American Vision is a United States nonprofit organization founded in 1978 by Steve Schiffman. It operates as a

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

ministry, and calls for "equipping and empowering Christians to restore America’s biblical foundation." The organization promotes

Christian reconstructionism Christian reconstructionism is a fundamentalist Calvinist theonomic movement. It developed primarily under the direction of R. J. Rushdoony, Greg Bahnsen and Gary North and has had an important influence on the Christian right in the Unit ...

and

postmillennialism In Christian eschatology (end-times theology), postmillennialism, or postmillenarianism, is an interpretation of chapter 20 of the Book of Revelation which sees Christ's second coming as occurring ''after'' (Latin ''post-'') the "Millennium", a ...

, and opposes

dispensationalism Dispensationalism is a Christian theology, theological framework for Biblical hermeneutics, interpreting the Bible which maintains that history is divided into multiple ages called "dispensations" in which God the Father, God interacts with h ...

. Gary DeMar was the organization's president from 1986 to 2015. From 2015 to March 2019 Joel McDurmon was president, during which time DeMar was Senior Fellow. Gary DeMar returned as president in March 2019 when McDurmon resigned.

Activities

American Vision publishes books "primarily for use in

Christian school A Christian school is a Parochial school, religious school run on Christianity, Christian principles or by a Christian organization. These schools often include religious education and worship in their curriculum. They may also have a distinct Ch ...

s and for home schoolers." The group is active in the creation science movement. American Vision trains parents, teachers, pastors and activists "in developing family-oriented biblical worldviews." It hosts an annual "Worldview Conference", which has featured speakers such as Herbert Titus.

Beliefs

American Vision is opposed to

abortion Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnan ...

. The group maintains that the First Amendment's demand that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof" means that Congress may not establish a state religion. The group maintains that the First Amendment does ''not'' prohibit members of Congress from making laws that are in submission to the

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

. DeMar has said that not all homosexuals would be executed under a "reconstructed government" but that he did believe that the occasional execution of "sodomites" would serve society well because "the law that requires the death penalty for homosexual acts effectively drives the perversion of homosexuality underground, back into the closet" DeMar also wrote a "long-term goal" should be "the execution of abortionists and parents who hire them".

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

is another enemy; in August 2010 he said that "the long-term goal of Islam is the abolition of our constitutional freedoms." In 2010, 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 ...

designated American Vision as an anti-gay hate group because of its purported support of the "

death penalty Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in s ...

for practicing homosexuals." However, Joel McDurmon, the former president of American Vision, moved the organization away from this position, stating that "Biblical law has transferred First Table punishments from earthly civil governments to the throne of heaven", and that right now only the moral principles are still binding.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Political organizations based in the United States Anti-abortion organizations in the United States Organizations established in 1978 1978 establishments in the United States Dominion theology Organizations that oppose LGBTQ rights in the United States

Activities

Beliefs

See also

References

External links