Religious leaders join forces to fight cyberporn

c. 1996 Religion News Service WASHINGTON _ In a sign of growing concern about the intersection of pornography and new technologies, a broad cross-section of religious leaders has called on faith communities and society at large to combat the spread of material they consider obscene and dangerous.”We stand unapologetically opposed to pornography, not out of […]

c. 1996 Religion News Service

WASHINGTON _ In a sign of growing concern about the intersection of pornography and new technologies, a broad cross-section of religious leaders has called on faith communities and society at large to combat the spread of material they consider obscene and dangerous.”We stand unapologetically opposed to pornography, not out of a sense of prudishness or desire to impose upon others who do not share our convictions regarding the destructiveness of these materials,”states the final declaration of a summit held here last week (Nov. 21-22) by the Religious Alliance Against Pornography.”Rather, we oppose pornography in both its adult and child forms, because of its consequences. The impact on the social fabric of our nation is inestimable.” Organizers of the summit, attended by about 135 leaders from a variety of denominational, racial and ethnic backgrounds, have worked for a decade fighting pornography. But now, they said, it is time to give the issue a higher priority.

Increasing access to pornography through the web of computer networks known as the Internet seems to be a catalyst for new promises of action.


The Rev. Joan Brown Campbell, general secretary of the National Council of Churches, remarked that her organization takes groups of people on fact-finding missions to places like Africa and Central America to get them more involved in moral or social issues.”We best take a trip to the Internet,”said Campbell, one of 23 religious leaders who crafted the declaration.”And perhaps out of that should come a policy statement.” Summit participants say that religious leaders and society at large will move from apathy to outrage as they learn about the accessibility of porn via computer terminals.”The worst of the worst pornography ever produced is now available to an 8-year-old, 10-year-old child who has a modem and is on line,”said Jerry Kirk, co-chairman of the Religious Alliance Against Pornography, an interfaith group founded in 1986.”It’s as though a million new adult bookstores have opened across American with the sign on the door, `Children, welcome. You don’t need to tell your parents.'” Wearing a pin of a computer keyboard and terminal on her lapel, Mariam Bell, executive vice president of Enough is Enough!, an anti-pornography group based in Fairfax, Va., said children must be protected from on-line porn.”They should be protected from illegal activity and from pedophile activity on line,”said Bell.”I think we all have to start to raise the collective volume. If everyone does their part, then we can change the culture.” In 1995, Kirk’s Religious Alliance Against Pornography was among the groups supporting legislation that would clarify”the criminal status of child pornography and obscene material on the Internet.” In February, President Clinton signed the Communications Decency Act, a law outlawing indecent material on the Internet. But in June, a federal appeals court, citing First Amendment concerns, blocked the law. The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to decide soon whether it will accept the case for review.

Galvanized by new information about the access to pornography, religious and community leaders at the summit talked about other ways to address the problem. Representing mainline and evangelical Protestants, Mormons, Roman Catholics, Southern Baptists, the Church of God in Christ, the Salvation Army, the Assemblies of God, Native American Christians, the International Pentecostal Holiness Church and others, the leaders spoke of the need to make congregations more aware and offered a variety of proposals to expand the reach of anti-pornography campaigns.

Cardinal William Keeler, Catholic archbishop of Baltimore, called on the alliance to work with more Jews and Muslims on the issue. The declaration at the summit’s end included one Jewish signatory, Rabbi Mordecai Waxman of Temple Israel of Great Neck, N.Y., who is active in interfaith issues.

Keeler cited a 1993 joint statement on pornography by Catholic and Jewish leaders and talks he has had with Muslim officials on the issue.”What I hear is we have an alliance and the more voices that speak up the better off we will be,”Keeler said after the meeting.”I know they’re committed to the same goals and objectives as this group.” Kirk said he would bring Keeler’s proposal to his executive committee.

Matthew Parker, president of the Institute for Black Family Development in Southfield, Mich., suggested that religious leaders in racial and ethnic communities discuss what they can do together to counter pornography. He proposed that Promise Keepers, the evangelical men’s organization that has been devoted to racial reconciliation, might help finance such an event.

Bishop Phillip Porter of the Church of God in Christ, chairman of the board of Promise Keepers and a participant at the meeting, said he would bring that proposal back to his board.

Porter said he expected Promise Keepers to be receptive to tackling the issue, especially since its 1997 conferences will have the theme”The Making of a Godly Man.””This is right where we are,”he said.


Bishop George McKinney of San Diego, another Church of God in Christ official, said he would urge his denominational leaders to”rethink our priorities.” Although social and economic justice issues are primary, he said”recovery of family life”is also high on their priority list.”I’ve heard very little discussion regarding the importance of pornography upon the destruction of the family,”he said of meetings within his denomination.

Although summit organizers seemed open to including more groups in their fold, they were pleased at the religious diversity of the participants.”I believe that without question this is a watershed in this movement,”Kirk said.”There is a greater depth of understanding and commitment of high-level leaders from the broadest perspective than ever in the battle against pornography. The wisdom, the balance, the proactive rather than reactive commitment is most encouraging.” Southern Baptist Convention President Tom Elliff welcomed the summit’s declaration as a way to”rekindle a sense of outrage”about pornography, especially materials involving children.

He urged that more prayers be raised”on behalf of the children and on behalf of the wicked pornographers who are no different from us but for the grace of God.”

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