As of Nov. 18, The Salvation Army and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes will no longer be receiving donations from Chick-fil-A.
The Salvation Army and the FCA are two groups that have been criticized for anti-LGBTQ+ views. The FCA’s Statement of Faith includes, “We believe God’s design for sexual intimacy is to be expressed only within the context of marriage. God instituted marriage between one man and one woman as the foundation of the family and the basic structure of human society. For this reason, we believe that marriage is exclusively the union of one man and one woman. (Genesis 2:24; Matthew 19:5-6; Mark 10:6-9; Romans 1:26-27; 1 Corinthians 6:9)”
The Salvation Army quickly responded to criticism of their stance on the LGBTQ+ community. In 2011, the Salvation Army removed a page from its website encouraging gay individuals to embrace celibacy. Its website now has a FAQ regarding its stance on the LGBTQ+ community, which includes the following:
The Salvation Army’s FAQ debunks many of the claims of their anti-LGBTQ+ actions, whether or not they actually support the LGBTQ+ community is unclear.
“We’re saddened to learn that a corporate partner has felt it necessary to divert funding to other hunger, education and homelessness organizations — areas in which The Salvation Army, as the largest social services provider in the world, is already fully committed,” Its statement regarding losing Chick-fil-A’s funding said. It went on to claim, “In fact, we believe we are the largest provider of poverty relief to the LGBTQ+ population.”
Chick-fil-A made these moves following an incredible amount of backlash it received for gaining an anti-LGBTQ+ reputation. Dan Cathy, CEO of Chick-fil-A, made a statement against same-sex marriage in 2012.
However, it seems that Chick-fil-A started reducing its donations to anti-LGBTQ+ groups as far back as 2015. The Chick-fil-A Foundation 2020 focus is on education, homelessness and hunger.
Not everyone is happy about this new development. In fact, some people seem to be incredibly angry.
The company does believe that it is still honoring its founder Truett Cathy’s legacy.
Individuals can draw their own conclusions on whether or not to support Chick-fil-A after this. Although there has been no formal renunciation of former anti-LGBTQ+ statements, for some actions may speak louder than words.
Despite its choice to not donate to The Salvation Army and the FCA in 2020, Chick-fil-A has not ruled out donating to them again in the future. In a statement to Vice, Tim Tassopoulos, Chick-fil-A’s president and chief operation officer, said, “No organization will be excluded from future consideration–faith-based or non-faith-based.”
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