The Gaytriot: Why I Still Am Not Giving To The Salvation Army This Year

The Joy of Giving

This time last year, it was an easy decision. But this year it’s more difficult. I remember it being as much a part of my childhood holidays as the lights, the food, and presents. We’d be approaching a store and hear the ringing bell. Mom would find some change in her purse and we kids would get to put the money in the pretty red kettle. They were metal back then, and made a satisfying jingle when the coins fell in.

I also remember how much it changed the first time I gave my “own” money instead of getting some from Mom. Later, Mom said she was proud, but I felt the difference even before that. I somehow knew that the smile and the “Thank you, God bless you,” was coming not only from the bell ringer, but from all of the people helped by Salvation Army.

I felt good about giving, even more so about actually giving from my own. I also felt a bit scorning and judging anyone who complained about the presence of the bell ringers. I was hardly kinder to those who just walked past. I hadn’t yet heard the lesson of “judge not, lest ye be judged” apparently. Who was I to judge? Maybe those people complaining had been to multiple stores before pushing through frantic crowds, and were just venting a misguided frustration over the day in general. Maybe those people walking past had scraped and saved to buy something meaningful for a loved one, and truly had nothing to spare. Maybe they gave at previous location, or intended to give on the way out. I don’t know. Perhaps those people were gay or lesbian, and while very charitable in their lives, refused to support this particular organization, as I currently do.

Hurt and Rejection

Some of the stories I hear are anecdotal, such as certain locations having required gay people to attend ex-gay ministries as a condition of receiving aid. While it is not an official policy, I personally believe that some locations enforced this, because they believed that the person’s sexuality, like a drug habit or other “choice”, was the cause of their misfortune. Maybe they thought they were getting to the root of the problem. Maybe they were simply putting judgment over compassion. Again, I don’t know.

The more active I became in gay rights, the more I found out about Salvation Army’s anti-gay stance. It didn't make headlines, but I read a lot of LGBT news outlets, and more than a few opposing views as well. While Salvation Army does have gay employees, they refused coverage to same-sex partners. They oppose gay marriage, and have in the past, sought exemptions to equal rights legislation, going so far as to threaten to close their soup kitchens in New York City if they were forced to treat gay employees equally. The conservative outlets supported Salvation Army's stand for religious freedom.

My argument was never against Salvation Army’s right to hold and express their religious views. However, I did feel it necessary to share with friends and caring family that Salvation Army supports views that I find harmful, and I ask them not to support that organization financially. Be assured, I did not tell anyone to stop giving to charity, just to direct their contributions elsewhere. My past alternatives for donating include Feeding America, The AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin, and the Ali Forney Center (New York). Ali Forney was a particularly appropriate alternative. They provide shelter and assistance to LGBT homeless youth, many of whom are homeless due to being disowned or pressured out of the home by religious families. There’s more on that later.

The boycott of Salvation Army became a two way struggle, with Christians accusing gays of allowing people to suffer for political reasons. I repeat that no one is saying to let the poor suffer, just to let other organizations be the ones to get the donation. The other common criticism against the boycott was that it was an attack on religious freedom. I’ll risk being redundant and say again that Salvation Army has a right to their beliefs, and the right to express their beliefs. Likewise, LGBT people, their friends, and allies have the right to give their money to a group more aligned with their truths and values.

A change seems to be happening lately. It followed a galvanizing event after a radio interview on the Australian program, Salt and Pepper http://joy.org.au/saltandpepper/ in June of 2012. The interview of Salvation Army Australia’s Media Relations Director, Major Andrew Craibe by Serena Ryan and Pete Dillon was virally reported on as “Salvation Army Says Gays Should Be Put to Death.” Snopes.com has a fair review of the interview at http://www.snopes.com/politics/sexuality/salvationarmy.asp rating the headline as a "Mixtue" of truth and exaggeration. Having listened to the recording, I agree that the headline is exaggerated, and somewhat designed to sensationalize. However, the interview did reveal an anti-gay trend in the Salvation Army, including the harmful teaching that homosexuality is a choice.

Central to the implication that Salvation Army called for the death penalty was a question about the reference to Romans 1: 18-32 in the Handbook of Doctrine. The referenced scripture includes admonitions against men who “abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. “ (1:27 NIV) and concludes that “Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them. “ (1:32 NIV) When asked by Serena Ryan whether this means the Salvation Army feels that gays should be put to death, Craibe did not directly say that this was the case, but he asserted, “We have an alignment with the scripture.” Now, the handbook itself does not make a decree stating that gays deserve death. It simply lists the reference for readers to find and interpret for themselves.

A later response (quoted in the Snopes article) from the organization following the reaction to this interview contends that “The author is arguing that no human being is without sin, all sin leads to spiritual death (separation from God), and all people therefore need a Saviour(sic).” In other words, in this case, the Bible is not to be taken literally. Apparently it’s literal when it supports a political position, but metaphorical or “spiritual” when the literal translation makes Christians look bad. The problem with this “clarification” is that it apparently is not understood that way. Even their Media Relations Director was not prepared to answer the question, and the more compassionate interpretation came after the fact. (and after the backlash) So how is the average member reading the handbook supposed to arrive at this conclusion? After all, isn’t the “author” God himself? Isn't it heresy to suggest that it was written by men? I’m sorry. I do not accept that clarification, but if that is the case, you've had more than 2 years since the backlash to add that clarification to the handbook. As of this writing, the latest edition of the Salvationist Handbook (available in pdf through a google search) dates back to 2010, and hasn't changed.

Salvation Army is Changing…Kind Of

The website www.SalvationArmyUSA.org now has a page addressing the relationship between S.A. and the LGBT Community. It highlights the fact that LGBT people are not being turned away and receive aid as everyone else. In employment, they assert “Our hiring practices are open to all, and we adhere to all relevant employment laws, providing domestic partner benefits accordingly.” Let me first address the latter. What this statement says is that they will provide spousal or domestic partner benefits only when required to by law. Their doctrine maintains that sexual intimacy is to remain within the bonds of heterosexual marriage only.

My strongest objection to this attempt to win back LGBT donations is their highlighting of the same few testimonials on different regions’ websites as proof that they are welcoming LGBTs. Now that takes chutzpah. Opening your doors to LGBT people is not the same as welcoming them. These testimonials are adults with different backgrounds than many homeless LGBT youth. Only one of the video testimonials makes mention of not being accepted by family. In reality, many LGBT youths are homeless because of rejection by family. Their parents either kick them out directly, or make life so miserable that they end up running away. The reason the parents do this is because they think they are doing the godly thing by opposing the child’s “choice” to be gay. They get this idea from Bible, in some cases, the very scripture quoted in the Salvation Army’s handbook.

Imagine being thrown out or run out of your home because of your parents' beliefs. Would you feel safe and “welcomed” at a place that is saturated with scripture? It can be uncomfortable or downright hostile to someone whose life was torn apart because of a strong adherence to scripture.

I am disappointed that they trying to wash away harm done in the past by saying that they “never” discriminated. Are they denying that any LGBT person was ever made to feel unwelcome, or was ever preached to or referred to conversion therapy? To say that the accusations against them are all falsehoods is a broad claim of innocence.

One thing that does give me hope is the outreach that I’ve seen to the LGBT Community in general and continuing discussion that I’m told is happening within the organization. It was my pleasure this past year to work with Steve Yoder of the Salvation Army whose involvement with the Milwaukee LGBT Community Center was my first interaction with Salvation Army in many years. Steve’s blog (http://littlemanyoda.blogspot.com/) will give you more about his efforts and approach. I am thankful for the dialogue that has started between us. For the first time in years, I considered going back on my resolve not to give to Salvation Army

But I can’t. Not yet. Probably not ever. There are still issues, as I mentioned, in the teachings. They seem to promote the mantra of “love the sinner, hate the sin.” They still consider us sinners, which is judging. To say they only hate the sin is a false compassion, because what they call sin is who we are. Wherever hate is, there cannot be unconditional love. While other organizations and people in general are moving toward fully accepting, even embracing LGBT people, the Salvation Army is pushing hard to convince people that they are tolerant. They are still way behind, and still firmly on the wrong side of history. This is not a challenge to the Salvation Army to do more. I honestly believe that there will always be a charity that I more strongly support. There are places like the Ali Forney Center, where LGBT are not simply “tolerated” but accepted as a full being, deserving of all the joys of life, and not having to “embrace celibacy”.

In short, even in their current outreach and denial of their anti-gay stances, Salvation Army has not won back my willingness to donate to them.

I would make a suggestion, though, if the Salvation Army is sincere in wanting to equally help LGBT people in need. They need to address the core problem of much of the LGBT homelessness, and that is the rejection from religious family. Instead of just giving aid to homeless youth, they need to send a message to parents that it is not OK to kick out your kids for being gay, or to make life so miserable for them that they leave. I would love for this to be the result of S.A. accepting what the rest of society has come to understand; that homosexuality is not a choice. I do not see this happening, however, because it contradicts their scriptural foundation. It would at least be a step in the right direction, though, for them to promote the message to parents that their responsibility to shelter and raise their children is more important than “fixing” them.

I am somewhat encouraged that the Salvation Army is making an effort to not discriminate, and by the outreach and dialogue that has begun. But at the core of Salvation Army is a doctrine with which I cannot reconcile. I may be willing to lighten up in my own judgments. After all, I have a little niece who asks for coins to drop in the buckets when we approach a store. Usually she asks her mom, so I am off the hook. I would oblige her though, because I want her to know that same feeling I had at her age. Unfortunately, the dull thud of the new plastic kettles will not be the only disappointment I feel. That’s the best that Salvation Army can expect from me. As I said before, I respect their right to have and express their beliefs. They will just be doing it without my financial support.