Issues@Hand

AFA initiatives, Christian activism, news briefs

October 1996 – The drumbeats of discontent with Disney continue to grow.  The National Association of Free Will Baptists and the Assemblies of God denomination are now both undertaking official boycotts of the entertainment giant.  In its call for action, the 250,000 members of the National Association of Freewill Baptists blasted Disney for “the direction of the Walt Disney Corporation concerning their approval of homosexuality, which we consider a perverted lifestyle and a sin against God.”

Sympathy and perceived endorsement of the homosexual lifestyle was also an overriding theme in the Assemblies of God church’s decision to boycott the mouse house. “In recent years we have watched with dismay the productions of the Disney Corporation abandoning the commitment to strong moral values, and have noticed this moral shift in a number of Disney sponsored films and events,” wrote the General Presbytery of the Assemblies of God. The denomination has 1.4 million members. Their resolution specifically criticized the book Growing Up Gay, which is aimed at teenagers and published by Disney subsidiary Hyperion Press.  The fact that Walt Disney World, though it  does not  officially sponsor Gay and Lesbian Day, does not warn visitors what is going on inside the park also drew the attention of the resolution.

The Assemblies of God and the National Association of Freewill Baptists now join the American Family Association, and the Southern Baptist Convention,  as national groups with official boycott positions.  Other state and regional bodies have also called  for a halt to the purchase of Disney goods and services. The Roman Catholic group Knights of Columbus divested itself of $3 million in Disney stock.

“This is more proof that concern over Disney and its moral crumbling is not an AFA thing, it’s not a Baptist thing – it’s a values thing and the values of Disney are going away from what the average American family wants to expose their children to,” said Tim Wildmon, Vice President of the AFA. “You’ve got various theological backgrounds involved, but they all see the same thing – Disney catering regularly to the homosexual crowd and attacking religion and families. With the Assemblies of God action, more churches will take notice that this is not an isolated case of one or two groups with an ax to grind with Disney, and hopefully Disney will  retreat from its anti-family path.”