“As Chick-fil-A capitulates, should press characterize Salvation Army and FCA as anti-LGBTQ?”
That was the title on a post I wrote last month after news broke that Chick-fil-A would stop donating to certain groups deemed anti-gay, including the Salvation Army.
Chick-fil-A’s decision has continued to make headlines since then, including an interesting story last week in World magazine. The evangelical news publication noted that despite the recent severed ties, most of the fast-food chicken chain’s charitable giving still goes to Christian ministries.
The chicken sandwich brouhaha is a part — but not the whole, um, chicken enchilada — of a big report out today by CNN Religion Editor Daniel Burke.
Instead, Burke focuses on the bigger issue of the Salvation Army and its effort to change its “'anti-LGBTQ” reputation, as CNN describes it:
(CNN) Salvation Army bell ringers, the folks you see jingling bells by red kettles at Christmastime, will be carrying a new prop this year: A card explaining the Christian church and charity's approach to LGBTQ people.
Designed to help bell ringers answer questions from passersby, the cards include a link to online testimonials from LGBTQ people helped by the Salvation Army's array of social services, from homeless shelters to rehab clinics and food pantries.
"For years, Facebook posts, forwarded emails and rumors have been leading some people to believe the Salvation Army does not serve members of the LGBTQ community," the cards read. "These accusations are simply not true."
To many Americans, the Army's social services may be far more familiar than its politics or theology. Ranked number two in the Chronicle of Philanthropy's list of "America's Favorite Charities," it raised $1.5 billion in donations last year. The Red Kettle campaign began 129 years ago, when a Salvationist put out a pot for the needy on Market Street in San Francisco.
But to some in the LGBTQ community, the Salvation Army has another reputation. For decades, they've accused Salvationsts of denying some services to same-sex couples, advocating against gay rights and adhering to a traditional theology that considers gay sex sinful. At times, LGBTQ activists have dropped fake dollar bills or vouchers protesting the Salvation Army in the red kettles.
First off, kudos to Burke for noting way up high that the Salvation Army is a church as well as a charity. Many people don’t know that.
Two years ago, I did a feature for Religion News Service on the day in the life of a Salvation Army bell ringer. In that piece, I pointed out that the Salvation Army is “a Christian denomination that claims about 2 million members around the world and belongs to the National Association of Evangelicals.”
Burke does an excellent job of providing background on the Salvation Army/LGBTQ controversy over the years as well as quoting sources on both sides, including a GLAAD official and the religious group’s U.S. national commander.
Concerning the Chick-fil-A issue, Burke quotes two sources — Rod Dreher and Ed Stetzer — who are probably familiar to most GetReligion readers:
Some treated its jilting of the Salvation Army as a surrender in the culture wars -- or worse, a betrayal.
"For a lot of us, Chick-fil-A's quiet, cheerful resistance was a model of how to hold on to your Christian values, in spite of progressive spite, and still succeed," wrote Rod Dreher, a Senior Editor for the American Conservative.
Other conservative Christians were more circumspect, noting that Chick-fil-A never explained why it was no longer donating to the Salvation Army.
In the battle over same-sex marriage, some pro-LGBTQ activists have said Christians would be more appreciated if they foreswore politics and focused on helping the poor.
But that doesn't seem to be true in the Salvation Army's case, said Ed Stetzer, Dean of the School of Mission, Ministry and Leadership at Wheaton College, an evangelical school in Illinois.
"The Salvation Army is in fact more known for helping the poor than for being a church," he said. "And these are the bad guys? Who are they going to go after next, Mother Teresa?"
Besides reflecting those on the left and right whose comments won’t likely surprise anyone, Burke includes some helpful nuance that makes it clear that this is a case where there is gray as well as black and white.
For example, check out this section:
Nine years ago, the Bay Area Reporter, the "newspaper of record" for San Francisco's large gay and lesbian community, published an editorial urging readers not to drop a dime into the Salvation Army's red kettles.
This year, the newspaper published a largely positive piece about the Army's work, including quotes from LGBTQ people who said the Christian charity had "saved my life."
"I do not, as a gay man, love its positions on same-sex marriage," San Francisco District Supervisor Rafael Mandelman told the Bay Area Reporter, "but the reality is the Salvation Army is one of the most important providers of substance use treatment and shelter to homeless folks in San Francisco. Many, many queer people have turned their lives around with the help of the Salvation Army."
From there, the CNN report outlines the differences between expectations for the Salvation Army’s clergy and other employees and members.
It’s a fair, interesting piece that’s worth your time.