131. Ringing in Controversy: The Salvation Army's Complicated Relationship with the LGBTQ+ Community

Snarky Opener (0:00)

You might have an anti-gay problem if even Chick-fil-A is cutting ties with you.

Episode Introduction (0:24)

Hello, my LGBTQuties, and welcome back to another episode of A Jaded Gay.

I'm Rob Loveless and, today, I am a non-jaded gay because I finished transcribing all the podcast episodes from 2022.

And not only did I finish transcribing those, I turned all the transcriptions into blog posts. So, you will see them in the coming months.

I think I have it scheduled out to, like, mid-February now, and I just started transcribing the 2023 podcast episodes.

So still got a little ways ahead of me, but it feels like just a big relief to have, like, one year off of my chest and just focusing on 2023.

And for this current year, 2024, I actually have already transcribed all of the solo episodes, and I have transcribed, like, a bit, of the guest episodes, I think, from January through May.

So, I have a good chunk of those done already. So, really, I just need to get through 2023, and then 2024 should be easy to plow through. So, we're making progress.

Is The Salvation Army Homophobic? (1:19)  

Anyway, from blog posts to bells. Today, we are going to be talking about the Salvation Army.

You know, the holiday season is upon us, and we may see Santas standing outside the mall ringing bells to raise money for the Salvation Army.

And I think that the Red Kettle Campaign is definitely one of the more recognizable charities around the holidays. And being a charity, you may not think twice about donating to them.

But over the past few years, I've heard people say that the Salvation Army is homophobic, but without any real context around that statement.

So, I decided to do a little digging to see how true these claims are.

And just a quick disclaimer before we get into the episode.

I don't want this to seem like a smear campaign against the Salvation Army or that I'm telling you to boycott them or not donate to them or anything like that.

You know, I do think they do good work, but at the same time, they have done things that have harmed the LGBTQ+ community, and both can be true. It doesn't have to be a one-or-the-other statement.

So, I don't want to detract from the good work they do, but I do want to raise awareness around some of their anti-LGBTQ+ stances in the past.

And also, I think as gay men, we tend to want to pay attention to where we're putting our dollars because obviously there are a lot of organizations out there that want to take our gay dollars, but then they may be donating them to organizations that are hurting us.

So again, not telling you where to donate, but I just think it's really important that we're mindful about this. So, with that in mind, let's pull the tarot card.

Tarot (2:47)  

So, for this episode, we drew the Ten of Wands. Wands, as you'll remember, is tied to the element of fire. It represents passion, creativity, and sometimes sexuality.

It's masculine energy, so it's very action-oriented. And in numerology, ten represents the completion of a cycle.

We also add double digits together to get one which is tied to the individual and the beginning of a new chapter. So, this card is letting us know that as one cycle ends, a new one is about to begin.

And when we draw the Ten of Wands, it's telling us that we're feeling the burden of the responsibilities we're carrying.

We may be taking on too much action and feeling overwhelmed, which takes a toll on us: mind, body, and soul. So, we need to consider our motivations and learn to ask for help.

Additionally, this card is a reminder that it may be better to put our energy elsewhere, especially things that are tied to our sense of passion.

The History of the Salvation Army (3:39)

And with that in mind, let's get into the episode by talking about the Salvation Army's organization and mission.

According to its website, it is an international movement across 134 countries around the world and more than 1.8 million members. And in 2023, they assisted over 27 million people in the United States alone.

And here's their mission statement:

"The Salvation Army, an international movement, is an evangelical part of the universal Christian Church. Its message is based on the Bible. Its ministry is motivated by the love of God. Its mission is to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and to meet human needs in His name without discrimination.”

And its history actually traces back to more than 170 years ago.

In 1852, William Booth began his ministry in England but abandoned traditional preaching to reach people directly on the streets.

He preached to London's poor, homeless, hungry, and destitute, facing criticism from other clergymen. Booth and his wife, Catherine, left the church and trained evangelists across England.

By 1865, they established a mission in London's East End, attracting many followers. Within 10 years, their organization, originally called The Christian Mission, had over 1000 volunteers and evangelists. 

Early converts included thieves, prostitutes, gamblers, and drunkards, who soon became preachers and street evangelists.

In 1878, Booth renamed The Christian Mission to The Salvation Army, establishing a military-style organization of soldiers known as Salvationists.

Between 1881 and 1885, they converted 250,000 people in the British Isles despite facing violence and persecution.

The Salvation Army quickly expanded internationally, reaching countries like the United States, Canada, Australia, France, and India.

And in 1891, The Salvation Army began their now famous Red Kettle Campaign, which was started by Captain Joseph McFee, to fund a Christmas meal for the community.

Inspired by a "Simpson's Pot" used in Liverpool, McFee placed a kettle at the Oakland Ferry Landing, quickly expanding along the West Coast and then nationwide.

By 1897, the Red Kettle Campaign provided 150,000 Christmas dinners and became an annual tradition. 

And donations to the Red Kettle support services for over 27 million people annually, including:

·       Religious services for inclusive worship spaces across U.S. zip codes

·       Disaster response and aid for natural and man-made disaster survivors

·       Social services like food, shelter, clothing, and financial support

·       Casework and counseling, health care, residential help, and abuse counseling

·       Youth programs such as music, sports, arts, crafts, and family counseling

·       Senior centers that provide support for older adults, including subsidized Silvercrest centers

·       Christmas programs that provide financial support, toys, meals, and assistance at year-end

·       Human and sexual trafficking advocacy for policy work in D.C. and victim support

·       Veterans’ services, such as gifts, counseling, housing, and comfort for veterans

·       And lastly, prison services, which includes Bible courses, job training, and spiritual support for inmates and their families

Salvation Army Controversies (7:01)

Now, like I said at the top, they do a lot of great work in terms of helping those in need. But they are a faith-based organization, so, obviously, religion is weaved into their mission.

And just because they are a philanthropic organization does not mean they're immune from controversy. And one such being sex abuse.

From the 1940s to the 1980s, The Salvation Army in Australia sheltered around 30,000 children.

And, in 2006, The Salvation Army's Australian division acknowledged that sexual abuse may have occurred during this period and issued a formal apology, but rejected a claim that there were up to 500 potential victims.

However, in 2013, The Salvation Army reported private settlements totaling $15.5 million in Australian currency—I'm not sure what that is—in Victoria for 474 abuse cases, with the organization expressing deep regret and describing the abuse as individual acts not reflective of its culture.

And in 2014, the Australian Government's Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse investigated cases at multiple Salvation Army homes.

In 2004, The Salvation Army's New York division was sued by 18 employees who claimed the organization questioned their religious and sexual beliefs for government-funded roles.

One employee alleged that The Salvation Army required them to agree, and this is a quote, to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ.

And this is known as proselytizing, which is the practice of trying to convert, or attempt to convert someone from one religion, belief, or opinion to another.

And proselytizing in government-funded programs may violate the US Constitution's Establishment Clause, which requires separation of church and state.

And ultimately, the employment discrimination part of this lawsuit was dismissed in 2005.

But in a 2010 settlement, government agencies established monitoring systems to ensure The Salvation Army did not mix religious practices with its publicly funded work.

Also, during the 2010 holiday season, The Salvation Army in Calgary, Alberta, declined donations of Harry Potter and Twilight toys due to religious concerns.

A volunteer claimed these toys were destroyed instead of being passed to other organizations, though a Salvation Army captain stated they were given to other agencies.

The volunteer also criticized the organization for accepting violent toys like plastic rifles while refusing Harry Potter or Twilight items.

And this policy was not consistent across branches. For example, The Salvation Army in Wetaskiwin accepted Harry Potter toys.

The Salvation Army and the LGBTQ+ Community (9:33)

And again, being a faith-based organization, it's no surprise there's some controversy regarding The Salvation Army's stance on LGBTQ+ rights.

In fact, in 2013, Zinnia Jones, an Orlando-based transgender activist, writer, and video producer, published an article in Huffington Post documenting The Salvation Army's history of anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination.

And this article was later updated in 2016.

And through their research, they found that the first documented instance of The Salvation Army's anti-LGBTQ+ stance was in 1986 when The Salvation Army of New Zealand collected signatures against the Homosexual Law Reform Act, which repealed the law criminalizing sex between two men.

However, in 2008, they did apologize for the hurt this caused, saying:

"We do understand though that The Salvation Army's official opposition to the Reform Bill was deeply hurtful to many, and are distressed that ill-feeling still troubles our relationship with segments of the gay community.

We regret any hurt that may remain from that turbulent time, and our present hope is to rebuild bridges of understanding and dialogue between our movement and the gay community."

In 1998, The Salvation Army of the United States declined $3.5 million in contracts with San Francisco, which led to the shutdown of programs supporting homeless and senior citizens.

And the reason why they declined this was because San Francisco required contractors to provide spousal benefits to both same-sex and opposite-sex partners of employees, which The Salvation Army of the United States disagreed with.

In fact, Salvation Army Lieutenant Colonel Richard Love said:

"We simply cannot agree to be in compliance of the ordinance. We do not view it as a matter of discrimination.”

In 2000, The Salvation Army of Scotland sent a letter to Parliament opposing their appeal of Section 28. 

And Section 28 is a law that prohibits, and this is a quote, the teaching in any maintained school of the acceptability of homosexuality as a pretended family relationship.

In 2001, The Salvation Army of the United States sought a deal with the Bush administration to exempt religious charities receiving federal funds from local anti-gay discrimination laws.

Church spokesman David A. Fuscus stated the organization opposed extending medical benefits to employees' same-sex partners.

And this deal was abandoned after it became public through an article published in The Washington Post.

In 2004, The Salvation Army of the United States in New York City threatened to close down all of its services for the city's homeless due to a non-discrimination ordinance, similar to the non-discrimination ordinance we talked about in San Francisco, and this one required firms that do business with New York to offer health benefits to partners of gay employees.

And Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg's administration ultimately chose not to enforce the ordinance, and the administration's right to decline to enforce the ordinance was upheld by the New York State Court of Appeals in 2006.

In 2012, The Salvation Army of Burlington, Vermont, allegedly terminated caseworker Daniel Morantez upon learning she was bisexual.

The church's employee handbook stated that employment decisions may be based on conduct or behavior deemed incompatible with Salvation Army principles.

Later that year, Salvation Army spokesperson Major George Hood reaffirmed the church's anti-gay beliefs, saying:

"A relationship between same-sex individuals is a personal choice that people have the right to make. But from a church viewpoint, we see that going against the will of God.”

Also in 2012, in Canada, a Salvation Army bell ringer was seen carrying a sign that read, if you support gay rights, please do not donate.

The bell ringer claimed The Salvation Army permitted him to display the sign.

However, Salvation Army spokeswoman Kyla Ferns stated the charity had no involvement with the sign and that the bell ringer was immediately removed once they became aware of the incident.

Also, in 2012, so just a bad year all around for The Salvation Army, the media director of The Salvation Army Australia Southern Territory told an Australia radio program that gay people should be put to death, although the organization was quick to note that they rejected that statement and it didn't accurately convey their views on homosexuality.

In 2013, it was made known that The Salvation Army was referring LGBT individuals to one of several conversion therapy groups with links on their website listed as resources under The Salvation Army section on dealing with sexual addictions.

In response, The Salvation Army removed these links from their website.

And The Salvation Army's history of anti-LGBTQ+ rights gained some mainstream attention in November 2019 when Ellie Goulding threatened to cancel her performance at the Cowboys' Thanksgiving halftime show.

Now this halftime show historically has served as the kickoff for The Salvation Army's yearly Red Kettle Campaign.

Now, prior to this, Goulding had promoted the performance on her Instagram but received negative comments from LGBTQ+ fans for her apparent support of The Salvation Army.

So, after doing some research, she threatened to cancel her performance out of concern for the LGBTQ+ community, and she released the following statement:

"Upon researching this, I have reached out to The Salvation Army and said that I would have no choice but to pull out unless they very quickly make a solid, committed pledge or donation to the LGBTQ community.

I am a committed philanthropist, as you probably know, and my heart has always been in helping the homeless, but supporting an anti-LGBTQ charity is clearly not something I would ever intentionally do. Thank you for drawing my attention to this."

But after consultation with Salvation Army officials, Goulding decided to go ahead with the show but offered little explanation to fans for her change of heart.

Also in 2019, Chick-fil-A, which also has its own controversies with the LGBTQ+ community, announced that it was making major changes to its charitable foundation and would no longer donate to organizations that have been linked with anti-LGBTQ+ causes.

And this included ceasing donations to The Salvation Army and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, both organizations that faced criticism for years after alleged discrimination against LGBTQ+ people.

And more recently, in November 2022, Macy's announced that it was cutting ties with The Salvation Army, although they didn't state if this was because of the organization's difficult relationship with the LGBTQ+ community.

The Salvation Army’s Response to Anti-LGBTQ+ Claims (15:55)

Now, in response to the 2019 controversies, Dave Hudson, then National Commander of The Salvation Army, published an op-ed in USA Today defending the organization by highlighting the good work they do for the LGBTQ+ community, including:

·       The organization serves more than 23 million people each year, some of whom it presumes are LGBTQ

·       It operates a dorm in Las Vegas exclusively for transgender individuals

·       Roughly 20% of the people who sleep at the Salvation Army’s Harbor Light shelter in Minneapolis are LGBTQ

·       And in Baltimore, the charity works with city officials to combat trafficking among transgender individuals, which is a growing need there

Additionally, The Salvation Army's website has a page dedicated to LGBTQ+ support and details that they're committed to serving the LGBTQ+ community through:

·       Homeless shelters

·       Food insecurity

·       Help with substance abuse

·       Teenage suicide

·       And job training

They also include testimonials from LGBTQ+ individuals who have received support from the organization and have statements of equal opportunity employment and non-discrimination in programs and services.

And this is tricky because, like I said at the beginning of this episode, obviously, The Salvation Army does great work, and they do offer services for LGBTQ+ individuals.

However, there seems to be a disconnect between the services they offer and the anti-gay lobbying they've done in the past.

Donate to These LGBTQ+ Organizations (17:18)

And if you're conflicted about donating to them but still want to do some charity this holiday season, here are seven LGBTQ+ organizations you can donate to:

·       The Trevor Project, they provide crisis intervention and suicide prevention for LGBTQ+ youth

·       True Colors United, this one focuses on ending homelessness among LGBTQ+ youth

·       The Ali Forney Center supports homeless LGBTQ+ youth with housing and job training

·       GLAAD promotes LGBTQ+ representation and fights media discrimination

·       SAGE supports older LGBTQ+ adults with housing, resources, and advocacy

·       The National Center for Transgender Equality advocates for transgender rights through policy change

·       And lastly, Lambda Legal provides legal support and advocacy for LGBTQ+ rights

And also, don't forget to donate to your local equality center.

Episode Closing (18:07)

And connecting it back to the tarot, Ten of Wands. Again, this is a reminder that it may be better to put our energy elsewhere, especially toward things that we're passionate about.

And for me personally, the way I look at this is, you know, I've had this conversation with others about The Salvation Army, and there's always the "yeah, but."

Like, yeah, that's not great that they do that, but. And I know I've made that case a little bit in this episode as well because I have been trying to have fair coverage of this.

But it can be very frustrating when others don't see the hurt that this can cause. And I think those that are outside of the LGBTQ+ community don't know what this is like.

I think sometimes they view the LGBTQ+ identity as being political, and they think it's just like any other belief system.

Like, oh, well, that's not right, but it's a belief system. You can, you know, put that to the side and deal. 

Whereas they don't realize, like, this is at our core who we are. You know, your belief system is one thing, but who you are as a person, your essence, is something completely different.

So, it does feel personal, at least for me, when things like this occur. And again, I don't think The Salvation Army is inherently bad.

I think they've done some major missteps, and they definitely have a complex relationship with the LGBTQ+ community.

It seems like they want to repair that and, you know, build a bridge and hopefully be better partners for the LGBTQ+ community.

But I think it's going to take a while, and they're going to need to, you know, put their money where their mouth is and take some serious action and show that they're being accountable for their actions in the past to really have me trusting how inclusive they are for LGBTQ+ people.

So, for me, I feel like I've gotten to the point that I'm tired of trying to explain to others why things like this hurt me or why things like this aren't fair.

And at a certain point, you know, I'm not going to continue having a conversation with somebody who's not really understanding where I'm coming from, just like I don't really want to throw my dollars towards somewhere that, yes, they do good work, but they've hurt the LGBTQ+ community in the past.

And so, I look at the Ten of Wands as redirecting my energy to only have those conversations with people who are receptive to listening about how things like this can cause hurt.

And also shifting my energy toward donating my money towards organizations that are inclusive of LGBTQ+ people, whether it's specifically an LGBTQ+ organization or just an organization that has a much better partnership with the LGBTQ+ community than The Salvation Army has in the past.

And I do want to be an optimist, so I hope that as time goes on, The Salvation Army will do some work to repair their relationship with the LGBTQ+ community.

And again, don't take this episode as a slam piece. I'm not here to tell anyone to boycott The Salvation Army or to not donate to them. I mean, to each their own, whatever feels right to you.

I just, again, think that as queer people, we understand where our dollars go.

Connect with A Jaded Gay (20:51)

So, as always, thank you so much for listening. I hope you enjoyed this episode.

Just a quick heads up that this will be the last original episode for 2024. I'm going to take a little bit of a winter break. There will be episodes next week and the week after.

Those are just going to be best of guest episodes, so just replaying some highlights from the guest episodes this year. So, there will be that.

Don't worry, though. I'm not completely going silent. You will be getting blog posts every week from me. There will also be monthly bonus episodes still in December and January.

And as of now, I'm planning on coming back with new episodes on the first Tuesday in February, so I'll be back soon.

In the meantime, though, I always love to hear from you. So, if you have any questions or feedback, you can reach out to me rob@ajadedgay.com.

Please remember to rate, review, and subscribe. Five stars only. I greatly appreciate it.

For more information on this topic, episode resources, blog posts, links to merchandise, and socials, you can visit the website ajadedgay.com.

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And remember, every day is all we have, so you got to make your own happiness.

Mmm-bye.

Outtake (22:57)

Booth and his wife, Catherine, left the church and trained evangelic...and trained evangelists.

Did I say that word right earlier on? Yeah.