Religious Lobbying

I have followed The Pew Forum on Public and Religious Life. It is a project of the Pew Forum, a dedicated research organization that is often cited in academic and journalism circles. The work of the Pew Forum is accurate and unbiased. It delves into pure research using highly scientific methods double checked and retested for bias and accuracy. In short, if the Pew Foundation or Forum makes a statement of fact, you can rely on it fully.

And they continue to do so in countless projects, studies and long-term histories of what we once took as fact. By researching these continually the ‘facts’ become more real, and the fake are discarded.

An analytic report released November 21, 2011 was entitled Lobbying for the Faithful. It reported on the activities of religious advocacy groups in Washington, D.C. The findings show that “at least $390 million was spent in one year on efforts to influence national public policy.” The report went on to state, “For most of the past century, religious advocacy groups in Washington focused mainly on domestic affairs. Today, however, roughly as many groups work only on international issues as work only on domestic issues, and nearly two-thirds of the groups work on both. These are among the key findings of a new study by the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life that examines a total of 212 religion-related advocacy groups operating in the nation’s capital.”

The study reports that 19% of the lobbying is done for Roman Catholic sponsors, 18% is sponsored by evangelical Protestants, 12% are Jewish and 8% is for mainline Protestant denominations. The rest of the sponsors are splintered in much smaller segments to cover Baha’i, Buddhist, Hindu, Muslims and Sikh. Nearly a fourth of the lobbying groups represent interreligious groups of multiple faiths.

$200 million was spent by these nine organizations:

            American Israel Public Affairs Committee, $87.9 mil

            US Conference of Catholic Bishops, $26.7 mil

            Family Research Council, $14.3 mil

            American Jewish Committee, $13.4 mil

            Concerned Women for America, $12.6 mil

            Bread for the World, $11.4 mil

            National Right to Life Committee, $11.4 mil

            Home School Legal Defense Assoc, $11.3 mil

            CitizenLink (A Focus on the Family affiliate), $10.8 mil

Over half of the money spent by these organizations cover policy targets inherent in their names. Others are not so easily understood. Focus on Family and the Family Research Council historically have supported political resistance to anything having to do with LGBT issues (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transexual). In fact they have distorted those issues in a blind belief that the Bible outlaws gay life styles and should thus be made part of the legal code of the land. Of course the Bible doesn’t support their view, but such facts don’t slow down their race toward discrimination.

But more is countenanced: life begins at conception (the biological process maybe, but self-sustaining life? no); home school separation from issues and topics that do not fit conveniently within religious and political ideologies; Roman Catholic theology/creed/dogma that they wish to include in the US legal code even though separation of church and state forbids this.

If freedom to practice a particular brand of religion were the primary focus of the reported lobbying, I guess I wouldn’t mind. But it isn’t. The point these groups are making is that once they are given the right and freedom to believe and act as they wish, then they should have the protection of the law that all of the rest of us align with their standards of belief, action and behavior.

Why is making this a part of the national or states’ legal code needed in the first place? Can’t the religious groups win their theological and ideological arguments without legal enforcement? Can’t they live with their beliefs among fellow believers? Isn’t that good enough? Why must those who don’t believe with them or agree with them, have to follow their dictates?

Stating your belief and asking others to follow your dictate forms a voluntary association. The force of law is not needed. That would directly challenge the separate but equal doctrine of the Supreme Court, and the constitutional tenets of freedom of religion. Free to be; not free to impose!

No doubt a lot of good work is accomplished by these groups on behalf of their sponsors. But one must question just how pure this intent is and how well it is carried out.

I want my elected officials to make laws that are fair to all. But first I want them to not make laws that are unneeded in the first place.

If we first work on that supposition, then maybe much of the $390 million of lobbying expense can be better directed toward delivering housing, clothing and food to the needy. And health care. And access to education. And…..

So much to do. So few dollars. Really?

January 3, 2012