You may remember the scandal that arose in November when Chick-fil-A abruptly pulled their funding from the Salvation Army and announced they would, instead, be funding other groups that support social justice initiatives. Many thought this move by Chick-fil-A to be caving to the culture as the Salvation Army is perceived by progressives as “anti-gay.” It was later discovered that one of the major institutions Chick-fil-A would be funding is Covenant House, a pro-gay organization that attends gay pride marches and promotes homosexuality as “normal.”
The American Family Association (AFA) launched a petition asking Chick-fil-A CEO, Dan Cathy, to clarify the company’s reasoning for abandoning the Salvation Army in favor of the pro-gay organization. Timothy Wildmon of AFA wrote a letter to Dan Cathy asking him,
- Will Chick-fil-A publicly state that it does not believe the Salvation Army and FCA are hate groups because of the ministries’ beliefs about sexuality, marriage, and family?
- Will you publicly state that Chick-fil-A will not hesitate to fund these two ministries again, should the opportunity arise in the future?
After originally ignoring the letter, Cathy eventually responded to Wildmon stating that they regret “inadvertently discrediting” the two companies. However, the letter did not directly answer Wildmon’s question regarding their support for the pro-gay organization, Covenant House, except to say,
The intent of our corporate giving has always been to have impact — not to make a statement or support a political or social agenda. In the future, our company will seek to make a greater impact by addressing the challenges of hunger, homelessness and education.
It appears that by not “making a statement” or “supporting a political or social agenda,” Chick-fil-A has made the statement that they are going to support a progressive political and social agenda. The entire response from Dan Cathy can be read below:
