Christian Coalition
Encyclopedia
The Christian Coalition of America (CCA), originally called the Christian Coalition, Inc., is a US
Christian
advocacy group
, which includes Christian fundamentalists
, evangelicals
, neo-evangelicals and charismatics
. , the CCA stated that its membership was 2.5 million supporters.
The Christian Coalition was founded by Rev. Pat Robertson
, who served as the organization's president from its founding until February 2001. The current president is Roberta Combs. The CCA distributed over 100,000,000 voter guides during her tenure.
While labeling itself as the Christian Coalition, the organization represents certain viewpoints among numbers of Christians in the United States, but Christians with other beliefs disagree with the organization's ideas. The CCA's values are consistent with those of the Christian right
.
in 1988, religious broadcaster and political commentator Pat Robertson
used the remains of his campaign machinery to jump-start the creation of a voter mobilization effort dubbed the Christian Coalition. Americans for Robertson accumulated a mailing list of several million conservative Christians interested in politics. This mailing list formed the foundation for the new organization.
However, despite public announcements that excitement among evangelical and Christian right voters prompted the creation of the Christian Coalition, the incorporation records of the State of Virginia reveal that the Christian Coalition, Inc. was actually incorporated on April 30, 1987, with the paperwork filed earlier, and with planning having begun before that. Thus the Christian Coalition was actually planned long before Pat Robertson's run for President began. Robertson's candidacy appears to have been planned from the start for launching the Christian Coalition.
Ralph Reed
, a University of Georgia Ph.D. candidate and hotel waiter, whom Robertson had met at an inaugural dinner for George H.W. Bush in January, 1989, took control of day-to-day operations of the Coalition in 1989. From 1989 through 1997, the Christian Coalition wielded sizeable influence, largely in the form of the charismatic and persuasive public face of Ralph Reed
, who became a commanding public voice in the news media. The perception if not the reality that Christian Coalition activists controlled local Party machinery in many locations and could reliably turn out large blocs of votes for Religious Right candidates caused many Republican and Democrat politicians at local levels to either vote as the Christian Coalition urged or else struggle with explaining their votes. The fear of being listed on Voter Guides as casting anti-Christian votes prompted politicians in moderate to conservative districts to carefully consider the positions urged by the Christian Coalition.
After its founding, it was granted a grace period
to operate as a 501(c)(4) tax-exempt organization before the IRS
made its final determination. Forty-nine state chapters were also created as independent corporations within their states, including the Christian Coalition of Texas. A handful, including the Christian Coalition of Texas successfully obtained non-profit status as a 501(c)(4) tax-exempt organization, while the national group's application remained pending and unresolved.
In 1990, the national Christian Coalition, Inc., headquartered in Chesapeake, Virginia, began producing "non-partisan" voter guides which it distributed to conservative Christian churches, with 40 million being distributed in the 1992 and 1996 presidential election years. Under the leadership of Reed and Robertson, the Coalition quickly became the most prominent voice in the conservative Christian movement, landing Reed on the cover of Time in May, 1994, its influence culminating with an effort to support the election of a conservative Christian to the presidency in 1996 or 2000.
Complaints that the voter guides were actually partisan led to the denial of the Christian Coalition, Inc.'s tax-exempt status in 1999. The Christian Coalition, Inc. filed a lawsuit against the IRS after which the IRS backed down for most of the years in question, holding out only on 1992. However, instead of pursuing legal action, Pat Robertson renamed the Christian Coalition of Texas, Inc. as the Christian Coalition of America, Inc., since the Texas chapter already enjoyed tax exempt status, and transferred the trademark and all operations to the Texas-based corporation.
In 2005, the Coalition concluded a settlement agreement with the Internal Revenue Service
, ending its long-running battle with that agency regarding its tax exempt status. As a result, the IRS has now recognized the Coalition as a 501(c)(4) tax-exempt organization, the first time in the Agency's history that it has granted a letter of exemption to a group that stated in its application that it would distribute voter guides directly in churches. The consent decree enforces limitations on the terminology that may be used in the Coalition's "voter guides".
The Christian Coalition of America, a 501(c)(4) organization, is the successor to the original Christian Coalition created in 1989 by religious broadcaster and former presidential candidate Marion Gordon "Pat" Robertson
, and is a US
Christian
advocacy group
, which includes Christian fundamentalists
, neo-evangelicals and conservative charismatics
. While labeling itself as the Christian Coalition, the organization represents certain viewpoints among numbers of Christians in the United States, but Christians with other beliefs disagree with the organization's ideas. The CCA's values are consistent with those of the Christian right
.
Following a well-funded but failed bid for the U.S. presidency
in 1988, religious broadcaster and political commentator Robertson used the remains of his campaign machinery to jump-start the creation of a voter mobilization effort dubbed the Christian Coalition. Americans for Robertson accumulated a mailing list of several million conservative Christians interested in politics. This mailing list formed the foundation for the new organization.
However, despite public announcements that excitement among evangelical and Christian right voters prompted the creation of the Christian Coalition, the incorporation records of the State of Virginia reveal that the Christian Coalition, Inc., was actually incorporated on April 30, 1987, with the paperwork filed earlier, and with planning having begun before that. Thus the Christian Coalition was actually planned long before Pat Robertson's run for president began. Robertson served as the organization's president from its founding until February 2001.
After its founding, it was granted a grace period
to operate as a 501(c)(4) tax-exempt organization before the IRS
made its final determination. Forty-nine state chapters were also created as independent corporations within their states, including the Christian Coalition of Texas. A handful, including the Christian Coalition of Texas, successfully obtained non-profit status as a 501(c)(4) tax-exempt organization, while the national group's application remained pending and unresolved.
In 1990, the national Christian Coalition, Inc., headquartered in Chesapeake, Virginia, began producing "non-partisan" voter guides which it distributed to conservative Christian churches, with 40 million being distributed in the 1992 and 1996 presidential election years. Complaints that the voter guides were actually partisan led to the denial of the Christian Coalition, Inc.'s tax-exempt status in 1999. However, later that same year, the Coalition was proclaimed victorious by federal judge Joyce Hens Green in a 5 year defense of a lawsuit from the Federal Election Commission.
Ralph Reed
, a University of Georgia Ph.D. candidate and hotel waiter whom Robertson had met at an inaugural dinner for George H. W. Bush in January 1989, took control of day-to-day operations of the coalition in 1989 as its founding executive director. He remained in the post until August 1997 when he left to enter partisan
political consulting, founding his new firm Century Strategies, based near Atlanta, Georgia.
Robertson served as the organization's president from its founding until June, 1997, when Reagan Cabinet Secretary Donald P. Hodel
was named president and former U. S. Representative Randy Tate
(R-WA) was named executive director. Upon his announcement, Hodel expressed a desire to serve the grassroots activists that made up the Coalition: ". . . I am here. Not only because I felt God's call on me but that I knew of God's call you."
Washington insider and president of Americans for Tax Reform, Grover Norquist, an old Reed ally, said of the appointments: "What you've got is Reagan and Gingrich. Hodel is a Reagan Republican and Tate is a Gingrich Republican."
Christian Coalition was ranked by Fortune
magazine as the 7th most powerful political organization in America late in 1997.
Hodel left in January 1999 after a disagreement with Robertson and Tate soon followed. Robertson reassumed the presidency, turning it and the chairmanship over to the group's South Carolina state director, Roberta Combs, when he officially left the Coalition in late 2001. Robertson named Combs as executive vice president in 1999 when Hodel left.
In 2000, the Coalition moved from its long-standing base of operations in Chesapeake, Virginia, to a small office on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.
, before soon relocating to Combs's native Charleston, South Carolina. Combs is the current president and CEO of the Christian Coalition of America. She is a founding state director and has been the only woman on the board of directors for the Christian Coalition of America in its history. | first =Alan
| coauthors =Thomas B. Edsall
| title =Christian Coalition Shrinks as Debt Grows
| publisher =The Washington Post
| date =2006-04-10
| url =http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/09/AR2006040901063.html
| accessdate =2007-03-10}} As a result, the IRS has now recognized the Coalition as a 501(c)(4) tax-exempt organization, the first time in the agency's history that it has granted a letter of exemption to a group that stated in its application that it would distribute voter guides directly in churches. The consent decree enforces limitations on the terminology that may be used in the Coalition's voter guides.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Christian
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...
advocacy group
Advocacy group
Advocacy groups use various forms of advocacy to influence public opinion and/or policy; they have played and continue to play an important part in the development of political and social systems...
, which includes Christian fundamentalists
Fundamentalist Christianity
Christian fundamentalism, also known as Fundamentalist Christianity, or Fundamentalism, arose out of British and American Protestantism in the late 19th century and early 20th century among evangelical Christians...
, evangelicals
Evangelicalism
Evangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement which began in Great Britain in the 1730s and gained popularity in the United States during the series of Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th century.Its key commitments are:...
, neo-evangelicals and charismatics
Charismatic movement
The term charismatic movement is used in varying senses to describe 20th century developments in various Christian denominations. It describes an ongoing international, cross-denominational/non-denominational Christian movement in which individual, historically mainstream congregations adopt...
. , the CCA stated that its membership was 2.5 million supporters.
The Christian Coalition was founded by Rev. Pat Robertson
Pat Robertson
Marion Gordon "Pat" Robertson is a media mogul, television evangelist, ex-Baptist minister and businessman who is politically aligned with the Christian Right in the United States....
, who served as the organization's president from its founding until February 2001. The current president is Roberta Combs. The CCA distributed over 100,000,000 voter guides during her tenure.
While labeling itself as the Christian Coalition, the organization represents certain viewpoints among numbers of Christians in the United States, but Christians with other beliefs disagree with the organization's ideas. The CCA's values are consistent with those of the Christian 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...
.
Rise
Following a well-funded but failed bid for the U.S. presidencyPresident of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
in 1988, religious broadcaster and political commentator Pat Robertson
Pat Robertson
Marion Gordon "Pat" Robertson is a media mogul, television evangelist, ex-Baptist minister and businessman who is politically aligned with the Christian Right in the United States....
used the remains of his campaign machinery to jump-start the creation of a voter mobilization effort dubbed the Christian Coalition. Americans for Robertson accumulated a mailing list of several million conservative Christians interested in politics. This mailing list formed the foundation for the new organization.
However, despite public announcements that excitement among evangelical and Christian right voters prompted the creation of the Christian Coalition, the incorporation records of the State of Virginia reveal that the Christian Coalition, Inc. was actually incorporated on April 30, 1987, with the paperwork filed earlier, and with planning having begun before that. Thus the Christian Coalition was actually planned long before Pat Robertson's run for President began. Robertson's candidacy appears to have been planned from the start for launching the Christian Coalition.
Ralph Reed
Ralph 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,...
, a University of Georgia Ph.D. candidate and hotel waiter, whom Robertson had met at an inaugural dinner for George H.W. Bush in January, 1989, took control of day-to-day operations of the Coalition in 1989. From 1989 through 1997, the Christian Coalition wielded sizeable influence, largely in the form of the charismatic and persuasive public face of Ralph Reed
Ralph Reed
Ralph Reed may refer to:*Ralph E. Reed, Jr., American conservative activist*Ralph Edwin Reed, American baseball player better known as Ted Reed*Ralph Reed , former CEO of American Express...
, who became a commanding public voice in the news media. The perception if not the reality that Christian Coalition activists controlled local Party machinery in many locations and could reliably turn out large blocs of votes for Religious Right candidates caused many Republican and Democrat politicians at local levels to either vote as the Christian Coalition urged or else struggle with explaining their votes. The fear of being listed on Voter Guides as casting anti-Christian votes prompted politicians in moderate to conservative districts to carefully consider the positions urged by the Christian Coalition.
After its founding, it was granted a grace period
Grace period
A grace period is a time past the deadline for an obligation during which a late penalty that would have been imposed is waived. Grace periods, which can range from a number of minutes to a number of days or longer, depending on the context, can apply in various situations, including arrival at a...
to operate as a 501(c)(4) tax-exempt organization before the IRS
Internal Revenue Service
The Internal Revenue Service is the revenue service of the United States federal government. The agency is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury, and is under the immediate direction of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue...
made its final determination. Forty-nine state chapters were also created as independent corporations within their states, including the Christian Coalition of Texas. A handful, including the Christian Coalition of Texas successfully obtained non-profit status as a 501(c)(4) tax-exempt organization, while the national group's application remained pending and unresolved.
In 1990, the national Christian Coalition, Inc., headquartered in Chesapeake, Virginia, began producing "non-partisan" voter guides which it distributed to conservative Christian churches, with 40 million being distributed in the 1992 and 1996 presidential election years. Under the leadership of Reed and Robertson, the Coalition quickly became the most prominent voice in the conservative Christian movement, landing Reed on the cover of Time in May, 1994, its influence culminating with an effort to support the election of a conservative Christian to the presidency in 1996 or 2000.
Complaints that the voter guides were actually partisan led to the denial of the Christian Coalition, Inc.'s tax-exempt status in 1999. The Christian Coalition, Inc. filed a lawsuit against the IRS after which the IRS backed down for most of the years in question, holding out only on 1992. However, instead of pursuing legal action, Pat Robertson renamed the Christian Coalition of Texas, Inc. as the Christian Coalition of America, Inc., since the Texas chapter already enjoyed tax exempt status, and transferred the trademark and all operations to the Texas-based corporation.
Decline
After its tax-exempt status was denied, CCA was able to turn all of its attention to politics. In 2000 the coalition moved from its long-standing base of operations in the Chesapeake Bay area to an office on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
In 2005, the Coalition concluded a settlement agreement with the Internal Revenue Service
Internal Revenue Service
The Internal Revenue Service is the revenue service of the United States federal government. The agency is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury, and is under the immediate direction of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue...
, ending its long-running battle with that agency regarding its tax exempt status. As a result, the IRS has now recognized the Coalition as a 501(c)(4) tax-exempt organization, the first time in the Agency's history that it has granted a letter of exemption to a group that stated in its application that it would distribute voter guides directly in churches. The consent decree enforces limitations on the terminology that may be used in the Coalition's "voter guides".
The Christian Coalition of America, a 501(c)(4) organization, is the successor to the original Christian Coalition created in 1989 by religious broadcaster and former presidential candidate Marion Gordon "Pat" Robertson
Pat Robertson
Marion Gordon "Pat" Robertson is a media mogul, television evangelist, ex-Baptist minister and businessman who is politically aligned with the Christian Right in the United States....
, and is a US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Christian
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...
advocacy group
Advocacy group
Advocacy groups use various forms of advocacy to influence public opinion and/or policy; they have played and continue to play an important part in the development of political and social systems...
, which includes Christian fundamentalists
Fundamentalist Christianity
Christian fundamentalism, also known as Fundamentalist Christianity, or Fundamentalism, arose out of British and American Protestantism in the late 19th century and early 20th century among evangelical Christians...
, neo-evangelicals and conservative charismatics
Charismatic movement
The term charismatic movement is used in varying senses to describe 20th century developments in various Christian denominations. It describes an ongoing international, cross-denominational/non-denominational Christian movement in which individual, historically mainstream congregations adopt...
. While labeling itself as the Christian Coalition, the organization represents certain viewpoints among numbers of Christians in the United States, but Christians with other beliefs disagree with the organization's ideas. The CCA's values are consistent with those of the Christian 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...
.
Following a well-funded but failed bid for the U.S. presidency
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
in 1988, religious broadcaster and political commentator Robertson used the remains of his campaign machinery to jump-start the creation of a voter mobilization effort dubbed the Christian Coalition. Americans for Robertson accumulated a mailing list of several million conservative Christians interested in politics. This mailing list formed the foundation for the new organization.
However, despite public announcements that excitement among evangelical and Christian right voters prompted the creation of the Christian Coalition, the incorporation records of the State of Virginia reveal that the Christian Coalition, Inc., was actually incorporated on April 30, 1987, with the paperwork filed earlier, and with planning having begun before that. Thus the Christian Coalition was actually planned long before Pat Robertson's run for president began. Robertson served as the organization's president from its founding until February 2001.
After its founding, it was granted a grace period
Grace period
A grace period is a time past the deadline for an obligation during which a late penalty that would have been imposed is waived. Grace periods, which can range from a number of minutes to a number of days or longer, depending on the context, can apply in various situations, including arrival at a...
to operate as a 501(c)(4) tax-exempt organization before the IRS
Internal Revenue Service
The Internal Revenue Service is the revenue service of the United States federal government. The agency is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury, and is under the immediate direction of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue...
made its final determination. Forty-nine state chapters were also created as independent corporations within their states, including the Christian Coalition of Texas. A handful, including the Christian Coalition of Texas, successfully obtained non-profit status as a 501(c)(4) tax-exempt organization, while the national group's application remained pending and unresolved.
In 1990, the national Christian Coalition, Inc., headquartered in Chesapeake, Virginia, began producing "non-partisan" voter guides which it distributed to conservative Christian churches, with 40 million being distributed in the 1992 and 1996 presidential election years. Complaints that the voter guides were actually partisan led to the denial of the Christian Coalition, Inc.'s tax-exempt status in 1999. However, later that same year, the Coalition was proclaimed victorious by federal judge Joyce Hens Green in a 5 year defense of a lawsuit from the Federal Election Commission.
Ralph Reed
Ralph 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,...
, a University of Georgia Ph.D. candidate and hotel waiter whom Robertson had met at an inaugural dinner for George H. W. Bush in January 1989, took control of day-to-day operations of the coalition in 1989 as its founding executive director. He remained in the post until August 1997 when he left to enter partisan
Partisan
-Political matters:*Partisan In politics, partisan literally means organized into political parties. The expression "partisan politics" usually refers to fervent, sometimes militant, support of a party, cause, faction, person, or idea...
political consulting, founding his new firm Century Strategies, based near Atlanta, Georgia.
Robertson served as the organization's president from its founding until June, 1997, when Reagan Cabinet Secretary Donald P. Hodel
Donald P. Hodel
Donald Paul Hodel is a former United States Secretary of Energy and Secretary of the Interior, and Chairman of the company FreeEats.com/ccAdvertising, which has had a controversial role disseminating push polls for the Economic Freedom Fund...
was named president and former U. S. Representative Randy Tate
Randy Tate
Randy J. Tate is an American politician and a former Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from Washington....
(R-WA) was named executive director. Upon his announcement, Hodel expressed a desire to serve the grassroots activists that made up the Coalition: ". . . I am here. Not only because I felt God's call on me but that I knew of God's call you."
Washington insider and president of Americans for Tax Reform, Grover Norquist, an old Reed ally, said of the appointments: "What you've got is Reagan and Gingrich. Hodel is a Reagan Republican and Tate is a Gingrich Republican."
Christian Coalition was ranked by Fortune
Fortune (magazine)
Fortune is a global business magazine published by Time Inc. Founded by Henry Luce in 1930, the publishing business, consisting of Time, Life, Fortune, and Sports Illustrated, grew to become Time Warner. In turn, AOL grew as it acquired Time Warner in 2000 when Time Warner was the world's largest...
magazine as the 7th most powerful political organization in America late in 1997.
Hodel left in January 1999 after a disagreement with Robertson and Tate soon followed. Robertson reassumed the presidency, turning it and the chairmanship over to the group's South Carolina state director, Roberta Combs, when he officially left the Coalition in late 2001. Robertson named Combs as executive vice president in 1999 when Hodel left.
In 2000, the Coalition moved from its long-standing base of operations in Chesapeake, Virginia, to a small office on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, before soon relocating to Combs's native Charleston, South Carolina. Combs is the current president and CEO of the Christian Coalition of America. She is a founding state director and has been the only woman on the board of directors for the Christian Coalition of America in its history. | first =Alan
| coauthors =Thomas B. Edsall
| title =Christian Coalition Shrinks as Debt Grows
| publisher =The Washington Post
| date =2006-04-10
| url =http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/09/AR2006040901063.html
| accessdate =2007-03-10}} As a result, the IRS has now recognized the Coalition as a 501(c)(4) tax-exempt organization, the first time in the agency's history that it has granted a letter of exemption to a group that stated in its application that it would distribute voter guides directly in churches. The consent decree enforces limitations on the terminology that may be used in the Coalition's voter guides.
See also
- Pat RobertsonPat RobertsonMarion Gordon "Pat" Robertson is a media mogul, television evangelist, ex-Baptist minister and businessman who is politically aligned with the Christian Right in the United States....
- 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,...
- Moral MajorityMoral MajorityThe Moral Majority was a political organization of the United States which had an agenda of evangelical Christian-oriented political lobbying...
- Robert GrantRobert Grant (Christian Leader)Dr. Robert G. Grant is one of the early leaders of the Christian Right in America. He served as the chairman of Christian Voice and the American Freedom Coalition....
- Christian rightChristian rightChristian 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...