Increased animosity toward churches because of their Biblically based moral teaching sometimes results in actual disruption of church services.  The disruptors’ intent is to intimidate churches into foregoing their right to speak up on issues like homosexual behavior by terrorizing parishioners.  ADF went to court to protect a Michigan church in Mt. Hope Church v. BashBack! when a self-described anarchist homosexual group interrupted Sunday Morning worship, shouting anti-Christian slogans, throwing pamphlets at worshipers, and blocking entrances.  We won that case, securing a nationwide injunction against BashBack! prohibiting it from continuing to disrupt churches.

But the Mt. Hope case illustrates why churches should have a security plan in place in the event of similar disturbances.  Our resource “Church Security FAQ” answers questions on how to go about getting started in this area.  It’s also important that churches follow Mt. Hope’s example and actually take legal action against the perpetrators of this anti-religious bigotry. Often times, government officials are unwilling to do anything about it, as was the case with Mt. Hope. If this anti-Christian behavior is left unchecked, the perpetrators are emboldened to take even more violent action against churches who dare to engage the culture and speak up on controversial issues like sexual morality.

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This bill is currently pending before Congress and could have a detrimental effect on the ability of churches to only hire individuals  that agree with their religious beliefs and live their lives accordingly.  If passed, ENDA would add “sexual orientation” to the list of characteristics upon which an employer cannot discriminate.  This is unlikely to have much direct effect on churches because Title VII allows religious organizations to discriminate on the basis of religion.  See Page 12 of our resource, Business With Conviction: Employer Religious Beliefs. But it could affect them indirectly if they have separate ministries such as schools or day care facilities that are not expressly religious and all employees are not required to subscribe to church doctrine.  A good summary of the potential implications of ENDA for churches written by Richard Hammar can be accessed here.  Well-crafted bylaws and employee handbooks will go a long way toward helping a church defend its ministries against this law, should it pass. Suggestions of what these documents should include can be found in our legal resource, “Job Descriptions & Religious Grounds for Limiting Employment” at speakupmovement.org/church.

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By ADF Senior Counsel Brian Raum

A few days after ADF posted a memo on the Internet about the methodology behind our recent scientific marriage survey, I came across an article about it on a niche website that caters to a leftist point of view.  Sometimes our critics are very clever about how they present their position, but this article, on the other hand, is amazingly embarrassing by anyone’s standards.

The article reported that “ADF didn’t disclose the poll’s methodology” and that a blogger found an ADF “internal memo” that demonstrated we had “intentionally skewed” the results of our comprehensive marriage research.  The intrigue continued as this memo between ADF and Public Opinion Strategies supposedly revealed that we “purposely” excluded bloggers, political campaign volunteers, and members of the media from the poll in an effort to reach a predetermined conclusion. Wow, that sounds bad.  And how did this smoking gun of a memo get into the wrong hands?

Well, it turns out that ADF intentionally published the not-so-secret memo on the ADF website for all to see.  The article clearly leads readers to believe otherwise, never mentioning this fact but instead simply linking to the website of a third-party blogger who admits he obtained the memo “tucked away on ADF’s site.”  (That “tucked away” place would be the primary ADF web page for the media.)

In reality, what the article describes as “intentionally skewing” the poll results happens to be well-established methodology that pollsters routinely use to obtain the most accurate results—namely, screening out members of the media, people who spend all their time posting comments on blogs, and the like.  Including such persons could have slightly skewed the results either for marriage or against marriage when all we really wanted to know is what the average American objectively thinks about the subject, no matter what the result.

Ironically, by criticizing this accepted methodology, the article tacitly admitted that, had the survey included such people, it would have skewed the results to the leftist’s point of view—meaning that the article concedes that many members of the media, bloggers, etc. are out of the mainstream in their advocacy of the homosexual agenda.

And if we’re going to talk about bias, why just take ADF to task?  After all, Public Opinion Strategies, the company that conducted the ADF survey, has conducted polls and research for NBC News, The Wall Street Journal, National Public Radio, and others.  Are they going to blast those outlets as well?

The best way to test the findings of the ADF/POS comprehensive marriage survey is to see if the results match what is already a cold, hard fact:  When virtually the same question has been presented to voters on ballots in 30 different states over whether to approve constitutional amendments protecting marriage, the integrity of marriage has been affirmed every time—by an average of 63 percent.   Compare that number to the 62 percent of Americans who affirmed marriage in the ADF/POS survey.  The proof is in the pudding.

So what of other polls that have supposedly found differently?  As I mentioned, the ADF survey asked virtually the same question that has appeared on voters’ ballots nationwide, namely should marriage “be defined as ONLY a union between one man and one woman”?  Other polls have not done this.  Instead, their results stem from how they have posed their questions, namely whether the person being surveyed favors or opposes amending the state constitution to “ban same-sex marriage” or whether it should be “legal or illegal for gay and lesbian couples to get married.”  Those questions will, of course, garner different results because of how they are phrased:  they do not match what has happened at the ballot box because they do not accurately convey how Americans feel about the definition of marriage itself.

Of course, the misleading article referred to above doesn’t really care about that, nor does it accuse these other polls of being “skewed.”  Its only apparent interest is in creating a scandal…regardless of whether it is true.

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Author: ADF Senior Counsel Brian Raum

Something is rotten in the states of America… And it isn’t the state of marriage.

Despite a relentless pop-culture, a Big Media and education establishment-led propaganda campaign, and flawed polls screaming that marriage as we know it is doomed in the U.S., support for this foundation of our society is actually alive and well.

For those who believe the support for marriage as a union between one man and one woman has gone asunder in America, we direct you to a scientific survey sponsored by the Alliance Defense Fund and completed by Public Opinion Strategies last month.

When all the numbers were tallied up from what is believed to be the most extensive national research survey of its kind to date, it was confirmed that 62 percent of Americans believe that “marriage should be defined ONLY as a union between one man and one woman.”  A majority (53 percent) of Americans strongly agreed with this sentiment, and a slim 35 percent disagreed.  This comprehensive study of 1,500 Americans’ attitudes toward marriage included research from 14 focus groups from coast to coast.

If this isn’t enough to dispel the misguided claims and misrepresentative polls posturing that marriage in America is passé, please note that this survey is a strikingly accurate reflection of official polling results from the ballot box on this issue – putting the troubled leftist pipe dream in peril.  We’re talking about election statistics spanning from 1998 to 2008, when voters from 31 states were asked to support or reject a state marriage amendment.

California, back in the ancient days of 2008, when an ultra-right-wing presidential candidate received 137 percent of the state’s vote, a marriage amendment passed, sure.  Oh wait, that’s not what happened.  Despite being outspent by $3.5 million and lacking the support of every media, entertainment, cultural, union, educational, and political power structure, marriage proponents were able to pass Proposition 8 by four percent, with 52 percent of the vote.

Note also that Smurf-Blue Maine voted in 2009 to reverse a legislatively imposed redefinition of marriage and restored marriage in the state as it’s always been understood – the union of husband and wife – nothing more, nothing less.

In the 31 states that voted on a marriage protection amendment to determine whether the definition of marriage should stay as a union between a man and a woman within their borders, 63 percent of more than 63 million voters tipped the scales at “yes.”  Only 37 percent said “no.”  That’s nearly 40 million voters affirming marriage to some 23 million rejecting it – a decisive victory for the American family.

But what about the remaining states without such an amendment protecting marriage? (The federal government, along with 45 states, has preserved the definition of marriage either through constitutional amendment or statute.)  If would-be marriage re-definers are so confident, why do they oppose “taking it to the polls” and putting this very public policy decision in the hands of the public?  Some judges have already beat voters out of their right to decide the issue.

In Iowa, the voters reacted to the state supreme court’s imposition on same-sex “marriage” on the state by – in unprecedented fashion – throwing three of the justices off the court.  Iowans would likely have ejected all seven had they been given the opportunity.  Of the five states that issue “marriage” licenses to same-sex cohabitants, none have had marriage redefinition approved by the people, with three states having it forced on them by the courts.

So, in a day and age when it appears as if marriage is about to be swept under by a relentless wave of an anti-marriage culture, all we need to do is grab our [election] boards and say “surf’s up!”  Remember, we’re riding above the wave – not below it.

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62% of Americans say it’s one man, one woman, nothing else.

Comprehensive survey shows support for marriage remains high despite recent, flawed polls that create illusion of momentum against it

Source: TellADF.org

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Results from what is likely the most extensive national research survey of its kind show that 62 percent of Americans believe that “marriage should be defined only as a union between one man and one woman.” Fifty-three percent of Americans strongly agreed.

The scientific survey, sponsored by the Alliance Defense Fund and completed by Public Opinion Strategies May 16-19, was part of a comprehensive examination of American attitudes toward marriage.  In addition to the national survey, the research included 14 focus groups completed across the country.

“Americans recognize that marriage provides a strong foundation for a thriving society,” said ADF Senior Counsel Brian Raum. “The union between husband and wife benefits society–especially children–in unique ways that cannot be duplicated by any other relationship. Throughout history, diverse cultures and faiths have recognized this universally defined ideal as the best way to promote healthy, natural families for the good of future generations.”

The survey results mirror American voter behavior when faced with the decision to either affirm marriage in their state constitutions or leave it open to legal challenges or other attacks.

“These numbers are not surprising,” said Public Opinion Strategies partner, and the survey’s director, Gene Ulm. “More than 63 million Americans in 31 state elections have voted on constitutional marriage amendments. Forty million Americans in all—63 percent of total voters–have voted to affirm marriage as a union between a man and a woman.”

“Americans strongly affirm the lifelong, faithful union of a man and a woman as the fundamental building block of civilization,” said Raum. “This survey, along with the nearly 80 percent win rate in ADF marriage cases, shows the opposition has created an illusion of momentum but not a real base of support or track record of victory in the courts.”

POS is a nationally-known public opinion research firm. In addition to polling for Fortune 100 companies, 80 members of Congress, 19 senators, and six governors, the firm’s partners (in conjunction with two other firms) poll for NBC News/Wall Street Journal and National Public Radio.

Other Resources:
Map: Legal battles in the defense of marriage

Marriage amendment vote percentages across the U.S.

Marriage survey results summary

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