Love thy neighbor.No exceptions.
Love thy neighbor.
Working together, Faithful America members have:
Removed an anti-vaccine priest and partisan bully from parish ministry: Fr. James Altman became infamous in late 2020 for his vitriolic sermon, "You cannot be Catholic & a Democrat. Period." In spring 2021, Altman again made headlines for sharing deadly misinformation about the safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines. More than 18,000 Faithful America members signed our petition for his termination and called his bishop's office, generating headlines across the country. The bishop soon removed Altman from active ministry, noting that he was "divisive" and "ineffective."
Campaigned to successfully defeat Donald Trump's re-election: During the 2020 presidential election, Faithful America members exchanged more than 1.75 million text messages with swing-state voters to get out the social-justice Christian vote. Hundreds of preachers took our Defend Democracy preaching pledge while thousands of our members attended trainings and talked to family and friends about why their faith led them to oppose Trump's hateful agenda. Our work received widespread news coverage, reminding voters that you don't have to be conservative or fundamentalist in order to be Christian.
Helped free an innocent asylum seeker: In September 2020, ICE agents arrested Binsar Siahaan outside his family home on church grounds in Maryland, even though he'd done nothing wrong but miss a deadline his former, now-disbarred lawyer didn't mention. Faithful America members partnered with Binsar's pastor and other faith organizations, marched on ICE HQ, and flooded ICE leaders' inboxes. ICE relented to our coalition's pressure, and Binsar was reunited with his family.
Blocked a hateful Trump nominee in the Senate: In April 2020, Donald Trump nominated Anthony Tata for a top Pentagon position despite (or perhaps because of) Tata's horrible record of white supremacy and Islamophobia. After Faithful America members spoke out in coalition with Muslim Advocates, VoteVets, and the NAACP, Tata lost support from Republican senators, his nomination hearing was canceled, and Trump ultimately withdrew the doomed nomination.
Removed the televangelist Jim Bakker Show from multiple networks: In February 2020, the Jim Bakker Show dangerously implied that a discredited "silver solution" it sold could cure coronavirus. Nearly 18,000 Faithful America members contacted DirecTV-owner AT&T about the threat to public health. Feeling the pressure, AT&T asked its networks to closely review the program -- and at least two channels promptly dropped the broadcast.
Demonstrated visible, nation-wide Christian solidarity with immigrants: After Donald Trump's devastating election in 2016, Faithful America printed large banners declaring "Immigrants & Refugees Welcome" and depicting the Holy Family fleeing to Egypt. Churches across the country hung these banners, earning major media coverage and spreading Christian love, witness, and resistance in cities like San Diego, Tempe, Honolulu, Louisville, Queens, Syracuse, Birmingham, Atlanta, Boston, and b e y o n d. Many of these banners still hang today. If you'd like one, we don't have anymore available but you are free to download the image files and order one from your local printshop.
Defended a church homeless ministry from city pressure: The town of Rockford, Illinois, tried to force a local church to stop serving as an emergency homeless shelter on freezing nights. But when the church's pastor showed up at City Hall with a petition signed by 25,000 Faithful America members (and a gaggle of local television news cameras!), the mayor quickly changed his tune and invited the pastor to join a special task force on changing city code to accommodate the church's ministry.
Convinced Google to drop World Vision for anti-LGBTQ discrimination: When World Vision -- one of the world’s largest Christian relief and development organizations -- announced plans to stop discriminating against gay and lesbians, they were met with a furious outcry from the religious right. World Vision quickly reversed themselves, so more than 17,000 Faithful America members called on Google to find new Christian partners that don't discriminate. Within days, Google's director of corporate giving resigned from World Vision’s board of directors.
Helped Catholic students win justice for fired gay principal: When hundreds of students walked out of class to protest the firing of a gay vice-principal at a Seattle-area Catholic high school in 2013, we amplified their message with 20,000 signatures, personally delivered to the archbishop by students and alumni. A week later, the school's president resigned -- even while a lesbian teacher came out and kept her job. From Indiana to Georgia, Faithful America members continue to speak out whenever religious institutions fire LGBTQ employees for how they were born or who they love, sending a potent message to parochial schools nationwide.
Defeated a fracking pipeline with Catholic sisters: When the Sisters of Loretto, a Roman Catholic order in Kentucky, refused to allow the fracking industry to build a dangerous pipeline on their land in 2013, 30,000 Faithful America members joined in signing a petition in solidarity. Local religious leaders delivered the petition to the governor's office, making state and national headlines -- and plans for the pipeline were eventually halted.
Defended an unjustly-defrocked pastor for supporting marriage equality: Pennsylvania United Methodist pastor Frank Schaefer was put on trial in 2013 and defrocked for officiating at the wedding of his gay son. After local Methodists made headlines with a petition signed by 35,000 Faithful America members, his bishop publicly committed to do everything in her power to prevent future trials, helping prompt other bishops to make the same promise. Schaefer himself was ultimately reinstated.
Pressured MSNBC into dropping the hateful Family Research Council: FRC, a Southern Poverty Law Center-designated anti-LGBTQ hate group, has long exerted a poisonous influence in the media. Seeking to delegitimize the hate group as a legitimate representative of Christianity, we mobilized more than 20,000 members in 2012 for a sustained, months-long campaign -- including petitions, phone calls, and in-person events -- that ultimately pressured MSNBC to stop inviting FRC president Tony Perkins on air.
Helped pass the life-saving Affordable Care Act: In 2009, Faithful America co-sponsored the "40 Days for Health Reform" campaign with our friends at several other faith organizations. Together we organized 50+ prayer vigils and rallies across the country, bought major cable advertising, sponsored a nationwide sermon weekend, recruited grassroots member videos, and held a webinar with President Obama attended by 140,000 people. The result? Key, undecided senators were successfully pressured into supporting the historic health-care legislation, bringing coverage to millions of Americans in need. As one prominent reporter has observed, "If it weren't for the Religious Left, the ACA probably wouldn't exist."