What's Up

       The Baptist "Holy War" of the 1980's pitted religious right fundamentalists against those who believed that the religious right would use the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) as one more political organizing base. Since the fundamentalist victory, the SBC hasn't seen a religious right cause it did not like.

       For many months, religious right publications have found a new demon -- Disney. It is no surprise that the 1997 SBC meeting launched a boycott of Disney products citing Disney's "anti-Christian and anti-family direction." Specifically, such Disney practices as giving health benefits to same-sex partners of employees and "Gay Days" at its theme parks fired the ire of the SBC delegates. While polls show the majority of Americans either cringing or disinterested in the Disney boycott, 28% seem supportive. What's going on here?

       Put simply, a segment of the American Christian community believes that most major American institutions are so badly flawed that they must either be destroyed or reorganized along fundamentalist Christian lines. Today, we see some of our most traditional, wholesome and socially constructive institutions under constant attack. Public education, libraries, mainline churches, Public Broadcasting, Planned Parenthood, NEA, and a host of others suffer regular assaults by the Religious Right. Now, the Disney organization is on the front line of this "religious culture war" -- with seasoned "Holy Warriors" from the South leading the attack.

       As a Christian minister, there are certainly things about American society of which I disapprove. There will always be things that some religious people find offensive in a free country. That is a part of the price of having political freedom in a pluralist democracy. It also works the other way around. Some things religious people do sometimes offend the non-religious, although, I have never heard of American atheists objecting to "Christian Days" at a theme park.

       American culture has its problems. But, having spent the first twenty years of my ministerial career as a Southern Baptist, I can assure you that fundamentalist Christian culture has plenty demons of its own. I escaped that world view and shudder at the thought of it being generally imposed on the country as a whole.

       Regarding Disney -- In an attempt to reduce turnover, Disney regularly improves salary and benefit packages for its employees. Disney was the last major Hollywood studio to provide same-sex partner insurance. To compete, Disney followed suit. "Gay Days" at Disney theme parks began spontaneously and were first disclaimed by Disney. Only after their success were they embraced as a marketing strategy. Neither of these matters is anything sinister. They are simply the business decisions of a corporation made in a free enterprise society.

       Why the fuss? At its core, the religious right is a reactive movement that needs an enemy against which to crusade. If no enemy is convenient, they simply create one. Now its Disney's turn. Soon Disney will be old hat and they will attack some other unsuspecting aspect of American life as "anti-family" and "anti-Christian."