Conservative Christian Marriage Seminar Sparks Chick-fil-A Boycott

By Diana Fishlock
Religion News Service

HARRISBURG, Pa. (RNS) Amy Goropoulos' stomach and her ethics do not agree on Chick-fil-A. She used to visit the restaurant with her husband and coworkers, but she recently quit the chicken cold turkey.

The Christian-owned fast-food chain has become the center of a national maelstrom for supporting a recent (Feb. 11-12) marriage seminar in central Pennsylvania sponsored by the Pennsylvania Family Institute, a conservative research and education organization associated with Focus on the Family. Both groups have advocated against gay marriage.

Gay and lesbian groups are calling the Georgia-based chain anti-gay and are calling for boycotts.

"They have to know they stand to lose business," Goropoulos said. "Hopefully, they'll change their minds, and I can have my chicken nuggets back."

Nearly 18,000 people have signed an online petition spearheaded by the Human Rights Campaign urging Chick-fil-A to stop working against gays and lesbians.

Equality Pennsylvania suggested that people not go to Chick-fil-A, said Executive Director Ted Martin. "The Pennsylvania Family Institute is putting on an event that I can guarantee you does not say anything about the loving relationships LGBT people are in."

To some, the Chick-fil-A brouhaha is a donation, not a national issue.

"It's absolutely, categorically blown out of proportion," local franchise owner Brian Gibson said. "We donate food all the time. We certainly don't take into consideration anyone's political affiliations or anything like that. We just like to feed people."

Gibson hasn't seen a drop in business, and company spokesman Mark Baldwin could not comment on whether business has increased or decreased since the controversy started.

At Chick-fil-A, faith is part of the company's brand. The company operates more than 1,540 restaurants in 39 states, and they all are closed on Sundays, one reason the chain has been recognized as one of Fortune magazine's 100 best places to work. The company website states its corporate purpose is, "To glorify God by being a faithful steward of
all that is entrusted to us."

President and CEO Dan Cathy said his company is not anti-gay.

"While my family and I believe in the biblical definition of marriage, we love and respect anyone who disagrees," Cathy said in a press release.

"We will not champion any political agendas on marriage and family," the company said in its statement. "We will continue to offer resources to strengthen marriages and families. To do anything different would be inconsistent with our purpose and belief in biblical principles."

Goropoulos, who lives in Newberry Township with her husband and daughter, signed the Human Rights Campaign petition and wrote a letter to the company because she thinks any couple should have the right to marry.

"I wrote in my letter to them, it wasn't long ago that this same conversation would have been happening about interracial couples. I wrote I hope my daughter's generation looks back on this the same way we look back on that."

Ray Gibney, an assistant professor of management at Penn State Harrisburg, doubts this issue will hurt Chick-fil-A much.

In markets such as San Francisco or New York, Chick-fil-A might take a beating, he said. "It will be a blip on the radar screen because everybody wants their $1 cheeseburger or chicken sandwich," he said.

About 120 attended the couples retreat at Christian Life Assembly Church, said Michael Geer, president of the Pennsylvania Family Institute.

"It's a video marriage retreat aimed at helping couples strengthen their marriages," Geer said.

The online description said the seminar will help couples apply what the Bible teaches about marriage.

One of Geer's staff asked local Chick-fil-A franchises to donate food for the event.

"The original e-mail said 'Sponsored by Pennsylvania Family Institute and Chick-fil-A,' but all they are doing is providing lunch," Geer said. "Because some people inexplicably took offense to it, we changed our wording."

Geer said he's surprised and disappointed by the tone of the debate. He's received some e-mails about Chick-fil-A -- pro and con -- from around the country.

The Rev. Ken Mellinger, senior pastor at Living Hope Church in Susquehanna Township, said that if a restaurant donated to a gay pride festival, most Christians wouldn't boycott it.

"Christians by and large are a tolerant bunch. I'm surprised gays are not a more tolerant bunch."

Like Goropoulos, Judy Chambers feels conflicted about Chick-fil-A.

"I eat there at least once a week," she said. Chambers, a 55-year-old resident of Lower Paxton Township, is a lesbian.

Chambers struggles with the issue of boycotts against companies that seem discriminatory toward gays and lesbians, she said. A client gave Chambers a $60 Chick-fil-A gift card for Christmas. Once the card runs out, she'll probably boycott the restaurant for awhile, she said.

"I will just have to start packing my lunch," she said.

Diana Fishlock writes for The Patriot-News in Harrisburg, Pa.

Comments

[mogluver]

05:44 PM on 02/26/2011

Part of the problem is that profits from the corporate level are sent to causes that are opposed to equal Civil Rights. Focus on the Family is a big player in the anti-gay movement on the evangelical right and in the Republican Party. It is highly important that voters know the backgrounds on companies and how they spend profits.

[DD2005]

01:12 PM on 02/23/2011

Gays and Lesbians will boycott anything that does not support THEIR cause or their perceived rights. Nothing new here. Once they get their rights they will then seek more, once they get more, they will then seek additional rights. It's never enough is it? What's next? I love my dog so I should be allowed to marry it? Come on! Enough already.

[liberal123]

04:39 PM on 02/26/2011

Those gays and their demands to be treated equally they are so pesky. Why should they have the right to marry, to serve in the armed services, to not be discriminated against in employment? What is the world coming to? Equal rights are so irritating. What ever happened to the good old days?

[Anaxamenes]

05:26 PM on 03/08/2011

If by THEIR cause, you mean EQUAL TREATMENT UNDER THE LAW, then you are correct. Those rights are entitled to everyone and it's upsetting that you feel it's necessary to only apply those rights to your narrow view of the population. Everyone is a citizen, and deserves to be treated equally. If you want a Theocracy, maybe you should move to Iran.

[Jason N]

12:25 PM on 02/22/2011

I'm a bit torn. From what I understand, this wasn't a corporate move, but one by a single store in PA. I like Chik-fil-a, but don't eat it often as I can usually only get to one on a weekend (which leaves me 1 day to have Chik-fil-a!). And while I understand Chik-fil-a's religious roots, I've never found them to be the evangelical scream it out type. I think this may be the first time I've heard of them even being remotely associated with anything of this kind. I've had family and friends work there, none of them spoke poorly about the place. They weren't forced into beliefs, they weren't harassed about converting (in fact when asked they said it never even came up), and they found management easy to work with and scheduling flexible. I dunno, from what I've seen I don't have a reason to boycott anyone except that individual franchise.

(But again... I'm biased towards they're chicken sandwich...mmmmmmm....)

[cminca]

12:00 PM on 02/21/2011

"The Rev. Ken Mellinger, senior pastor at Living Hope Church in Susquehanna Township, said that if a restaurant donated to a gay pride festival, most Christians wouldn't boycott it.

"Christians by and large are a tolerant bunch. I'm surprised gays are not a more tolerant bunch.""

Rev. Mellinger--it is faux-Christian intolerence that is at the heart if the disease. The boycott is merely a symptom.

[Flip75]

03:26 PM on 02/21/2011

I'd counter his claim by pointing to the Baptists, who have blathered on for years about boycotting Disney because it allows gay people to organize at the parks one day a year. He can claim that Christians wouldn't boycott an organization that was not hateful to gays, but there's one piece of evidence against that very claim. And as much as I'd like to paint all these types as "faux-Christians," merely dismissing them as "faux" doesn't get to the heart of the matter - that many major Christian denominations are unashamedly anti-gay.

[Larkhill]

01:49 AM on 02/21/2011

Fundamentalists are to morality what Chick-Fil-A is to nutrition.

A lot of empty calories...

[Flip75]

03:27 PM on 02/21/2011

You are oh-so-flagged! Homosexuality isn't a choice or a mental disorder.....but ignorance and bigotry are.

[Mag7]

08:16 PM on 02/20/2011

An article in today's Atlanta Journal Constitution addresses this story (plus the fact that Chick-fil-A is expanding rapidly). They offer domestic-partner benefits in states where it's required -no different than LOTS of companies. They also extend food donations to just about any organization that asks (WAY different than LOTS of companies). One former employee who describes himself as 'obviously very gay' could think of no retribution or harassment during his time there. I just wonder if this situation is blown out of proportion. I will also add their restaurants are impeccably clean. And I'm to left of Keith Olbermann and absolutely not a fan of evangelical pompous bigotry, which I see every day here in Georgia.

[Mafdet]

07:59 PM on 02/20/2011

Reading this article Cathy's stance seems benign, but when religion underpins a company, the people who work there are required to comply with or support practices that they may fundamentally disagree with.  And no, it's not as simple as:  Well then work someplace else.  Companies are a collection of dissimilar people who provide reliable services to a diverse public, and in service industries, it is precisely the diversity of the workforce that they employer capitalizes on to draw a diverse public.  It is the height of arrogance for employers to use something as essential as a job to draw people into a belief system they may detest.
 
The first job I got out of college was for a company whose mission statement was very similar to Cathy's.  It was hard to find a good job.  I didn't have a lot of options.  The people I worked for were nice, but they assumed that everyone who worked for them was a Christian or because we so needed a job, that we would buy into Christian practices.  While I worked there, I was required to say prayers.  I couldn't refuse because had I let on that I was an atheist, my integrity would have been suspect and my ability to advance in the company would have been compromised.  My employers required me to support their Christian initiatives as part of my job.  I do marketing.  One of the initiatives that they expected me to support, until I put my foot down, was petitioning governors, judges and parole boards to release convicted felons who had found God.  I put my foot down when they expected me to make a case for someone who was serving time for kidnapping and rape.
 
There is only one reason why an employer makes a big deal of religion, and that is because he considers it essential to the definition of a good person and employee and he's bound to discriminate on the basis of it.  No one should be aware of anyone else's religion in the work place unless as a result of personal relationships that carry on outside the office. 

[datenutloaf]

02:59 PM on 02/20/2011

Don't like their product

Don't like any business using xianity as a cudgel ..... or a come on....

[detroitblkmale30]

04:24 PM on 02/20/2011

whats xianity? never heard of it..Does it refer to the Taoans?

[CarmanK]

01:36 PM on 02/20/2011

Sorry, sounds like a misunderstanding to me. I am not going to boycott a business that respects peoople, pays fair wages, closes on Sundays and is a good neighbor. Chick fil a is a good, solid american business that deserves support, since so many other unethical companies operate around the nation and are too big to care. WALMART has billionair spoiled heirs on their Board, they get richer while workers are paid minimum wage, and mistreated. I get sick every time I see their ad on TV that talks about generations working for WALMART. Pathetic. They sell cheap goods and ship jobs overseas. I would say, we need to encourage companies like CHICK fil a to keep up the good work.

[eve mahar]

08:06 PM on 02/21/2011

the good work? you mean putting the money they earn from us GAY customers towards discriminating against us?

[UTEX Alum]

02:57 PM on 02/22/2011

so true, Fanned and Faved. I liked the "respects people" line...lol. Goes to show the mentality of those who really do hate/discriminate against us.

[deepintheheartoftejas]

01:48 AM on 02/20/2011

Eet mor cows?

[Zilo]

12:55 AM on 02/20/2011

I find it sad that it's still so popular for religious people to hate on gays. What did they do to you guys? Why are you so constantly threatened by them and anything that is slightly different from the way you live your lives? What does it really cost you just to be nice to these people and treat them like your fellow human beings, you know, like your Christ would want you to...

[boyoboy]

11:55 AM on 02/20/2011

They're the same people who used religion to enforce bans on interracial marriage.  Their God didn't mean for Blacks and Whites to marry.

[detroitblkmale30]

04:28 PM on 02/20/2011

im a Christian, not religious(that term conotates some mindless conformity to an organization) My faith is a relationship. I dont hate gays. I not afraid of them or threatened (homophobic is such a manufactured word which I reject) I treat them just as Christ would have wanted, you also have to include the Christ that said not only love your neighbor as yourself, but the one who said "go and sin no more" It was love AND the law with Christ not just one.

[Mag7]

08:06 PM on 02/20/2011

What 'sin' have they committed? And why do Christians classify sex as categorically immoral? Because it's outside of marriage? Well that certainly condemns most heterosexuals. You don't treat them as Christ would, you're not to judge, remember?

Christ knows gays are exactly what God created them to be and accepts them completely.

[plainjohn]

12:25 AM on 02/20/2011

Two great "American" narcotics, alcohol and Christianity.
Friedrich Nietzsche

[DD2005]

01:10 PM on 02/23/2011

I would argue Homosexuality is worse than Christianity but this is the H P afterall where Christian bashing is allowed. Bash away!

[Scott Stevenson]

09:57 PM on 02/19/2011

Yeah like I want a dry chicken patty with a couple of pickles, nothing more. Yuk!

[cameron d]

09:25 PM on 02/19/2011

They've always had a Christian stance and they've never received a single penny from me for that very reason. Christian companies will never get a penny from me.

[Idahogal8]

12:11 AM on 02/20/2011

Why? What is so wrong with Christian companies? Christians are people, just like anyone else, trying their best to do the right thing in life. It's true; they probably make lots of mistakes and do things they shouldn't, but I think a lot of non-Christians do too. If they believe in something, what is wrong with that? Chick Fil A didn't come out and say mean things; all they did was provide lunch to a marriage seminar. True Christians are very loving people; they don't hate gay people. They just happen to not believe in gay marriage. That doesn't make them bad people.

[cameron d]

01:22 AM on 02/20/2011

If you don't believe in equality for all you aren't the kind of person I want to give my money to. It's that simple.

[boyoboy]

11:58 AM on 02/20/2011

Yes, it does.  If they opposed interracial marriage, they'd be bad people, too.  Your so-called Christians don't get to pick and choose who gets rights in this country.  

The rest of us get to choose not to patronize businesses that are anti-human and civil rights.