Conservative Christian Groups condemned by SPLC Southern Poverty Law Center

I've seen these claims before...I think before people jump on the bandwagon of believing "they're just on the list because they're Christian", they need to deep dive into what some of these groups are actually about and they'll find the groups' places on a hate-group watchlist are well-earned.


There are times where the SPLC shows their biases, and definitely make some pretty big logical "stretches" to add certain groups, but the groups being discussed here definitely belong on a hate list.

Here's some public statements made by their leaders:
“The reality is, homosexuals have entered the Scouts in the past for predatory purposes.”
– FRC Vice President Rob Schwarzwalder, on radio’s “The Janet Mefferd Show,” Feb. 1, 2013.

“[H]omosexual activists vehemently reject the facts which suggests that homosexual men … are … relative to their numbers, more likely to engage in such actions [childhood sexual abuse] than are heterosexual men.”
– Peter Sprigg, Senior Fellow for Policy Studies at FRC, on why the Boy Scouts should not allow LGBT Scouts or leaders, FRC blog, February 1, 2013.

“The videos are titled 'It Gets Better.' They are aimed at persuading kids that although they'll face struggles and perhaps bullying for 'coming out' as homosexual (or transgendered or some other perversion), life will get better. …It's disgusting. And it's part of a concerted effort to persuade kids that homosexuality is okay and actually to recruit them into that lifestyle."
— Tony Perkins, FRC fundraising letter, August 2011

“While activists like to claim that pedophilia is a completely distinct orientation from homosexuality, evidence shows a disproportionate overlap between the two. … It is a homosexual problem.”
— FRC President Tony Perkins, FRC website, 2010

“[W]elcoming open homosexuality in the military would clearly damage the readiness and effectiveness of the force – in part because it would increase the already serious problem of homosexual assault in the military.”
— Peter Sprigg, “Homosexual Assault in the Military," 2010

"A little-reported fact is that homosexual and lesbian relationships are far more violent than are traditional married households."
—Timothy Dailey, FRC publication, "Homosexual Parenting: Placing Children at Risk," 2002

"One of the primary goals of the homosexual rights movement is to abolish all age of consent laws and to eventually recognize pedophiles as the 'prophets' of a new sexual order."
—1999 FRC publication, "Homosexual Behavior and Pedophilia," Robert Knight and Frank York


The reason why groups like FRC (and similar groups) make the list is because they go well above and beyond "just having an unpopular opinion on a controversial topic" and make dishonest claims about the groups they don't like...and affiliate themselves with other hate groups. They've circulated at plethora of provably false, slanderous information, and are affiliated with the "Pacific Justice Institute", another anti-LGBT group that went as far as knowingly circulating a false story (they even admitted they lied, but then try to cover their tracks with flimsy logic) about a trans student harassing girls in the bathroom...it was a real student, who got to wake up and read a story about themselves in the local newspaper that didn't actually happen. All because some group decided that they were going to make up a story about them so that they could push this narrative that trans people are somehow a threat in restrooms.


Like I said, there are times where the SPLC goes "too far" in being overzealous in adding certain entities to their list that probably shouldn't be on there. But people should definitely do some research before jumping to the conclusion that any religious-right organization that's on their list "must be some innocent martyr for Christianity"

Any groups affiliated with FRC or "Pacific Justice Institute" not only should be on a hate list, but should be top contenders for the title of "Hate Champion"

You're right @ThatRobGuy , it's not merely about an unpopular opinion. Note how often they use the word "disgust" and "pervert" to describe something they don't approve of. That's clearly designed to incite animosity, especially when combined with libelous accusations. Not even the Catholic Church goes that far now days in describing gay people.

FireDragon76 said:

You're right @ThatRobGuy , it's not merely about an unpopular opinion. Note how often they use the word "disgust" and "pervert" to describe something they don't approve of. That's clearly designed to incite animosity, especially when combined with libelous accusations. Not even the Catholic Church goes that far now days in describing gay people.

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Correct.

If you look at their list of anti-LGBT hate groups, nobody is on the list for merely "disapproving, publicly, of a lifestyle or sexual preference".
Groups

These are all groups that have gone "above & beyond" in that regard.

If it were simply a matter of "SPLC is just putting Christian entities on their list willy-nilly if they espouse a preference for traditional marriage", then there would be far more than 9 organizations on that list. Chick-fil-a would be on their list if that were the case.

To SPLC's credit, as I noted before, sometimes they're a bit over-zealous in adding people to their, what they call, "extremist files"...but in more cases than not, do a decent job publicly correcting for their mistakes on that and retracting it with an apology. An example would be when they added Ben Carson to their list in 2015, and then acknowledged their mistake and said "while some of his views aren't in-line with our own, he shouldn't have been branded as an extremist"

Pathfinder627 said:

You all won't provide links to support your assertions, so I had to scour them for myself.

I found this: James Dobson: Be a Man, Shoot a Transgender Woman in the Bathroom

So indeed, this is one instance where I finally found him advocating violence. And I'm not sure I disagree with him. He's taking it too far, but in his hypothetical situation, I might be inclined to think the same way. Of a "strange-looking man, dressed like a woman … peering over toilet cubicles to watch your wife in a private moment". Better yet, the woman should shoot. I'm equal opportunity.

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You’re seriously opining about killing someone for voyeurism?

Quartermaine said:

the SPLC actually didn't apologize but Ben Carson did eventually apologize for saying homosexuals were Nazi's and are the moral equivalent of people who have sex with animals.

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You are incorrect. See attached. https://www.splcenter.org/sites/def...publication/splc_statement_carson_feb2015.pdf

RestoreTheJoy said:

You are incorrect. See attached. https://www.splcenter.org/sites/def...publication/splc_statement_carson_feb2015.pdf

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"We've also come to the conclusion that the question of whether a better-researched profile of Dr. Carson should or should not be included in our "Extremist Files" is taking attention from the fact that Dr. Carson has, in fact, made a number of statements that express views that we believe most people would conclude are extreme."

Weird that the founder of SPLC, Morris Dees was fired for sexual, racial and gender harassment.
Morris Dees - Wikipedia

Chrystal-J said:

Weird that the founder of SPLC, Morris Dees was fired for sexual, racial and gender harassment.
Morris Dees - Wikipedia

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It sounds like he was perhaps a victim of the #MeToo hysteria and/or workplace politics. At any rate, the organization has done alot of good over the years by countering the threat posed by hate groups.

BobRyan said:

Leader of non-profit labeled 'hate group' attended White House Amy Coney Barrett event

"...conservative Christian non-profit organization that has been designated an anti-LGBTQ+ hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) attended the White House event announcing Donald Trump’s nomination of Judge"

I don't know anything about the group that the SPLC was targeting - but it raises my curiosity about the Christian groups being targeted by SPLC.

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"Family Research Council" is one such group condemned by SPLC

"Over the weekend, Jessica Prol Smith spoke out at USA Today about almost getting murdered thanks to the Southern Poverty Law Center, which had accused her employer, the Family Research Council (FRC), of being a “hate group,” putting it on a list with the KKK."

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On the other hand we have this --

"“The SPLC’s opportunistic and tone-deaf response to the USA Today piece is typical of what this once-important organization has become. Some on the left have called the SPLC ‘everything that’s wrong with liberalism,’ and deemed its ‘Hate Map’ an ‘outright fraud’ and ‘a willful deception designed to scare older liberals into writing checks to the SPLC,'” Jeremy Tedesco, ADF’s Sr. Counsel and VP of U.S. Advocacy, told PJ Media.

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"The American College of Pediatricians is a national organization of pediatricians and other healthcare professionals dedicated to the health and well-being of children"


or as SPLC would say it... "hate group"

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My guess is that SPLC does point out some real hate groups. Though I am starting to wonder "with what percent of accuracy?"

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The SPLC is one of the few left wing organizations that I've seen openly admit to making mistakes and correcting them.

It's also one of the few that acknowledge the existence of non-white racist hate groups....and it doesn't defend their racism or try to downplay it.

It appears to be, in my opinion, more objective and honest than the ADL.

I would suggest that if you believe they have a determination that is wrong....ask them to change it.

BobRyan said:

SPLC has something they call "a hate map" as I understand it.
Hate Map

Don't know much about the ADL --
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), formerly known as the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, is an international Jewish non-governmental organization based in the United States.

Do they also have a "hate map"??

Red flags go off for me when some organization claims to publish "a hate map".

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If you think a "hate map" is an inelegant way to chart hate groups....I'd agree. I think the visual that creates gives the impression that these groups are larger or more significant than they are. That may be the intended effect...but I can't really say for certain.

The ADL however, intentionally misled (although I'd just call it lying) people when they recently released some report on the "threat" of "white supremacy" . They claimed some nonsense about a massive increase in "white supremacist murders"....and frankly, a certain group of people (let's call them "liberals") got duped.

Basically, they had this list of "white supremacist" murderers and I looked up the details of every single case. There was probably a third which had very little evidence of being a white supremacist....the label itself was being stretched in ridiculous ways. On top of that....the vast majority of those murders had nothing to do with white supremacy at all. You had cases where someone was being robbed at gunpoint...got killed....and it was being counted as a "white supremacist murder" because the robber had a particular tattoo or something. If one didn't count crimes that were a motivated by something other than white supremacist beliefs or ideology....the entire story falls apart.

Imagine if for a moment someone was claiming that Black Lives Matter was the most violent hate group in the US. Now imagine if the person who said that made a list of every murderer who ever wrote "black lives matter" or #BLM on social media...and said that was their evidence. That would be pretty deceptive, right?

Well that's basically what the ADL did....and as far as I can tell they're just pushing a political agenda with little regard for truth.

BobRyan said:

Don't know much about the ADL --
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), formerly known as the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, is an international Jewish non-governmental organization based in the United States.

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Personally speaking what causes me some degree of disquiet is their hate symbols database - anyone who can see hatred in a grand total of nine two-digit numbers (12, 13, 14, 18, 28, 38, 43, 83 and 88) really isn't someone I'd like to have in charge of deciding what qualifies.

Overall, if a body gets it's funding for fighting against hatred isn't there a conflict of interest? After all, the more hatred they find the more funding they get.

ThatRobGuy said:

There are times where the SPLC shows their biases, and definitely make some pretty big logical "stretches" to add certain groups, but the groups being discussed here definitely belong on a hate list.

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Nonsense. If that were really the standard, most of the political action organizations of any leaning, left or right or otherwise, would be "hate" groups since they oppose policies and practices of people and groups that do not agree with their own raison d'etre.

MyOwnSockPuppet said:

Personally speaking what causes me some degree of disquiet is their hate symbols database - anyone who can see hatred in a grand total of nine two-digit numbers (12, 13, 14, 18, 28, 38, 43, 83 and 88) really isn't someone I'd like to have in charge of deciding what qualifies.

Overall, if a body gets it's funding for fighting against hatred isn't there a conflict of interest? After all, the more hatred they find the more funding they get.

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I have tons of friends that have swastikas, double lightning bolts, wolfsangels, AH,and 88 tattooed on their bodies; they are just a bunch of Neo-Buddhists that like thunderstorms, work in the forestry industry, are members of the Ah-Ha fan boy club, and want to reach double infinity. No hate there. Really. Defund the ADL and their hateful hate they spread.

Albion said:

Nonsense. If that were really the standard, most of the political action organizations of any leaning, left or right or otherwise, would be "hate" groups since they oppose policies and practices of people and groups that do not agree with their own raison d'etre.

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As I noted before, if getting on the list meant nothing more than "opposing same sex marriage", then there would be thousands of entities on the list...but there aren't. In that category, there are only a handful, and it's a very select list.

Anti-LGBTQ

I also elaborated on how the groups in question go well above and beyond simply "opposing" something, and have gone as far as deliberately pushing either false information, or in one case, went as far as making a fake story about a real student (using their name and all) that was provably false.

A group saying "we support traditional marriage" is far different than a group buying column space in a local newspaper, and reporting a completely false story about a real student (by name) to prove some point they were trying to make.

Have you read up on FRC and their affiliate organization "Pacific Justice Institute"? They're not on the list simply for opposing same sex marriage or LGBT issues.

They're on the list for pushing junk science claiming that there's a link between homosexuals and pedophiles, and running a false stories about real students that didn't actually happen to try to prove a point.


However, people act as if FRC and PJI are just innocent martyrs who are being persecuted against for being Christian.

As I noted before, if simply preferring traditional marriage was all it took for them to put you on the list willy nilly, then Salvation Army would be on their list.

I stand by my original statement, FRC PJI and ADF all have a well earned spot on the hate watchlist.

ThatRobGuy said:

As I noted before, if getting on the list meant nothing more than "opposing same sex marriage", then there would be thousands of entities on the list...but there aren't.

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The SPLC is highly selective though. As you are thinking, the organization's criteria are so loose that there could conceivably be thousands of so-called "hate" groups on the list if they were attempting to be truly comprehensive. Every Catholic, Anglican, Orthodox, Lutheran, Fundamentalist and other church auxiliary or study group that found homosexual acts to be morally wrong, for example, would be candidates for the list.

But SPLC simply hits a few representative religious societies--important, recognized, ones--as you may have noticed with their accusation.

Meanwhile, when it comes to groups that are allegedly white supremacist outfits, no one has ever heard of the majority of them since, most likely, they have no membership to speak of. In this way SPLC can appear to be even-handed, although it's an illusion.

Albion said:

The SPLC is highly selective though. As you are thinking, the organization's criteria are so loose that there could conceivably be thousands of so-called "hate" groups on the list if they were attempting to be truly comprehensive. Every Catholic, Anglican, Orthodox, Lutheran, Fundamentalist and other church auxiliary or study group that found homosexual acts to be morally wrong, for example, would be candidates for the list.

But SPLC simply hits a few representative religious societies--important, recognized, ones--as you may have noticed with their accusation.

Meanwhile, when it comes to groups that are allegedly white supremacist outfits, no one has ever heard of the majority of them since, most likely, they have no membership to speak of. In this way SPLC can appear to be even-handed, although it's an illusion.

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if you have never heard of some of these groups then you need to be better informed

Albion said:

The SPLC is highly selective though. As you are thinking, the organization's criteria are so loose that there could conceivably be thousands of so-called "hate" groups on the list if they were attempting to be truly comprehensive. Every Catholic, Anglican, Orthodox, Lutheran, Fundamentalist and other church auxiliary or study group that found homosexual acts to be morally wrong, for example, would be candidates for the list.

But SPLC simply hits a few representative religious societies--important, recognized, ones--as you may have noticed with their accusation.

Meanwhile, when it comes to groups that are allegedly white supremacist outfits, no one has ever heard of the majority of them since, most likely, they have no membership to speak of. In this way SPLC can appear to be even-handed, although it's an illusion.

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...but if you look at their criteria, it goes beyond simply "opposing homosexuality and same sex marriage". That, alone, won't make you a candidate for their list.

The dozen or so groups who've made their list for being anti-LGBT have done so for some pretty egregious things, not simply opposing a sexual preference/lifestyle.

Groups

If you click on each link, they elaborate on why the groups made the list.

ThatRobGuy said:

The dozen or so groups who've made their list for being anti-LGBT have done so for some pretty egregious things, not simply opposing a sexual preference/lifestyle.

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Egregious things? I chose one group for a case study. That was the American Family Association.

The "hate" was never shown to be more than a disagreement about public policy and the demands of LBGT groups. Of course, THOSE GROUPS can call AFA and people who feel as AFA does every name in the book and it won't get them placed on the SPLC's hate list, right? Why do you suppose that is, if SPLC does not have a radical agenda and is not simply a neutral tracker of hate groups?

Albion said:

Egregious things? I chose one group for a case study. That was the American Family Association.

The "hate" was never shown to be more than a disagreement about public policy and the demands of LBGT groups. Of course, THOSE GROUPS can call AFA and people who feel as AFA does every name in the book and it won't get them placed on the SPLC's hate list, right? Why do you suppose that is, if SPLC does not have a radical agenda and is not simply a neutral tracker of hate groups?

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I think it was more than just a "disagreement".

There's a difference between a group saying "we value traditional marriage, and don't support the homosexual lifestyle", and a group saying things like this:

“Homosexuality gave us Adolph Hitler, and homosexuals in the military gave us the Brown Shirts, the Nazi war machine and six million dead Jews.”
— Bryan Fischer, AFA director of issue analysis for government and public policy, 2010.

“As with smoking, homosexual behavior’s ‘second hand’ effects threaten public health. … Thus, individuals who choose to engage in homosexual behavior threaten not only their own lives, but the lives of the general population.”
— Gary Glenn, president of Michigan chapter of AFA, 2001.

“[T]he homosexual lifestyle is characterized by anonymous sexual encounters and celebration of sexual obsession and perversion unparalleled in any other social group.”
— Richard Howe, “Homosexuality in America,” AFA publication, 1994.


If the AFA wanted to have the perception of being a group that simply wanted to promote traditional marriage, perhaps they should've has a more moderated public message than "Homosexuality gave us Adolf Hitler and six million dead Jews"

Blaming homosexuality for the Third Reich goes above and beyond simply promoting Traditional marriage, wouldn't you agree?