Repent America
Encyclopedia
Repent America is a Christian
organization based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
, in the United States
. According to their website, RA "desires to be in the full Will of God and to adhere entirely to the teachings of the Bible. We have a passion to serve the Lord and are devoted to reaching the lost, so that they might come unto the knowledge of the truth and be saved."
RA's founder and director, Michael Marcavage, is a born-again Christian who opposes evolution
, abortion
, and homosexuality
.
near the Liberty Bell
, stemming from an arrest in 2007. Judges Michael Fisher, Thomas Hardiman and Robert Cowen issued a 52-page decision http://www.repentamerica.com/pdf/libertybell.pdf in Marcavage's favor, striking down both of the prosecution's criminal claims against Marcavage, while upholding his constitutionally protected right to preach and speak on the public sidewalks surrounding Independence National Historical Park
.
, a gay pride
event in Philadelphia. The charges against the members of the group could have resulted in up to 47 years in prison each. All the charges were later dismissed by Common Pleas Court Judge Pamela Dembe as being without merit. http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/2/232005b.asp http://www.phillypride.org/news.html Repent America has since filed a federal lawsuit against the city and its officials over the incident.
On November 15, 2007, following a legal action brought by Repent America, the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court in a 4-to-1 decision struck down amendments to the state's "hate crimes" law, formally known as the Ethnic Intimidation Act, under which the members had been charged in 2004. The published opinion, Marcavage, et al. v. Rendell, et al. http://www.courts.state.pa.us/OpPosting/CWealth/out/195MD05_11-15-07.pdf, declared that the amendments enacted in 2002, protecting people based upon "actual or perceived . . . ancestry, mental or physical disability, sexual orientation, gender or gender identity," were "unconstitutional and therefore null and void" due to the process in which the law was passed. Pennsylvania Governor Edward Rendell and the state Legislature then appealed the decision to the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, which ruled in favor of Marcavage, affirming the lower court's ruling that the Legislature acted unlawfully. http://www.thebulletin.us/site/index.cfm?newsid=19874500&BRD=2737&PAG=461&dept_id=576361&rfi=8http://worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=70565http://articles.lancasteronline.com/local/4/224986 Repent America claims that such laws are promoting the "criminalization of Christianity." http://www.repentamerica.com/pr_challengetohatelaw.html
supporters in the Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District
trial where a judge decided that it was unconstitutional for Dover Area High School's school board to require teachers to tell students that Darwin's theory of evolution is "not a fact," members of Repent America went door-to-door. The group visited thousands of homes to proselytize and invited residents to a Repent America sponsored creation seminar in the Dover Area High School auditorium. The effort garnered much media attention and support from the community.
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
organization based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
, in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. According to their website, RA "desires to be in the full Will of God and to adhere entirely to the teachings of the Bible. We have a passion to serve the Lord and are devoted to reaching the lost, so that they might come unto the knowledge of the truth and be saved."
RA's founder and director, Michael Marcavage, is a born-again Christian who opposes evolution
Evolution
Evolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...
, abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
, and homosexuality
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
.
United States of America v. Michael Marcavage
A three-judge panel with the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit unanimously overturned the federal convictions of Marcavage for preaching on the public sidewalkSidewalk
A sidewalk, or pavement, footpath, footway, and sometimes platform, is a path along the side of a road. A sidewalk may accommodate moderate changes in grade and is normally separated from the vehicular section by a curb...
near the Liberty Bell
Liberty Bell
The Liberty Bell is an iconic symbol of American Independence, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Formerly placed in the steeple of the Pennsylvania State House , the bell was commissioned from the London firm of Lester and Pack in 1752, and was cast with the lettering "Proclaim LIBERTY...
, stemming from an arrest in 2007. Judges Michael Fisher, Thomas Hardiman and Robert Cowen issued a 52-page decision http://www.repentamerica.com/pdf/libertybell.pdf in Marcavage's favor, striking down both of the prosecution's criminal claims against Marcavage, while upholding his constitutionally protected right to preach and speak on the public sidewalks surrounding Independence National Historical Park
Independence National Historical Park
Independence National Historical Park is a United States National Historical Park in Philadelphia that preserves several sites associated with the American Revolution and the nation's founding history. Administered by the National Park Service, the park comprises much of the downtown historic...
.
Philadelphia 11
On October 10, 2004, eleven members of Repent America were arrested and charged under Pennsylvania's hate crimes law while protesting at OutfestOutfest
Outfest is an LGBT-oriented film showcase and festival in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1982 as the "Gay and Lesbian Media Festival and Conference", the name was changed to Outfest in 1994.-Programs:...
, a gay pride
Gay pride
LGBT pride or gay pride is the concept that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people should be proud of their sexual orientation and gender identity...
event in Philadelphia. The charges against the members of the group could have resulted in up to 47 years in prison each. All the charges were later dismissed by Common Pleas Court Judge Pamela Dembe as being without merit. http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/2/232005b.asp http://www.phillypride.org/news.html Repent America has since filed a federal lawsuit against the city and its officials over the incident.
On November 15, 2007, following a legal action brought by Repent America, the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court in a 4-to-1 decision struck down amendments to the state's "hate crimes" law, formally known as the Ethnic Intimidation Act, under which the members had been charged in 2004. The published opinion, Marcavage, et al. v. Rendell, et al. http://www.courts.state.pa.us/OpPosting/CWealth/out/195MD05_11-15-07.pdf, declared that the amendments enacted in 2002, protecting people based upon "actual or perceived . . . ancestry, mental or physical disability, sexual orientation, gender or gender identity," were "unconstitutional and therefore null and void" due to the process in which the law was passed. Pennsylvania Governor Edward Rendell and the state Legislature then appealed the decision to the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, which ruled in favor of Marcavage, affirming the lower court's ruling that the Legislature acted unlawfully. http://www.thebulletin.us/site/index.cfm?newsid=19874500&BRD=2737&PAG=461&dept_id=576361&rfi=8http://worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=70565http://articles.lancasteronline.com/local/4/224986 Repent America claims that such laws are promoting the "criminalization of Christianity." http://www.repentamerica.com/pr_challengetohatelaw.html
Evolution and intelligent design campaigns
Following the judgement against intelligent designIntelligent design
Intelligent design is the proposition that "certain features of the universe and of living things are best explained by an intelligent cause, not an undirected process such as natural selection." It is a form of creationism and a contemporary adaptation of the traditional teleological argument for...
supporters in the Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District
Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District
Tammy Kitzmiller, et al. v. Dover Area School District, et al. was the first direct challenge brought in the United States federal courts testing a public school district policy that required the teaching of intelligent design...
trial where a judge decided that it was unconstitutional for Dover Area High School's school board to require teachers to tell students that Darwin's theory of evolution is "not a fact," members of Repent America went door-to-door. The group visited thousands of homes to proselytize and invited residents to a Repent America sponsored creation seminar in the Dover Area High School auditorium. The effort garnered much media attention and support from the community.