Pa. congressman skips radical right meeting after AU complaint

After protests from Americans United for Separation of Church and State, U.S. Rep. Joseph R. Pitts (R-Pa.) has dropped plans to speak before a radical fundamentalist group that seeks to impose "biblical law" on the nation.

Pitts, who serves as the House Republican leadership's liaison to the Religious Right, was scheduled to speak at a conference of the National Reform Association in Ephrata, Pa., on Nov. 1516. Americans United Executive Director Barry W. Lynn sent Pitts a letter Nov. 12 asking him to bow out.

"The National Reform Association advocates extreme policies that run counter to our Constitution and the American way of life," Lynn wrote to Pitts. "Your appearance at this event will inevitably lend credibility to that dangerous agenda. Accordingly, I ask you to withdraw from the event this weekend and issue a public statement repudiating the extreme views of the National Reform Association."

Lynn noted that the National Reform Association is the political arm of a movement called "Christian Reconstructionism." Adherents of this religio-political agenda favor scrapping democracy in America and establishing a "Christian" religious state in accordance with their literalist interpretation of the Old Testament's legal code. (For more information on the movement, see "Operation Potomac," October 2001 Church & State.)

In the Reconstructionists' model society, homosexuality, worshipping "false" gods, "witchcraft" and marital infidelity would merit the death penalty. One sponsor of the National Reform Association event, the Rev. William Einwechter, argued in a 1999 article that juvenile delinquents should be stoned to death. Another speaker at the event, Gary DeMar, asserted in a 1987 book that gay people, doctors who perform abortions and women who obtain abortions should be executed.

Four years ago, Pitts was appointed by House Majority Whip Tom DeLay and other House Republicans to serve as a liaison between the GOP and the Religious Right. But Lynn said the agenda of the Christian Reconstructionists goes far beyond the bounds of reasonable discourse.

"The American people may disagree about homosexuality and abortion," said Lynn, "but only extremists favor executing gay people and abortion providers. No member of Congress should give credibility to these extremists by appearing at their events."

Gabe Neville, a Pitts spokesman, told the Associated Press that Pitts would not attend the event. "Congressman Pitts doesn't believe in stoning anybody," he said.

Einwechter expressed disappointment that Pitts cancelled and added, "I made it clear that we're not requiring anyone to endorse anything that we stand for." Einwechter also defended his 1999 stoning essay, saying, "This is what is in the Bible. To attack that is to attack Christians, to attack Jews, and it is its own sense of discrimination."

The National Reform Association was founded in 1864 with the goal of adding an amendment to the U.S. Constitution officially recognizing Christianity and Jesus Christ. Although the gambit failed, the organization remained a powerful religious lobby until the early part of the 20th Century, when its influence began to wane. A few years ago, the organization was taken over by a group of Christian Reconstructionists, who have been trying to revive it by visiting Washington and forging links with the Bush administration and members of Congress.

In other news about the Religious Right:

* "Christian Reconstructionist" Gary DeMar is joining forces with prominent TV preacher D. James Kennedy. DeMar, whose American Vision is based near Atlanta, is working with Kennedy on a project to promote the idea of America as a "Christian nation." Kennedy's Coral Ridge Ministries recently published DeMar's new book called America's Heritage that promotes the Christian nation view.

Kennedy is apparently not bothered by DeMar's extreme views. In his 1987 book, Ruler of the Nations, DeMar advocated executing gay people, abortion providers and women who obtain abortions. "The law that requires the death penalty for homosexual acts effectually drives the perversion of homosexuality back into the closet," he wrote. A few pages later, DeMar added, "The long term goal (is] the execution of abortionists and parents who hire them. If we argue that abortion is murder, then we must call for the death penalty."

Jerry Falwell continues his efforts to build a Christian fundamentalist compound in Lynchburg, Va. In November the Associated Press reported that Falwell signed a contract to buy a 110-acre industrial site adjacent to his Liberty University. Falwell paid $10.2 million for the 888,000-square-foot complex and plans to move Thomas Road Baptist Church, the Lynchburg Christian Academy, Liberty Bible Institute and other projects to the property.

Falwell said he has already raised $5 million to pay for the project and will fund the rest through loans.