Citizens Against Religious Bigotry

The Timely Resurrection Of Citizens Against Religious Bigotry

It was over a year ago when several of Religious Right organizations united to form something called Citizens Against Religious Bigotry for the sole purpose of trying to keep a proposed show about Jesus Christ off of Comedy Central by demanding that potential advertisers pre-emptively promise never to support the show or else be labeled as sponsors of religious bigotry.

The program was seemingly killed off shortly thereafter and Citizens Against Religious Bigotry went dark and lay dormant ... until today, when it suddenly returned with a video and petition demanding the firing of those responsible for leaving "under God" out of the Pledge of Allegiance during NBC's coverage of the US Open golf tournament:

As an citizen and a patriot, I recognize the importance of our Pledge of Allegiance. Generations of American schoolchildren learn and recite the Pledge as an important exercise in passing our national values from one generation to the next. By altering the Pledge of Allegiance in the opening montage of the Sunday round of the 2011 US Open, NBC attacked people of faith and our national heritage. As an American, I demand that NBC take immediate action by terminating the employees who used a Sunday sports broadcast to insult people of faith.

The Right's Freedom of Speech vs The Left's Campaign of Intimidation

As Brian noted yesterday, the Religious Right was unified in its support of Paul Clement for resigning from his position at King & Spalding after the law firm backed out of defending the Defense of Marriage Act in court.

To hear the Religious Right tell it, this decision by King & Spalding was the result of a campaign of intimidation by gay rights groups - in fact, that is pretty much what the Family Research Council said:

Looking for attorneys that won't buckle under pressure? Don't bother contacting King & Spalding. In a stunning announcement, the Atlanta-based firm just dropped the most high-profile client on its books: the U.S. House of Representatives. Barely a week ago, Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) hired King & Spalding to go to bat for the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) when the Obama administration refused. Within hours, the homosexual community was up in arms. Led by the so-called Human Rights Campaign, activists promised to target the firm until its attorneys dropped the case. Five days later, they did. Unable -- and unwilling -- to take the heat, King and Spalding took the cowardly way out.

...

Once again we see how the activists who are trying to redefine marriage want to shut down any and all public debate. King & Spalding have proven that they are not advocates for the law -- but for a small but influential cabal that want to undermine policy and society.

Amazing, isn't it, how when gay rights groups dare to speak up, the FRC sees it as a campaign of intimidation ... but when Religious Right groups do it, FRC hails them for simply exercising their rights:

The Big Mac attack on family values is finally over! After a five-month boycott, Americans finally got what they ordered-McDonald's agreement to stop financing the homosexual agenda. Back in May, the fast food giant joined the Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce to the dismay of millions of customers who did not feel served. At the time, company Vice President Richard Ellis refused to back down, even calling conservatives "haters" in a public statement. The American Family Association launched a national campaign to force McDonald's to eat its words. And eat them, they did! This week, McDonald's announced that Ellis had resigned from the GLCC. In an email to franchises, the company said, "It is our policy not to be involved in political and social issues. McDonald's remains neutral on same-sex marriage [and the] 'homosexual agenda...'" We thank McDonald's -- and those of you who used your buying power to encourage values on the menu and in company policy.

Just last year, Tony Perkins was part of a group called Citizens Against Religious Bigotry that was formed solely protest a proposed Comedy Central program about Jesus Christ called "JC." The group preemptively targeted potential advertisers and warned them that if they did not promise never to advertise on the show, they'd be labeled as anti-Christian bigots ... and the group quickly declared victory:

Members of the coalition wrote to more than 300 potential advertisers for this show. The letters explained the nature of the program and stated how offensive the "JC" project would be, not only to the 83 percent of Americans who identify themselves as Christians, but also to many non-Christians including those who signed the petition. Coalition members then followed up with phone calls to the advertisers, speaking directly with representatives from most of the corporations that received the original letter.

Not one single sponsor indicated their intention to buy advertising time on the "JC" program if the program ever made it to Comedy Central's air.

"With literally zero advertiser support for this program, the only reason Comedy Central would put it on their broadcast schedule is in an effort to offend Christianity and Christians. There is no valid business reason for airing 'JC.'

"In light of this demonstration of overwhelming success, the Coalition's advertiser outreach will stand down. In the event that any advertiser changes its mind, that advertiser and its executives will be publicly called to account for supporting anti-Christian bigotry."

This group have the support of dozens of Religious Right organizations ... the very same organizations who are now complaining about a campaign of "intimidation" against King and Spalding.

Has Citizens Against Religious Bigotry Killed Off "JC"?

Earlier this month, a group of Religious Right leaders banded together to form a group called Citizens Against Religious Bigotry for the sole purpose of launching a campaign against a proposed Comedy Central show about Jesus Christ called "JC."

The group claimed the show, which is still only in the development stage, was blasphemous and bigoted and so they set about targeting potential advertisers by warning them not to even think about supporting the show. 

And according to organizers, this campaign has been a monumental success and so they are declaring victory: 

Citizens Against Religious Bigotry (CARB) today announced victory in convincing advertisers not to sponsor the anti-Christian “JC” comedy that Comedy Central announced was in development.

Members of the coalition wrote to more than 300 corporations that had sponsored Comedy Central programming in the past. The letters explained the nature of the program and stated how offensive the “JC” project would be, not only to the 83 percent of Americans who identify themselves as Christians, but also to many non-Christians including those who signed the petition. Coalition members then followed up with phone calls to the advertisers, speaking directly with representatives from most of the corporations that received the original letter.

Not one single sponsor indicated their intention to buy advertising time on the “JC” program if the program ever made it to Comedy Central’s air.

Due to the success, the outreach effort has been suspended effective the close of business this past Friday, June 18th.

“After an intense period of writing and then calling hundreds of sponsors, the results are clear. In fact the verdict is unanimous: There is no advertiser support for anti-Christian bigotry such as that embraced in Comedy Central’s ‘JC’ project. The sponsors understand what the programming department at Comedy Central does not: Religious bigotry is bad business,” said L. Brent Bozell III, president of the Media Research Center and the founder of CARB.

“With literally zero advertiser support for this program, the only reason Comedy Central would put it on their broadcast schedule is in an effort to offend Christianity and Christians. There is no valid business reason for airing ‘JC.’

“In light of this demonstration of overwhelming success, the Coalition’s advertiser outreach will stand down. In the event that any advertiser changes its mind, that advertiser and its executives will be publicly called to account for supporting anti-Christian bigotry,” concluded Bozell.

So, has Citizens Against Religious Bigotry really managed to kill off "JC"?

I guess that remains to be seen ... as does the effectiveness of their threats should Comedy Central ultimately decide to put the show on the air.

In What "Other Ways" Does Wildmon Intend To Warn Comedy Central?

Yesterday we noted that several Religious Right leaders had formed a new group called Citizens Against Religious Bigotry to protest a scheduled Comedy Central program about Jesus Christ called "JC."

It seems that organizers are upset about Comedy Central's "double standard" when it comes to Christianity and Islam:

[American Family Association president Tim Wildmon] is quick to point out that a few weeks ago, Comedy Central edited out a segment from South Park that was disrespectful of Mohammed after a Moslem activist group complained. Wildmon, along with those in the Coalition Against Religious Bigotry, feel that creates a double standard.

"It seems like something that Comedy Central should take note of, that Christians will not stand by and let this happen with our Lord and Savior either," the AFA president comments. "We will respond economically and in other ways to what Comedy Central's doing here."

Of course, Comedy Central censored "South Park" because of death threats

A radical Islamic website had warned the creators of "South Park" that they could face violent retribution for their depiction of Prophet Muhammad.

RevolutionMuslim.com posted the warning following the 200th episode of Trey Parker and Matt Stone's "South Park," which included a caricature of the Prophet Muhammad disguised in a bear suit. The web posting also included a graphic photo of Theo van Gogh, a Dutch filmmaker who was murdered in 2004 after making a documentary on violence against Muslim women.

"We have to warn Matt and Trey that what they are doing is stupid and they will probably wind up like Theo Van Gogh for airing this show," the posting reads. "This is not a threat, but a warning of the reality of what will likely happen to them."

Abu Talhah al Amrikee, the author of the post, told Foxnews.com he wrote the entry to "raise awareness." He said the grisly photograph of van Gogh was meant to "explain the severity" of what Parker and Stone did by mocking Muhammad.

Is that what Wildmon has in mind when he says that "Christians will not stand by and let this happen with our Lord and Savior either" and that they will respond "in other ways" to this program? We certainly hope not.

Religious Right Launches Citizens Against Religious Bigotry To Target Comedy Central

A few weeks ago, Comedy Central announced that it had a new program in development called "JC" that is about Jesus Christ who moves to New York to "escape his father's enormous shadow."

In response, a collection of Religious Right leaders have banded together to form Citizens Against Religious Bigotry and urge advertisers not to support the program

Citizens Against Religious Bigotry will unveil a campaign Thursday to protest Comedy Central’s new animated show about Jesus Christ called “JC.” The coalition of Jewish and Christian leaders are urging advertisers to boycott the show, based on Comedy Central programs, such as South Park, which have mocked or disparaged Christ and other religious leaders.

“After we reveal the vile and offensive nature of Comedy Central’s previous characterizations of Jesus Christ and God the Father, we expect these advertisers to agree wholeheartedly to end their advertising on Comedy Central and discontinue their support for unabashed, anti-Christian discrimination,” said Brent Bozell, president of Media Research Center and founding member of Citizens Against Religious Bigotry.

Bowell said his group will publicize advertisers who agree to boycott the Comedy Central show and those who refuse.

Bozell will be joined at a Thursday press conference to protest the show by Tony Perkins, Family Research Council president; Michael Medved, syndicated talk radio host; Bill Donohue, Catholic League president; Tim Winter, Parents Television Council president; and Rabbi Daniel Lapin, The American Alliance of Jews and Christians president.

The group is sending a letter to potential advertisers, giving them two weeks to report on whether they will agree to boycott the program, warning that failure to respond will mean they support religious bigotry: 

As a sponsor, you have the power to act upon your corporate values and send a clear message to Viacom and its channels that this type of blasphemous programming has no place in our homes. It cannot be an effective use of sponsorship dollars to underwrite content that is certain to offend and alienate viewers. And of course, the damage to our children is virtually immeasurable. No sponsor could possibly say they would be proud to be associated with such insensitive material.

...

We are reaching out to you and other leading television sponsors, and we ask you now to agree with us and respond. We must hear from you in the next two weeks, so time is of the essence. On June 17 our coalition of like-minded organizations will hold a national press conference where we will identify which sponsors have responded to this effort and have agreed not to sponsor Comedy Central.

If you fail to respond to this letter before that time we will assume that your company is open to sponsoring the kind of religious bigotry on display by Comedy Central. We look forward to hearing from you directly.

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Citizens Against Religious Bigotry Posts Archive

Kyle Mantyla, Wednesday 06/29/2011, 1:41pm
It was over a year ago when several of Religious Right organizations united to form something called Citizens Against Religious Bigotry for the sole purpose of trying to keep a proposed show about Jesus Christ off of Comedy Central by demanding that potential advertisers pre-emptively promise never to support the show or else be labeled as sponsors of religious bigotry. The program was seemingly killed off shortly thereafter and Citizens Against Religious Bigotry went dark and lay dormant ... until today, when it suddenly returned with a video and petition demanding the firing of those... MORE >
Kyle Mantyla, Tuesday 04/26/2011, 10:00am
As Brian noted yesterday, the Religious Right was unified in its support of Paul Clement for resigning from his position at King & Spalding after the law firm backed out of defending the Defense of Marriage Act in court. To hear the Religious Right tell it, this decision by King & Spalding was the result of a campaign of intimidation by gay rights groups - in fact, that is pretty much what the Family Research Council said: Looking for attorneys that won't buckle under pressure? Don't bother contacting King & Spalding. In a stunning announcement, the Atlanta-based firm just... MORE >
Kyle Mantyla, Tuesday 06/29/2010, 2:05pm
Earlier this month, a group of Religious Right leaders banded together to form a group called Citizens Against Religious Bigotry for the sole purpose of launching a campaign against a proposed Comedy Central show about Jesus Christ called "JC." The group claimed the show, which is still only in the development stage, was blasphemous and bigoted and so they set about targeting potential advertisers by warning them not to even think about supporting the show.  And according to organizers, this campaign has been a monumental success and so they are declaring victory: ... MORE >
Kyle Mantyla, Thursday 06/03/2010, 10:03am
Yesterday we noted that several Religious Right leaders had formed a new group called Citizens Against Religious Bigotry to protest a scheduled Comedy Central program about Jesus Christ called "JC." It seems that organizers are upset about Comedy Central's "double standard" when it comes to Christianity and Islam: [American Family Association president Tim Wildmon] is quick to point out that a few weeks ago, Comedy Central edited out a segment from South Park that was disrespectful of Mohammed after a Moslem activist group complained. Wildmon, along with those in the... MORE >
Kyle Mantyla, Wednesday 06/02/2010, 11:57am
A few weeks ago, Comedy Central announced that it had a new program in development called "JC" that is about Jesus Christ who moves to New York to "escape his father's enormous shadow." In response, a collection of Religious Right leaders have banded together to form Citizens Against Religious Bigotry and urge advertisers not to support the program:  Citizens Against Religious Bigotry will unveil a campaign Thursday to protest Comedy Central’s new animated show about Jesus Christ called “JC.” The coalition of Jewish and Christian leaders are urging... MORE >