{"id":110,"date":"2009-01-08T16:43:40","date_gmt":"2009-01-08T16:43:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/lynnvsekulow\/2009\/01\/anti-mormon-sentiment-at-focus.html"},"modified":"2009-01-08T16:43:40","modified_gmt":"2009-01-08T16:43:40","slug":"anti-mormon-sentiment-at-focus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/2009\/01\/anti-mormon-sentiment-at-focus.html","title":{"rendered":"Anti-Mormon Sentiment At Focus On the Family?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jay, I am glad you returned safely from the Middle East.  I’m afraid that long ago I decided that I could not resolve the crisis there so I’ll let your comments speak for themselves.<\/p>\n

On another front, I know you were an open, early and ardent support of former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney in his unsuccessful run for the Republican Presidential nomination.  Personally, I believe that one reason he did not get further in that process was because of sheer bigotry against members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  Now, I believe that this nasty sentiment has reared its head again, this time in Colorado Springs, home to Focus On the Family.<\/p>\n

It seems that Focus did an interview with talk show host Glenn Beck before the holiday season of 2008 and had it posted on its website.  The interview was primarily about Beck’s latest book, The Christmas Sweater<\/u>.  It was up for a while.  Then it disappeared.  It seems that some evangelicals<\/a> didn’t like Beck’s well-known Mormon ties tainting the “purely” Christian Focus homepage.  The complaints were predictable: Mormons believe in a “different” god and a “different” Jesus.<\/p>\n

Now, don’t get me wrong. If I never saw or heard of Glenn Beck again, it would be just fine with me.  He is an insufferable character who does a bone-headed show <\/a>in which his distaste for everybody he doesn’t like comes through nightly.  (I know, I just insulted him too, but I don’t do it every day.)  However, his extreme right-wing positions and ignorance mirror what often comes out of Focus itself.  They didn’t decide he was in error on  policy matters; they just got nervous because of his religion.  Focus now says that they “merely miscalculated on how best to feature” Beck, not that they were trying to be insulting.<\/p>\n

I find this explanation ludicrous and unsupportable.  What they “miscalculated” was how hostile their core constituency can get.  Let this be a warning to them.  Next December, if Ann Coulter comes out with a book called The Christmas Mini-Skirt<\/u>, they’d better vet the purity of her theology before interviewing her.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jay, I am glad you returned safely from the Middle East.  I’m afraid that long ago I decided that I could not resolve the crisis there so I’ll let your comments speak for themselves. On another front, I know you were an open, early and ardent support of former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney in his…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":164,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[41],"class_list":["post-110","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-religious-bigotry","tag-mormon-mitt-romney-glenn-beck-focus-on-the-family-ann-coulter"],"yoast_head":"\nAnti-Mormon Sentiment At Focus On the Family? - Lynn v. Sekulow<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/2009\/01\/anti-mormon-sentiment-at-focus.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Anti-Mormon Sentiment At Focus On the Family? - Lynn v. Sekulow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Jay, I am glad you returned safely from the Middle East.  I’m afraid that long ago I decided that I could not resolve the crisis there so I’ll let your comments speak for themselves. 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An accomplished speaker and lecturer, Lynn has appeared frequently on television and radio broadcasts to offer analysis of First Amendment issues. News programs on which Lynn has appeared include PBS's \"NewsHour,\" NBC's \"Today Show,\" Fox News Channel's \"O'Reilly Factor,\" ABC's \"Nightline,\" CNN's \"Crossfire,\" CBS's \"60 Minutes,\" MSNBC's \"Countdown with Keith Olbermann,\" Fox News Channel's \"Hannity & Colmes,\" ABC's \"Good Morning America,\" CNN's \"Larry King Live\" and the national nightly news on NBC, ABC and CBS. On the radio, Lynn serves as host of \"Culture Shocks,\" a daily look at various issues affecting society and the culture. In the 1990s he served for two years as regular co-host of \"Pat Buchanan and Company\" and after that did a weekly syndicated radio program, \"Review of the News,\" with Col. Oliver North. Lynn is a regular guest on nationally broadcast radio programs, including National Public Radio's \"All Things Considered,\" \"Morning Edition\" and \"Talk of the Nation,\" as well as having appeared on national networks such as CBS Radio, CNN Radio, ABC Radio and AP Radio. Lynn began his professional career working at the national office of the United Church of Christ, including a two-year stint as legislative counsel for the Church's Office of Church in Society in Washington, D.C. From 1984 to 1991 he was legislative counsel for the Washington office of the American Civil Liberties Union. In 2006, Lynn authored Piety & Politics: The Right-Wing Assault On Religious Freedom (Harmony Books). In 2008 he coauthored (with C. Welton Gaddy) First Freedom First: A Citizen's Guide to Protecting Religious Liberty and the Separation of Church and State (Beacon Press). Lynn writes frequently on religious liberty issues, and has had essays published in outlets such as USA Today, The Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Nation. Lynn also has op-eds published frequently by the McClatchy and Scripps-Howard newspaper chains. A member of the Washington, D.C. and U.S. Supreme Court bar, Lynn earned his law degree from Georgetown University Law Center in 1978. In addition, he received his theology degree from Boston University School of Theology in 1973. 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