IRD logo.

The Institute on Religion and Democracy is a conservative political militant group which seeks to challenge the public influence of the mainline Protestant Christian churches in the United States and their joint ministry, the National Council of Churches. The IRD is funded by gifts from right-wing foundations and individuals. It describes itself as "an ecumenical alliance of U.S. Christians working to reform their churches’ social witness, in accord with biblical and historic Christian teachings, thereby contributing to the renewal of democratic society at home and abroad." ^[1] Although governed by a board heavily composed of Roman Catholics, the IRD focuses its criticism only on Protestant churches. Notable members of the organization's Board of Directors include journalist Fred Barnes, Dr. Thomas C. Oden, Dr. Robert P. George, philosopher Michael Novak and theologian George Weigel. Its goals are to influence decision-making in three Mainline Churches [1]– namely the Presbyterian Church, the United Methodist Church and the Episcopal Church – because the Institute judges the leadership of these churches to be most seriously astray. The problems they attribute to these church leaderships include "the pursuit of radical political agendas", which they feel are not justified by "Scripture or Christian tradition", but instead are "left-wing crusades": "feminism, environmentalism, multiculturalism, revolutionary socialism, sexual liberation, etc."^[2] Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Conservatism in the United States comprises a constellation of political ideologies including fiscal conservatism, free market or economic liberalism, social conservatism,[1] bioconservatism and religious conservatism,[2][3] as well as support for a strong military, opposition to internationalism,[4] and promotion of states rights. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Frederic W. Barnes, an American journalist, author, and conservative political commentator, is the executive editor of the news publication The Weekly Standard, co-host with Mort Kondracke of The Beltway Boys on the Fox News Channel, and also regularly appears on Foxs Special Report with Brit Hume. ... Dr. Thomas C. Oden Thomas Clark Oden (October 21, 1931 - ) is an American Christian theologian associated with Drew University in New Jersey. ... Robert P. George is McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence at Princeton University, where he leads courses on constitutional interpretation and civil liberties. ... Michael Novak (born September 9, 1933) is a conservative Roman Catholic American philosopher and diplomat. ... George Weigel (Baltimore, 1951 - ) is an American conservative author, Roman Catholic theologian and political and social activist. ... In the United States, the mainline (also sometimes called mainstream) denominations are those Protestant denominations with a potpourri of conservative, moderate, and liberal theologies. ... Emblem of the PC(USA) The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) or PC(USA) is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination in the United States. ... This article is about the current denomination africa. ... The arms of the Episcopal Church are based on the St Georges Cross, a symbol of England (mother of world Anglicanism), with a saltire reminiscent of the Cross of St Andrew in the canton in reference to the historical origins of the American episcopate in the Scottish Episcopal Church. ... Leftism can refer to: Left-wing politics An album by Leftfield ... Feminism is a collection of social theories, political movements, and moral philosophies largely motivated by or concerned with the social, political and economic equality of the sexes. ... For the psychology topic, see Environmental psychology. ... Multiculturalism is the idea or belief that modern societies should embrace and include distinct cultural groups with equal cultural and political status. ... The storming of the Bastille, 14 July 1789 during the French Revolution. ... Socialism refers to a broad array of doctrines or political movements that envisage a socio-economic system in which property and the distribution of wealth are subject to control by the community. ... The sexual revolution was a substantial change in sexual morality and sexual behaviour throughout the West in the late 1960s and early 1970s. ...

Background

The IRD was founded in 1981 by the conservative Roman Catholic Michael Novak and then-Lutheran (and later Catholic) Richard John Neuhaus. The foundation claimed to further education for democracy and be a financing organization for the Coalition for a Democratic Majority. It was meant to be a counterweight to progressive Protestant organizations like the National Council of Churches and the World Council of Churches. It opposed Latin American liberation theology and conducted an aggressive media campaign in support of the policies of the Reagan Administration in Central America. It accused leading representatives of churches of advocating Marxist goals and advocated increases to the defense budget, an interventionist foreign policy while opposing LGBT rights. It considers these policies to be the "renewal of democratic society" (the term used on its own website) at home and abroad. Michael Novak (born September 9, 1933) is a conservative Roman Catholic American philosopher and diplomat. ... Reverend Father Richard John Neuhaus (born May 21, 1936) is a prominent Canadian Catholic priest and writer in the United States. ... According to (last updated September 1989), Coalition for a Democratic Majority (CDM) was formed in 1972 by the late Senator Henry M. Scoop Jackson (D_Wash. ... The National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA (usually identified as National Council of Churches, or NCC) is an association of 35 Christian churches in the United States, with 100,000 local congregations and more than 45,000,000 adherents. ... The World Council of Churches (WCC) is an international Christian ecumenical organization. ... Latin America consists of the countries of South America and some of North America (including Central America and some the islands of the Caribbean) whose inhabitants mostly speak Romance languages, although Native American languages are also spoken. ... Liberation theology is a school of theology that focuses on Jesus Christ as not only the Redeemer but also the Liberator of the Oppressed. ... Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was the 40th President of the United States (1981 – 1989) and the 33rd Governor of California (1967 – 1975). ... For other uses, see Central America (disambiguation). ... LGBT social movements is a collective term for a number of movements that share related goals of social acceptance of homosexuality and/or gender variance. ...

Since 1981 the IRD has worked toward two objectives:^{[citation needed]}

• Influence US domestic and foreign policy with a conservative Christian viewpoint.

• Reform the mainline American Protestant denominations. The IRD views the mainline denominations as being endangered due to their clergy and leadership having surrendered to secular and leftist political influences.

In the United States, the mainline (also sometimes called mainstream) denominations are those Protestant denominations with a potpourri of conservative, moderate, and liberal theologies. ... Protestantism is a general grouping of denominations within Christianity. ...

Funding

According to GuideStar.org, the Institute on Religion & Democracy generated $1.1 million in contributions in 2004 (the most recent IRS 990 form available online). Contributions to the IRD equate to less than 1% of the budgets of all mainline churches combined.

Criticism

The organization has been the subject of a growing number of complaints and critiques for its tactics which are having divisive and problematic effects on its targeted denominations. On the other hand, IRD claims that the divisions in those denominations already exist, and that it is simply giving voice to dissidents within those denominations.

see:

• [2]
• [3]
• [4]

See also

• Balkan Action Committee
• Citizens for a Free Kuwait
• Coalition for a Democratic Majority
• Committee for the Free World
• Committee for the Liberation of Iraq
• Committee for Peace and Security in the Gulf
• Committee on the Present Danger
• Prodemca (Friends of the Democratic Center in Central America)
• Project for the New American Century
• Project for the Republican Future

While IRD board members may have connections with some of the above groups, IRD does not work either directly or indirectly with any of them. IRD has not taken an official stance either for or against issues such as the Iraq War. Citizens for a Free Kuwait (CFK) was a front group established by the Hill & Knowlton PR firm to promote the 1991 U.S. war in the Persian Gulf (Operation Desert Storm). ... According to (last updated September 1989), Coalition for a Democratic Majority (CDM) was formed in 1972 by the late Senator Henry M. Scoop Jackson (D_Wash. ... The Committee for the Free World (CFW), according to the August 1998 update by Group Watch, was founded in 1981 by Midge Decter who was the organizations executive director. ... The Committee for the Liberation of Iraq (CLI) was a non-governmental organization which described itself as a distinguished group of Americans who wanted to free Iraq from Saddam Hussein. ... In February 1998, the Committee for Peace and Security in the Gulf (CPSG) called upon President William Jefferson Clinton to endorse a scenario which, more than five years later (August 2003), has become a familiar one to the world. ... -1... PRODEMCA, aka Friends of the Democratic Center in Central America, was founded to support incipient democratic processes in Central America. ... The Project for the New American Century (PNAC) is an influential neo-conservative, U.S. think tank based in Washington, D.C.[1] Co-founded by William Kristol and Robert Kagan, the group was established in early 1997 as a non-profit organization. ... Project for the Republican Future was founded in 1993 by Thomas L. Dusty Rhodes. ... For other uses, see Iraq war (disambiguation). ...

References

1. ^ IRD Mission Statement. Retrieved on 2006-11-24.
2. ^ http://www.ird-renew.org/site/pp.asp?c=fvKVLfMVIsG&b=356299

For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... November 24 is the 328th day (329th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ...

External links

• Institute on Religion and Democracy
  • Founding Document
• RightWeb Group Watch: IRD
• The Institute on Religion and Democracy 1985-2003 grant files at MediaTransparency.
• See Group Watch Article on the Institute on Religion and Democracy for detailed information on activities, as well as biographical information on the identified "players".
• Fred Clark, "IRD and the CEPAD Affair," Slacktivist (weblog), November 24, 2003.
• Jim Naughton, "Following the Money", in Washington Window, the diocesan newspaper of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, April/May (?) 2006
• http://www.publiceye.org/magazine/v20n1/clarkson_battle.html Frederick Clarkson: The Battle for the Mainline Churches (The Public Eye Magazine - Spring 2006)