Chick-fil-A announced that it will stop funding two charities that have had a “history” of anti-LGBTQ+ values on Monday.
According to NBC, two charities they have eliminated funding to are the Salvation Army and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
CEO of Chick-fil-A Dan Cathy has been ridiculed for comments opposing gay marriage as well as financial support for these charities.
I oppose this move by the Christian fast-food chain. Although I support the ability for same-sex and transgender couples to get married by the state, I don’t think anyone with religious convictions should compromise them for societal acceptance.
Whether or not modern times allow for a different lens to interpret scripture through, I believe society continues to pigeonhole Christianity as outdated, yet will defend members of other faiths that hold very similar religious standards, mainly Judaism and Islam.
Yes, many Christians have left a stain on the message of Christ through hateful or derogatory actions towards members on this community. For, that I apologize. However, I believe that the traditional belief of any long-standing religion should not be compromised as long as the text does not preach violence.
In my eyes, it seems that years of hypocritical criticism from LGBTQ+ members and allies has made Chick-fil-A conform to societal expectations and religious convictions.
What many fail to understand is that religious convictions do not make the believer a bigot, it is hateful actions that do this. However, the growing progressive mindset has reached a point where acceptance is no longer the goal, rather to get back at the groups who may have negatively impacted the in the past.
So, when I see this move by Chick-fil-A, it makes me sad. No one should be subjected to forfeiting their own convictions because others disagree or because their beliefs are outside of the norm. Isn’t that what happened to the first believers under Roman rule?
VICE recently published an article claiming that Chick-fil-A won’t rule out charities with “anti-LGBTQ+” beliefs. The article stated that Chick-fil-A president and COO Tim Tassopoulos said, “No organization will be excluded from future consideration–faith-based or non-faith-based.”
While this helps us understand the goal Chick-fil-A is trying to accomplish, time will tell whether the company fully concedes.
