American nonprofit organization promoting fundamentalist Christian values
The American Family Association (AFA) is a conservative and Christian fundamentalist 501(c)(3) organization based in the United States. It opposes LGBTQ rights and expression, pornography, and abortion. It also takes a position on a variety of other public policy goals. It was founded in 1977 by Donald Wildmon as the National Federation for Decency and is headquartered in Tupelo, Mississippi.
Part of the religious right, the AFA defined itself as "a Christian organization promoting the biblical ethic of decency in American society with primary emphasis on television and other media," later switching their stated emphasis to "moral issues that impact the family." It engages in activism efforts, including boycotts, buycotts, action alert emails, publications on the AFA's web sites or in the "AFA Journal", broadcasts on American Family Radio, and lobbying. The organization is accredited by the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA) and posted a 2011 budget of over $16 million. AFA owns 200 American Family Radio stations in 33 states, seven affiliate stations in seven states, and one affiliate TV station (KAZQ) in New Mexico.
AFA has been listed as an anti-LGBTQ hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) since November 2010 for the "propagation of known falsehoods" and the use of "demonizing propaganda" against LGBTQ people.
Operations.
Reverend Donald Wildmon served as chairman of AFA until he announced his retirement on March 3, 2010. His son, Tim, is president of AFA. AFA is governed by an independent board of directors.
"AFA Journal" is a monthly publication with a circulation of 180,000 containing news, features, columns, and interviews. In addition to the publication, "AFA Journal" articles are made available online. The journal reviews the content of prime-time television shows, categorizing them based on profanity, sex, violence, homosexuality, substance abuse, "anti-Christian" content, or "political correctness". The categorization is accompanied by short descriptions of the content of the episode under review. The review also lists the advertisers of each show and invites readers to contact the advertisers or television networks to express concern over program content.
"American Family Radio" (AFR) is a network of approximately 200 AFA-owned radio stations broadcasting Christian-oriented programming.
"OneNewsNow.com" (formerly AgapePress), the AFA news division, provides online audio newscasts and a daily digest of news articles, Associated Press stories, and opinion columns.
Center for Law and Policy, the legal and political arm of the AFA, was shut down in 2007. It specialized in First Amendment cases. The Center for Law and Policy lobbied legislative bodies, drafted legislation, and filed religious-discrimination lawsuits on behalf of individuals. Chief among its efforts were to promote the recognition of Christmas in seasonal print advertisements; the criminalization of homosexuality, and censorship of television programming; and to oppose same-sex marriage, as well as equal-rights and hate-crime legislation that would include sexual orientation and gender identity among the protected categories. and advocating
Campaigns and issues.
The AFA has a history of activism by organizing its members in boycotts and letter-writing campaigns aimed at promoting socially conservative values in the United States. The AFA has promoted boycotts of television shows, movies, and businesses that the group considers to have promoted indecency, obscenity, or homosexuality. In addition to promoting activism via mail to AFA members, 3.4 million subscribers receive AFA "Action Alerts" via email.
Boycotts.
The AFA has boycotted companies for various reasons, most often relating to Christmas controversies, pornography, support of pro-choice activism, support of violent or sexual content in entertainment, and support of LGBTQ rights, including same-sex partner employee benefits. These organizations include: 7-Eleven, Abercrombie &amp; Fitch, American Airlines, American Girl, Blockbuster Video, Burger King, Calvin Klein, Carl's Jr., Chobani, Clorox, Comcast, Crest, Ford, Hallmark Cards, Hardee's, Kmart, Kraft Foods, S. C. Johnson &amp; Son, Movie Gallery, Microsoft, MTV, Paramount Pictures, Time Warner, Universal Studios, DreamWorks, Mary Kay, NutriSystem, Old Navy, IKEA, Sears, Procter &amp; Gamble, Target, Walt Disney Company, and PepsiCo.
In 1986, 7-Eleven stopped selling "Playboy" and "Penthouse" magazines after a two-year boycott by the AFA. In 1989, the AFA boycotted WaldenBooks in an attempt to persuade the company to stop selling those same magazines. WaldenBooks responded with an advertisement campaign against censorship, asserting First Amendment rights. WaldenBooks, American Booksellers Association, the Council for Periodical Distributors Association, the International Periodical Distributors Association, and Duval Bibb Services launched a lawsuit against the AFA in October 1989, under the Federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) and the Florida State RICO Acts, which protect an organization's right to conduct business without harassment or threats. The case was settled by the parties without a court ruling.
AFA boycotted PepsiCo in 1989 for supporting Madonna, whose video for "Like a Prayer" Wildmon felt was sacrilegious.
During the summer of 1993 the AFA purchased full-page ads in "The New York Times", "USA Today", and "Los Angeles Times" denouncing the sexual and violent content of the upcoming ABC police drama "NYPD Blue". It also urged ABC affiliates not to broadcast the program and citizens to boycott sponsors of "Blue". About a quarter of the 225 existing ABC stations followed suit, but such affiliates were mostly in rural areas of the US. The AFA campaign increased hype for the show in larger American media markets, and "Blue" became one of the most popular shows of the 1993–1994 television season.
In 1996, the AFA launched a boycott against Walt Disney Company when the company began giving benefits to same-sex employees in domestic partnerships. The AFA has claimed that Michael Eisner, the CEO of The Disney Company, "was involved in a media group that actively promoted the homosexual agenda" and was pushing the "gay agenda". The AFA ended the boycott in the spring of 2005 after Eisner left the company. Tim Wildmon stated "We feel after nine years of boycotting Disney we have made our point."
In January 2002, the restaurant chain Taco Bell held a month-long promotion in which four Cardcaptor Sakura toys were available in their kids' meals, expecting to distribute up to 7 million of the toys during the month. The AFA complained about the promotion, saying the Clow Cards being offered were similar to tarot cards and the series they were derived from was akin to Eastern mythology. However, the organization's complaints began on the day before the promotion's scheduled end date.
In 2003, the AFA, with the American Decency Association, Focus on the Family, and Citizens for Community Values, lobbied and boycotted Abercrombie &amp; Fitch, calling on "A&amp;F to stop using blatant pornography in its quarterly catalog". In December 2003, the company "recalled the holiday catalog from all its stores, saying it needed the space on the counter for a new perfume" and stated it would stop printing catalogs and start a new campaign.
In 2005, the AFA boycotted the company American Girl, seller of dolls and accessories, over their support of the charity Girls, Inc., which the AFA called "a pro-abortion, pro-lesbian advocacy group".
In Spring 2005, the AFA launched a boycott of Ford for advertising in gay magazines, donating to gay rights organizations, and sponsoring gay pride celebrations. After meeting with representatives of the group, Ford announced it was curtailing ads in a number of major gay-themed publications, due not to cultural but to "cost-cutting" factors. That statement was contradicted by the AFA, which claimed it had a "good faith agreement" that Ford would cease such ads. Soon afterwards, as a result of a strong outcry from the gay community, Ford backtracked and announced it would continue ads in gay publications, in response to which the AFA denounced Ford for "violating" the agreement, and renewed threats of a boycott. The boycott ended in March 2008.
On Independence Day 2008, the AFA announced a boycott of McDonald's, which had a director on the board of the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce. In October 2008, AFA announced the end of its boycott following the declaration to be "neutral on same-sex marriage or any 'homosexual agenda' as defined by the American Family Association" by McDonald's in a memo to franchisees.
In December 2008, the AFA issued an "Action Alert" which called for members to protest the Campbell Soup Company, which had purchased two two-page advertisements in the December 2008 and January 2009 issues of the LGBTQ magazine "The Advocate". Donald Wildmon said that the ads, which showed a lesbian couple with their son, "sent a message that homosexual parents constitute a family and are worthy of support".
In November 2009, the AFA called for a boycott against clothing retailer The Gap, Inc., claiming the retailer's holiday television advertising campaign failed to mention Christmas. "Christmas has historically been very good for commerce. But now Gap wants the commerce but no Christmas" wrote an AFA spokesperson. The Gap soon released an advertisement in response to the boycott, specifically referring to Christmas, albeit with a number of other holidays that take place at the same time of year and added the word "Christmas" to in-store decor.
In 2012 the AFA led a boycott against Archie Comics when they published a comic book featuring a same-sex marriage.
In July 2012, they considered boycotting Google due to Google's "Legalize Love" campaign which supports LGBTQ rights.
In April 2016, AFA launched a boycott against Target Corporation due to Target announcing they "welcome transgender team members and guests to use the restroom or fitting room facility that corresponds with their gender identity."
Published media.
On April 16, 2007, following the Virginia Tech Massacre, the AFA released a video titled "The Day They Kicked God out of the Schools", in which God tells a student that students were killed in schools because God is not allowed in schools anymore. The video claims that the shootings at Virginia Tech and Columbine, among others, are in part the result of: decreased discipline in schools; no prayer in schools; sex out of wedlock; rampant violence in TV, movies, and music; or abortions.
"" is a 2008 documentary series hosted by Janet Parshall. The series explains the AFA's position against the drive towards political correctness, and how various factors, such as hate crime laws and other discriminatory actions, are threatening the Christians' existence. In 2009, a one-hour special version of the program was produced and aired on commercial television stations, where AFA had purchased the air time.
Sexual morality.
The AFA has repeatedly lobbied Congress to eliminate funding for the National Endowment for the Arts.
Speaking in defense of Mike Huckabee's statements that people with AIDS should be quarantined, the head of the AFA of Pennsylvania said Huckabee's recommendation was appropriate.
View on media.
Wildmon has been accused of saying that he believes Hollywood and the theater world are heavily influenced by Jewish people, and that television network executives and advertisers have a genuine hostility towards Christians.
Opposition to other religions.
On November 28, 2006, following the election of Keith Ellison, the first Muslim elected to the United States Congress, the AFA released an "Action Alert." The Action Alert, entitled "A first for America...The Koran replaces the Bible at swearing-in oath: What book will America base its values on, the Bible or the Koran?", requested subscribers to write to their Congressional representatives and urge them to create a "law making the Bible the book used in the swearing-in ceremony of representatives and senators."
On July 13, 2007, a Hindu prayer was conducted in the U.S. Senate. Rajan Zed, director of interfaith relations at a Hindu temple, read the prayer at the invitation of Senate majority leader Harry Reid, who defended his invitation based on the ideals of Mahatma Gandhi. AFA sent out an "Action Alert" to its members to email, write letters, or call their senators to oppose the Hindu prayer, stating it is "seeking the invocation of a non-monotheistic god." The "alert" stated that "since Hindus worship multiple gods, the prayer will be completely outside the American paradigm, flying in the face of the American motto "One Nation Under God." The convocation by Zed was disrupted by three protesters from a different Fundamentalist Christian activist group, Operation Save America, in the gallery; they reportedly shouted "this is an abomination", and called themselves "Christians and patriots".
On August 10, 2010, Bryan Fischer, AFA's director of Issue Analysis for Government and Public Policy, posted on his blog on the AFA website that "Permits should not be granted to build even one more mosque in the United States of America, let alone the monstrosity planned for Ground Zero. This is for one simple reason: each Islamic mosque is dedicated to the overthrow of the American