In fact, the preference of giving aid to "faith-based" groups with links to dominionism was so bad that I actually set up a specific list of charities rated on their inclusiveness (for "good" charities) and on their links to and support of dominionist groups (for "bad" charities).

Of all of these, Catholic Charities USA was the only one listed from my list that did not have at least enough connections with dominionism to rate it a group of concern.

As for the rest, pretty much all were closely linked with dominionists.  I'll list from the "Big List" here:

Listed under the "Bad Guys" section:

Samaritan's Purse (Billy/Franklin Graham's charity group. Both Billy and Franklin Graham have been known to espouse dominionist statements in past, Franklin especially so. Per a report from someone who has sought employment with them. non-dominionists are not considered for employment and employees are required to have a reference from a pastor as well as a "testimonial of faith" on resumes for employment. Also is working with known dominionist group Traditional Values Coalition in promoting a "refugee adoption" scheme that requires statements of faith from both participating churches and refugees.)

World Relief (another dominionist charity that largely operates in the dominionist "shadow economy" and is promoted largely by dominionist evangelical groups; promoted by both Focus on the Family and American Family Association)

Listed as not explicitly dominionist but of concern:

World Vision (generally has had a reputation of being a reliable charity but has also had reports, much like the Salvation Army, of support from or supporting dominionist groups; is promoted by Focus on the Family (http://family-topics.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/family_topics.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=16200) and whilst World Vision does promote condom distribution in African countries for HIV prevention they have taken official policies, in particular regarding homosexuality and church/state issues, which are troubling (see http://www.worldvision.org.uk/worldviewarchive/worldview60.html). I would be inclined to state that, like the Salvation Army, people who are concerned about money possibly being used to support dominionist causes would wish to avoid this charity. One should be aware that the blatantly dominionist group AERDO actively lists both World Vision and Salvation Army as members, making it even more concerning)

(An aside on AERDO. AERDO is an umbrella group for various charities--almost all of which are explicitly dominionist and exclusionary, many of which actually require statements of faith to be signed for clients.  The "Big List" listing for AERDO is as follows (it's under the "Bad Guys" section, by the way):

AERDO 2nd link (an umbrella group for multiple dominionist charity groups; almost all the dominionist groups listed above are in their members list (http://www.aerdo.net/Members/Home.lsp) including MAP International and (sadly) World Vision and Salvation Army as well. Many of the links are not even to charities but explicitly dominionist groups (including "Harvest Foundation" a group dedicated to exporting dominionism, as well as groups practicing "creation care" aka dominionist "wise-use". One of the major speakers for AERDO is Chip Ingram, a "Christian counselor" who is blatantly dominionist (see http://mercy4you.tripod.com/links/id15.html for info) and has, among other things, promoted the "women should be subservient to their husband as their husband is to God" sort of deal up to and including telling women they should not pay bills. AERDO affiliates are required to sign a statement of faith that they operate under the statement of faith of the National Association of Evangelicals (presently a dominionist organisation itself, whose president is also the lead pastor of "New Life Ministries", a Colorado Springs megachurch at the heart of much of the dominionist movement in the US); AERDO's statement is at http://www.aerdo.net/AboutAerdo/PrinciplesofPractice.lsp and NAE's statement of faith at http://www.nae.net/index.cfm?FUSEACTION=nae.statement_of_faith))

As for HOPE, I haven't got them listed (yet) but the International Churches of Christ (not to be confused with the mainstream United Churches of Christ, which is actually an inclusive and moderate Christian denomination) is a coercive religious group that is quite frankly regarded by most exit counselors as a Bible-based cult.  In fact, the ICC is probably one of the most extensively researched of "Bible-based" coercive religious groups; Rick Ross Institute, Steve Hassan's Freedom of Mind Institute, International Cultic Studies Association, FACTnet, and practically every other group that does any type of exit counseling for walkaways from spiritually abusive groups has sections on ICC.  (It is not an exaggeration to say ICC is among the "worst of the worst" when it comes to coercive religious groups with a dominionist agenda.  We're talking a group that makes the Assemblies of God look downright warm and fuzzy in comparison.)

The ICC were one of the first groups to embrace coercive "prayer cell" groups in "shepherding", and in fact entire walkaway associations for ICC survivors exist.  One of the reasons ICC has been so well studied is due to its particular targeting of college-age students on campuses; many state schools and universities have banned ICC from campuses altogether due to the spiritual abuse the group is infamous for.  In fact, the ICC is actually used in studies of "Bible-based cults" as a model for how coercive tactics are integrated with Christian imagery in spiritually abusive dominionist groups.

Needless to say, my personal opinion is that anything associated with ICC needs to be walked--no, run--from as if it were carrying the Vietnamese duck flu, but that's my two pence.

by dogemperor on Tue Jan 31, 2006 at 07:31:40 AM EST