Campaign to Defend the Constitution
Encyclopedia
Campaign to Defend the Constitution (DefCon) was an American online organization founded in September, 2005 to support the constitutional separation of church and state
and to oppose what it perceived as the growing influence of the religious right
. It was a project of the Tides Center
, a non-profit organization that funds progressive
groups. However, its funding ran out in December 2007, at which time its blog announced the organization was "taking a break."
released the video game version of LaHaye’s Left Behind (series)
called Left Behind: Eternal Forces
, DefCon asked their members to send emails to Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott to stop selling the game. Wal-Mart did not comply with the request.
They also released a video on YouTube featuring DefCon advisory board member and former NARAL Pro-Choice America
President Kate Michelman
's personal views on Stem Cell Research.
, evangelist Lou Sheldon
, and Focus on the Family
's James Dobson
in the Jack Abramoff
lobbying scandal. Dobson has denied any connection to Abramoff, and a DefCon spokesman has conceded that there was no proof of collusion between Dobson and Abramoff. In response to the ads, Dobson characterized DefCon as "a radical leftist organization," and stated:
Separation of church and state
The concept of the separation of church and state refers to the distance in the relationship between organized religion and the nation state....
and to oppose what it perceived as the growing influence of the religious right
Christian right
Christian right is a term used predominantly in the United States to describe "right-wing" Christian political groups that are characterized by their strong support of socially conservative policies...
. It was a project of the Tides Center
Tides Center
Tides Center is a non-profit organization in the United States which provides fiscal sponsorship for progressive groups. Tides Center is classified a 501 tax-exempt organization by the IRS...
, a non-profit organization that funds progressive
Progressivism
Progressivism is an umbrella term for a political ideology advocating or favoring social, political, and economic reform or changes. Progressivism is often viewed by some conservatives, constitutionalists, and libertarians to be in opposition to conservative or reactionary ideologies.The...
groups. However, its funding ran out in December 2007, at which time its blog announced the organization was "taking a break."
Positions
DefCon described itself on its website as...Advisory Board
The DefCon advisory board included scientists, journalists, and religious and political leaders such as- Bruce AlbertsBruce AlbertsBruce Michael Alberts is an American biochemist known for his work in science public policy and as an original author of the Molecular Biology of the Cell...
- Francisco J. AyalaFrancisco J. AyalaFrancisco José Ayala Pereda is a Spanish-American biologist and philosopher at the University of California, Irvine. He is a former Dominican priest, ordained in 1960, but left the priesthood that same year. After graduating from the University of Salamanca, he moved to the US in 1961 to study for...
- Chip BerletChip BerletJohn Foster "Chip" Berlet is an American investigative journalist, and photojournalist activist specializing in the study of right-wing movements in the United States, particularly the religious right, white supremacists, homophobic groups, and paramilitary organizations...
- Max BlumenthalMax BlumenthalMax Blumenthal is an American author, journalist, and blogger. A senior writer for The Daily Beast, he is the author of the New York Times bestselling book Republican Gomorrah: Inside the Movement that Shattered the Party....
- Erwin ChemerinskyErwin ChemerinskyErwin Chemerinsky is an American lawyer and law professor. He is a prominent scholar in United States constitutional law and federal civil procedure...
- Frederick ClarksonFrederick ClarksonFrederick Clarkson is an American journalist and public speaker in the fields of politics and religion. He is the author of Eternal Hostility: The Struggle Between Theocracy and Democracy ; editor of Dispatches from the Religious Left: The Future of Faith and Politics in America ; and co-author...
- Matt ForemanMatt Foreman (gay rights activist)Matt Foreman is an American lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights activist.As of April 2008, Foreman will lead the Gay & Lesbian Program at the Evelyn & Walter Haas, Jr. Fund. The Haas, Jr...
- Steven GeySteven GeySteven Gey was an American legal academic and one of the leading US scholars on religious liberties and free speech. He was David and Deborah Fonvielle and Donald and Janet Hinkle Professor at Florida State University College of Law...
- Ira GlasserIra GlasserIra Saul Glasser was the fifth executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union from 1978 to 2001.- Early years :Ira Glasser was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1938. He earned a graduate degree in mathematics from Ohio State University.- Early career :In the early 1960s, Glasser taught...
- Michelle GoldbergMichelle GoldbergMichelle Goldberg is a Brooklyn-based journalist and the author of the books Kingdom Coming: The Rise of Christian Nationalism, and The Means of Reproduction: Sex, Power, and the Future of the World. She is formerly a contributing writer at Salon.com...
- Steven K. Green
- Rev. Fletcher Harper
- Esther Kaplan
- Isaac KramnickIsaac KramnickIsaac Kramnick is an American historian, social scientist and the Richard J. Schwartz Professor of Government at Cornell University. He is a subject-matter expert on English and American political thought and history.-Research:...
- Lawrence M. KraussLawrence M. KraussLawrence Maxwell Krauss is an American theoretical physicist who is professor of physics, Foundation Professor of the School of Earth and Space Exploration, and director of the Origins Project at the Arizona State University. He is the author of several bestselling books, including The Physics of...
- Rev. James M. Lawson Jr.
- Kate MichelmanKate MichelmanKate Michelman is an American political activist. She is best known for her support for the pro-choice movement in the United States of America.-Career:...
- Patrick Mrotek
- Harold Varmus
- Rev. Dr. Mel WhiteMel WhiteJames Melville "Mel" White is an American clergyman and author. White was a behind-the-scenes member of the Evangelical Protestant movement through the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, writing speeches and ghostwriting books for televangelists such as Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, and Billy Graham...
Left Behind: Eternal Forces Campaign
After Bible publishing company Tyndale HouseTyndale House
Tyndale House is a publisher founded in 1962 by Kenneth N. Taylor, in order to publish his paraphrase of the Epistles, which he had composed while commuting to work at Moody Press in Chicago. The book appeared under the title Living Letters, and received a television endorsement from Billy Graham...
released the video game version of LaHaye’s Left Behind (series)
Left Behind (series)
Left Behind is a series of 16 best-selling novels by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins, dealing with Christian dispensationalist End Times: pretribulation, premillennial, Christian eschatological viewpoint of the end of the world. The primary conflict of the series is the members of the Tribulation...
called Left Behind: Eternal Forces
Left Behind: Eternal Forces
Left Behind: Eternal Forces is a Christian real-time strategy game developed and published by Inspired Media Entertainment for Microsoft Windows. It was released on November 7, 2006...
, DefCon asked their members to send emails to Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott to stop selling the game. Wal-Mart did not comply with the request.
Stem Cell Research
During the stem cell campaign, DefCon ran two full page ads in the New York Times in May and June.They also released a video on YouTube featuring DefCon advisory board member and former NARAL Pro-Choice America
NARAL Pro-Choice America
NARAL Pro-Choice America , formerly the National Association for the Repeal of Abortion Laws, then National Abortion Rights Action League, and later National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League, is an organization in the United States that engages in political action to oppose...
President Kate Michelman
Kate Michelman
Kate Michelman is an American political activist. She is best known for her support for the pro-choice movement in the United States of America.-Career:...
's personal views on Stem Cell Research.
Defending Science Education
DefCon launched during the infamous Dover, Intelligent Design trial in September, 2005. Since that time the group and its members have played a key role defending science education in states around the country including Kansas, Utah, and Ohio.Criticism
DefCon ran ads asserting the involvement of conservative political strategist Ralph ReedRalph E. Reed, Jr.
Ralph Eugene Reed, Jr., is a conservative American political activist, best known as the first executive director of the Christian Coalition during the early 1990s. He sought the Republican nomination for the office of Lieutenant Governor of Georgia but lost the primary election on July 18, 2006,...
, evangelist Lou Sheldon
Lou Sheldon
Louis P. Sheldon is an American Presbyterian pastor and chairman of the social conservative organization, the Traditional Values Coalition...
, and Focus on the Family
Focus on the Family
Focus on the Family is an American evangelical Christian tax-exempt non-profit organization founded in 1977 by psychologist James Dobson, and is based in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Focus on the Family is one of a number of evangelical parachurch organizations that rose to prominence in the 1980s...
's James Dobson
James Dobson
James Clayton "Jim" Dobson, Jr. is an American evangelical Christian author, psychologist, and founder in 1977 of Focus on the Family , which he led until 2003. In the 1980s he was ranked as one of the most influential spokesman for conservative social positions in American public life...
in the Jack Abramoff
Jack Abramoff
Jack Abramoff is an American former lobbyist and businessman. Convicted in 2006 of mail fraud and conspiracy, he was at the heart of an extensive corruption investigation that led to the conviction of White House officials J. Steven Griles and David Safavian, U.S. Representative Bob Ney, and nine...
lobbying scandal. Dobson has denied any connection to Abramoff, and a DefCon spokesman has conceded that there was no proof of collusion between Dobson and Abramoff. In response to the ads, Dobson characterized DefCon as "a radical leftist organization," and stated:
See also
- DominionismDominionismDominionism is a term used to describe politically active conservative Christians that are believed to conspire and seek influence or control over secular civil government through political action, especially in the United States, with the goal of either a nation governed by Christians, or a nation...
- TheocracyWatchTheocracyWatchTheocracyWatch is a project run by the Center for Religion, Ethics and Social Policy , located at Cornell University. It was founded by Joan Bokaer, an environmental activist because, she says, "After the 2000 election she realized that few people understood that the religious right had taken...
- Americans United for Separation of Church and StateAmericans United for Separation of Church and StateAmericans United for Separation of Church and State is a group that advocates separation of church and state, a legal doctrine interpreted by AU as being enshrined in the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.-Mission:The guiding principle of Americans...
External links
- DefConAmerica.org (no longer functioning)
- DefConBlog.org (no longer functioning)
- Tides Center