Freedom Writer - September 1995

_Question_of_the_month_

Who funds the Religious Right?

This is probably the question most frequently asked by our readers. 
Many people think that if they could just pinpoint the top corporations 
funding the Religious Right, they could boycott those companies' products 
and bring the Religious Right to its knees. It's not that simple.

The truth is that 90% or more of the funds received by the groups 
comprising the Religious Right come from individual donors. For instance, 
Focus on the Family, with just about 150 million dollars a year, is 
the best-funded of all the Religious Right groups. A researcher at 
IFAS located approximately 1.5 million dollars in contributions to 
Focus on the Family from various corporations and foundations in a 
one-year period. That's just 10% of the group's budget. The other 
90% came from individuals.

When one realizes that Dr. James Dobson, the group's head, broadcasts 
on more than 1,500 Christian radio stations daily, it should come 
as no surprise that thousands of dollars in donations pour into the 
Colorado Springs headquarters every day. In fact, hundreds of operators 
are standing by to take calls for prayer, counseling, and credit card 
purchases on a toll-free number. Focus on the Family's mail facility 
sends out almost 20,000 packets of material each day.

Another factor is that evangelical Christians are to taught to tithe. 
Under that system, 10% of a Christian's income goes to "the Lord's 
work." They are encouraged to deduct the tithe from their gross income, 
before taxes are taken out. While it is assumed that most of this 
money goes to the local church, that is often not the case. Regardless, 
conservative Christians are generous with their money — if they believe 
it's going to God's work.	

[ref001][ref002] Return to table of contents

Copyright 1995 IFAS
The Freedom Writer / ifas@crocker.com

[ref001] index.html
[ref002] ../../uparrow.gif

        This file is copywritten by the Institute for First
        Amendment Studies.

        Subscribe to The Freedom Writer and Walk Away news
        letters by writing to or telephoneing the Institute
        for First Amendment Studies:

        Post Office Box 589
        Great Barrington, Massachusetts.  01230
        Telephone: (413) 528-3800
        E-Mail: ifas@crocker.com
        Web page: http://www.crocker.com/~ifas