The American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property, also known as The American TFP, and legally incorporated as The Foundation for a Christian Civilization, Inc. is a

Traditionalist Catholic Traditionalist Catholicism is a movement that emphasizes beliefs, practices, customs, traditions, liturgical forms, devotions and presentations of teaching associated with the Catholic Church before the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965). ...

American advocacy group. It is an autonomous organization which forms part of the larger

social conservative Social conservatism is a political philosophy and a variety of conservatism which places emphasis on traditional social structures over social pluralism. Social conservatives organize in favor of duty, traditional values and social institu ...

anticommunist Anti-communism is Political movement, political and Ideology, ideological opposition to communism, communist beliefs, groups, and individuals. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia, and it reached global ...

and

monarchist Monarchism is the advocacy of the system of monarchy or monarchical rule. A monarchist is an individual who supports this form of government independently of any specific monarch, whereas one who supports a particular monarch is a royalist. C ...

international

Tradition, Family, Property Tradition, Family, Property (TFP; ) is an international movement of political/civic organizations of Traditionalist Catholic inspiration. The first TFP was founded by Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira in Brazil in 1960, inspired by his 1959 book ''Rev ...

(TFP) movement founded by Brazilian intellectual, politician, and activist

Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira (December 13, 1908 – October 3, 1995) was a Brazilian intellectual and traditionalist Catholic activist, best known for the foundation of the Tradition, Family and Property organization. Biography Early lif ...

History

Founded in 1973, it is one of many "Tradition, Family and Property" groups (TFPs) and like-minded organizations worldwide, all of which are inspired by the work of the Brazilian intellectual, politician, and activist

. The first American group was incorporated in 1975 and established its first hermitage in 1977 in

Yonkers Yonkers () is the List of municipalities in New York, third-most populous city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and the most-populous City (New York), city in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County. A centrally locate ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. The Yonkers location was subsequently closed and the hermits established their permanent hermitage on 70 acres in Spring Grove,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. The Foundation for a Christian Civilization ("Foundation") was incorporated in 1973, drawing on earlier ties between Brazilians, who traveled to the US to develop a North American affiliate. The American TFP developed early connections with leaders of the religious and political right, including

Paul Weyrich Paul Michael Weyrich (; October 7, 1942 – December 18, 2008) was an American conservative political activist and commentator associated with the New Right. He co-founded The Heritage Foundation, the Free Congress Foundation, National Empowerm ...

The Heritage Foundation The Heritage Foundation (or simply Heritage) is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative think tank based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1973, it took a leading role in the conservative movement in the 1980s during the Presi ...

and the Free Congress Foundation and

Morton Blackwell Morton C. Blackwell (born November 16, 1939, La Jara, Colorado) is an American conservative activist. He is the founder and president of the Leadership Institute (established 1979), a 501(c)(3) non-profit educational foundation that teaches polit ...

of the

College Republican National Committee The College Republican National Committee (CRNC) is a national organization for College Republicans, including college and university students who support the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party in the United States. The organizatio ...

and the

Reagan administration Ronald Reagan's tenure as the 40th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1981, and ended on January 20, 1989. Reagan, a Republican from California, took office following his landslide victory over ...

. In 1984, President

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

expressed the hope for the movement’s “continued growth and prosperity.” “With your help and the help of all patriotic Americans,” said the President, “I know our nation can surmount all the challenges which lie ahead.” Founded to help fundraising for a Catholic counterrevolution against left-wing ideologies and communism, it subsequently became a civil cultural organization that aims to uphold and promote what they consider to be the values of

Christian civilization Christianity has been intricately intertwined with the History of Western civilization, history and formation of Western society. Throughout history of Christianity, its long history, the Christian Church, Church has been a major source of so ...

. The Foundation later merged in June 1992 with American TFP to form a single corporation identified as The Foundation for a Christian Civilization.

Organization

The organization solicits funds as a non-profit charity, not as a diocesan organization. Its annual public reports to the

Internal Revenue Service The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting Taxation in the United States, U.S. federal taxes and administerin ...

indicate that between 2002 and 2014 it disbursed $1,800,000 to support the St. Louis de Montfort Academy and $1,500,000 to support related organizations in North and South America, most significantly Canada Needs Our Lady, Associação dos Fundadores and the ''Tradición y Acción'' organizations of Colombia and Peru.

Activities

TFP has continued its ties with the political right as a participating sponsor of the

Conservative Political Action Conference The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC ) is an annual political conference attended by Conservatism in the United States, conservative Activism, activists and officials from across the United States. CPAC is hosted by the American ...

, and by signing statements issued by the

Heartland Institute The Heartland Institute is an American conservative and libertarian 501(c)(3) nonprofit public policy think tank known for its rejection of both the scientific consensus on climate change and the negative health impacts of smoking. Founded ...

that opposed housing finance reform legislation, and discussions of

climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

in comprehensive energy legislation and in the State Department funding authorization. TFP Student Action is the university campus outreach of the TFP. Its activities include distributing fliers and other literature on the streets of universities, sponsoring speakers on campuses, hosting student conferences, and organizing protests and petitions, especially against abortion and LGBT student groups at Catholic universities. Its most recent campaign is against the 96 Catholic colleges and universities that allow LGBT student groups. In April 2009, volunteers of TFP Student Action traveled to the major cities of

New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

and

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

to distribute literature against same-sex marriage. The American TFP provides the staff to run Saint Louis de Montfort Academy, a boys'

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. They have existed for many centuries, and now extend acr ...

Herndon, Pennsylvania Herndon, formerly Trevorton Junction, is a borough (Pennsylvania), borough along the Susquehanna River in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. Herndon was first founded by Robert A. Parrish in ...

, that provides students with a traditional

Catholic education Catholic education may refer to: * Catholic school, primary and secondary education organised by the Roman Catholic Church or affiliated organisations * Catholic higher education, higher education run by the Catholic Church or affiliated organisat ...

. It also operates Call to Chivalry summer camps, which express Oliveira's view of

nobility Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. T ...

chivalry Chivalry, or the chivalric language, is an informal and varying code of conduct that developed in Europe between 1170 and 1220. It is associated with the medieval Christianity, Christian institution of knighthood, with knights being members of ...

, and the benefits of the feudal past. The Return to Order campaign is an offshoot of the US Foundation for a Christian Civilisation. In 2019, it organized a petition against the ''

Good Omens ''Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch'' is a 1990 novel written by the English authors Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. The novel is a comedy about the birth of the son of Satan and the coming of the End Times. ...

'' miniseries as mocking God's wisdom and making Satanism appear normal, light, and acceptable, but they targeted the petition at

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

rather than

Amazon Prime Video Amazon Prime Video, known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming television service owned by Amazon. The service primarily distributes films and television series produced or co-produced by ...

which distributes the series. In 2021, they staged a protest at the 59th New York Film Festival due to the festival showing the

Paul Verhoeven Paul Verhoeven (; born 18 July 1938) is a Dutch filmmaker, who has worked variously in the Netherlands, the United States, and in France. He is known for directing genre films with strong satirical elements, often featuring graphic violence and ...

film ''

Benedetta Benedetta is a feminine given name of Italian origin, the feminine equivalent of the masculine name Benedetto, a cognate of Benedict. Notable people with the given name include: * Benedetta Barzini (born 1943), Italian actress and model * Benedet ...

'', which they deemed blasphemous for its portrayal of lesbianism within the confines of a convent.

Criticism

The American TFP has been cited in several articles by the

Southern Poverty Law Center The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit legal advocacy organization specializing in civil rights and public interest litigation. Based in Montgomery, Alabama, it is known for its legal cases against white ...

(SPLC) for their anti-LGBT views. According to the SPLC the TFP is a "virulently anti-LGBT".

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

priest James Martin, referring to the American TFP and to the organization

Church Militant In some strains of Christian theology, the Christian Church may be divided into: *the Church Militant (), also called the Church Pilgrim, which consists of Christians on Earth who struggle as soldiers of Christ against sin, the devil, and "the ...

commented that “These online extremist hate groups are now more powerful than local churches”.

References