church itself is heavily involved in "Christian Zionism"). There is info re AFA state affiliates here. Many of them take the same tactics--and partly because these are state affiliates, national and multinational companies may not be aware of the histories of these groups. I mention this in part because--much like how pressure from progressive groups successfully got Ford to stop kowtowing to AFA's bullying--progressive groups have also successfully cut off funding sources to dominionist groups that are abusing affiliate programs. One notable example is that of Kingdombuy.com. Kingdombuy was a front group of the Assemblies of God that operated as a web portal for purchase--essentially, KingdomBuy would specifically register with affiliate programs of major companies, and when people would buy products online through KingdomBuy the latter would donate the money it received from affiliate programs to a number of dominionist groups. Like the vast majority of Assemblies of God frontgroups, the group never advertised its links to the AoG, but the AoG was more than happy to note its links in its news service and the group was heavily promoted by Assemblies of God churches. (It is also one of at least forty groups of national or international focus that qualify as AoG front-groups; this is a number comparable with other coercive groups like the Moonies or Scientology.) One of the particular groups that KingdomBuy partnered with was the American Family Association; another was a group called Abiding Truth Ministries--the same group that publishes "The Pink Swastika". There were quite a number of companies that KingdomBuy had suckered in as a "charity" towards its peak. One group--the Mississippi Gay Lobby, now Equality Mississippi--began the process of a boycott of each of the hundreds of retailers who were promoted via KingdomBuy--and also wrote the companies to inform them of just what their religious affiliate programs were supporting. Quite a number of the companies were, to put it mildly, rather horrified and started dropping KingdomBuy affiliations. Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Nordstrom, Wal-Mart (for a time, anyways) and J.C. Penney were among companies that promptly dropped KingdomBuy like a hot potato. Dominionist groups were not happy. AFA practically crucified the head of Nordstrom after the CEO mentioned the promotion of the AFA was one of the main reasons they were dropping the KingdomBuy account, including literally accusing the companies that were dropping accounts of "supporting pornography". Companies kept dropping accounts after finding out just what KingdomBuy was supporting. J. Crew specifically even condemned the AFA. CVS also joined the growing list dropping their affiliations. Dominionists stepped up and accused boycotters themselves of being pornographers. The protest was made out in dominionist rags as being run "by pornographers". The result of people working together? Multiple companies--most of whom were unaware of what the American Family Association or its ilk promote--left in droves, and kingdombuy.com's webpage is now dead (there is no longer a web portal operating at the site). This shows the importance of watching not only national but state affiliates of dominionist groups, and watching specifically who they claim support from--if it's an affiliate program, more often than not (especially if it's an AFA or Family Research Council affiliate) the headquarters--often in another state--don't always know what's up. We've beaten them before. This is a way we can starve the beast, folks--to put some action in Talk2Action: a) research what companies have partnerships with dominionist groups in affiliate programs (this requires going onto dominionist websites themselves--including websites of the churches behind the dominionist movement) b) write those companies, call them, don't let pressure till they drop the affiliate programs (this is how KingdomBuy's racket was beat). Include documentation in your letters including examples of the kind of stuff dominionist groups are spewing (this was a big part of the success in the campaign against both Ford's AFA capitulation and against KingdomBuy's racket). c) For active supporters of dominionism (like Chick-Fil-A or Hobby Lobby--both companies that actively fund the dominionist movement and are very close to dominionist groups), actively boycott them and be sure to tell folks exactly why--explain to them what kinds of stuff dominionist groups explicitly are supporting.
An area we can hit dominionism where it hurts | 11 comments (11 topical, 0 hidden)
Which deserves to be in a special section reserved for the best ideas to emerge from this site.
by Bruce Wilson on Thu Dec 15, 2005 at 12:22:59 PM EST
I've always advocated going after their funding- if they're hit in the wallet, that will take a lot of wind out of their sails.
by Lorie Johnson on Thu Dec 15, 2005 at 01:02:38 PM EST
Dominionism and the free market economy cannot grow together peaceably, since dominionists, if given all the power that they seek, would actually shut down many businesses or drive away their customers. It's time to explore the tensions between free enterprise (which thrives upon freedom of conscience, freedom of choice, and freedom of expression) and dominionism (which thrives upon condemnation, control, and limitation of liberty).
by jhutson on Thu Dec 15, 2005 at 05:55:19 PM EST
rational thinkers from taking advantage of such programs as well?
An ongoing topic of conversation at my house is that fundamentalist groups are used to digging deep to fund the desires of their chosen forms of religious expression. Unfortunately, rational thinkers tend to sit back and in their own form of dogmatism, truly believe people will change their minds when they see reason. Wake-up call...not gonna happen. I really feel strongly that groups such as this one and those affiliated with it have no choice but to begin marketing IN THE SAME way as groups like Focus do -- only beating them at their own game. And, that, friends, will take money...so, why not have groups that are qualified join affiliate programs to fund efforts which at the very least will publicise the current battle, but as well will make moderates aware of the direction the country is truly taking? Yeah -- I'm a PR professional...this is how I see the world -- not only in terms of speaking up, but in terms of using all the powers of modern media to effect change, not just dull minds. by Irrevelations on Thu Dec 15, 2005 at 07:07:51 PM EST
Thank you for providing a postive action that people can take to stop these creeps. I have spammed several key e-groups with your article.
My only problem is Hobby Lobby. Ouch! It's one of my favorite stores.
That is: "Abiding Truth Ministries" rang a bell. I'm out here in the Murrieta/Temecula Valley, and a couple of the attorneys out here link to a site called "defendthefamily.com." It is sponsored by Abiding Truth Ministries. Apparently, these attorneys back this "ministry." One of the attorneys is Mr. S.L., author of the "Pink Swastika." His partner ran for the local school board, and did not win, clearly articulating during his campaign that he was a conservative Republican and member of a very conservative Christian church out here. The local progressives, myself included, encouraged voters to go to the polls, and two other fairly progressively-minded candidates were elected. Small world.
by Maat on Mon Dec 19, 2005 at 10:27:01 PM EST
An area we can hit dominionism where it hurts | 11 comments (11 topical, 0 hidden)
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Left Behind: Eternal Forces: Installments of Jonathan Hutson's Talk To Action expose series
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