Date: Sun, 05 Nov 1995 22:40:32 -0500 (EST) From: Chris Purdom Subject: IWG USA Today Interfaith Alliance/Christian Coalition The following went out on IWG letterhead (2 congregations, 4 religious organizations and 14 clergy - let us know if you want to be added): November 3, 1995 USA Today 1000 Wilson Blvd. Arlington,VA,22229 Dear Editors: We were fascinated by Ralph Reed's attempts to dismiss the Interfaith Alliance. The Interfaith Alliance has only been accepting members for under a year; 20,000 members is not a bad start. Reed would rather that most people ignore the other factors contributing to the difference in size between the Christian Coalition and the Alliance. First of all, unlike the Christian Coalition, the Interfaith Alliance is not a national political party. Ralph Reed will tell you that the Christian Coalition isn't a political party either, but he has not been completely successful in his attempts to keep his boss Pat Robertson from contradicting him on this point, and he has been unable to explain why a religious organization needs ward leaders. Secondly, the Interfaith Alliance is a thoroughly middle-of-the-road organization, despite Reed's attempts to portray them as the religious left and himself as the center. There is a growing group of religious people in this country whose positions on social issues could be classified as well to the left of the Interfaith Alliance, and there are many religious people to the right of the Interfaith Alliance who are opposed to the Christian Coalition, finding it to be a threat to religious liberty. Some of these people have joined various advocacy groups opposed to the Christian Coalition, but many are simply fighting by being active in their churches and communities or writing their senators and representatives as private citizens. Third, the majority of the people in this country are thoroughly in line with the Interfaith Alliance, but any time you have a majority, since they ARE the majority, it is usually difficult to convince them of the necessity of joining an advocacy group or even working on their own to forward their views. The point of the Moral Majority was to cloud the fact they were a minority, and part of the mission of the Christian Coaltion is to cloud the fact that they do not speak for all Christians or people of faith. Thanks in part to the media's kid-glove treatment of figureheads like Reed, many people have not yet realized the threat posed by the Radical Religious Right. Sincerely, Barbara Purdom Christopher Purdom Interfaith Working Group Coordinators -- Chris Purdom phone:610-993-1134 Development Team Leader email: purdom@tesi.com Tangram Enterprise Solutions homepage: http://www.tesi.com/~cpurdom/ Your hearts be free tonight. Time is on your side.