Southern Baptists End Disney Boycott, Pass Education Resolution
The Southern Baptist Convention on Wednesday passed resolutions ending its eight-year boycott of the Disney Company and urging parents to monitor the educational influences on their children from public schools.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The Southern Baptist Convention on Wednesday passed resolutions ending its eight-year boycott of the Disney Company and urging parents to monitor the educational influences on their children from public schools.
The 11,000 messengers at the SBC’s annual meeting nearly unanimously passed the Disney Resolution, which declared a conclusion to the religious boycott that was launched in 1997.
The SBC’s boycott followed the American Family Association’s rejection of Disney in 1996, over what it saw as Disney’s promotion of a gay agenda.
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Last month, the AFA dropped its boycott, as did several other conservative Christian groups, such as James Dobson’s Focus on the Family. Similar to those groups, the SBC said it will continue to “monitor the products and policies” at Disney, whose television series “Desperate Housewives” has been scorned for its sexual content.
Critics said the resolution was premature since Disney never changed any of its policies or practices in response to the boycott. The Disney Company continues to extend employment benefits to homosexuals, and has not halted “Gay Days” at its theme parks.
However, supporters said the removal of Disney CEO Michael Eisner, and dissolution of Disney’s deal with the founders of Miramax studio, whose film “Priest” was the touch-point for the boycott, were signs of change. They also noted that Disney is developing a movie-version of C.S. Lewis’ beloved book, “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.”
The official resolution said the boycott “communicated effectively our displeasure” about the “products and policies that violate moral righteousness and traditional family values” and that for a boycott to work, “it must be specifically targeted and of a limited duration.”
The resolution on education also passed with overwhelming support from the messengers. The education resolution urged parents to monitor and “investigate diligently the curricula, textbooks, and programs” in public schools and to “demand discontinuation of offensive materials and programs.”
The resolution, which falls far short of last year’s controversial call to eject Southern Baptists children from public schools, essentially called on parents to be “responsible” for their children’s’ education, “whether they choose public, private, or home schooling.”
It also differs from the original resolution submitted to the committee by several supporters of home-school education. The original resolution, which drew support from various organizations outside the SBC – including the AFA and Focus on the Family – called on churches to investigate their local schools for pro-homosexual curricula or clubs and pull children out of schools with such programs.
Although the resolution approved by the messengers did not call for such an exodus, it noted that “homosexual activists” are trying to promote homosexuality as a morally legitimate lifestyle among schoolchildren.
According to Bruce Shortt, a home-schooling father from Texas who drafted both the original 2005 resolution and the 2004 home-schooling resolution, there has been “tremendous progress” in the effort to raise concern over the negative impact of public schools on Christian children.
“Of course, we would’ve preferred to have the portion that recommends we pull the children out of school districts that promote homosexual activism,” said Shortt. “But we are very pleasantly surprised by the resolution.”
Shortt explained that “homosexual activism” is just one of many reasons why Christian parents should home-school their children. But that the issue is particularly effective in raising overall awareness.
“Sometimes it’s more effective to use a rifle gun than a shot gun,” said Short. “Last year’s resolution was our shot gun, and this year was our rifle shot.”
