Project Blitz is a coalition of over 40

Christian right The Christian right are Christian political factions characterized by their strong support of socially conservative and traditionalist policies. Christian conservatives seek to influence politics and public policy with their interpretation ...

groups, including the Congressional Prayer Caucus Foundation, the National Legal Foundation, and Wallbuilders Pro-Family Legislators Conference. Founded by

Randy Forbes James Randy Forbes (born February 17, 1952) is an American politician. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he was the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for , serving from 2001 to 2017. P ...

, the group states that it seeks to "protect the free exercise of traditional Judeo-Christian religious values and beliefs in the public square, and to reclaim and properly define the narrative which supports such beliefs." It is rooted in Christian nationalist ideology. Project Blitz also operates as "Freedom for All" and as part of the "First Freedom Coalition." The group specifically lobbies lawmakers to enact legislation that permit expanded Christian practice in public institutions; supports conservative legislators at the local, state and federal level with public relations and messaging; and otherwise seeks to alter longstanding narratives of

religious liberty Freedom of religion or religious liberty, also known as freedom of religion or belief (FoRB), is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice ...

issues. Its agenda includes the promotion of the Bible in public schools and the codification of "religious exemptions" regarding women's reproductive healthcare and LGBTQ civil-rights protections. The Project's steering committee includes David Barton; Buddy Pilgrim, founder of Integrity Leadership; Bill Dallas, founder of United in Purpose; and Lea Carawan, co-founder and executive director of the Congressional Prayer Caucus Foundation (CPCF).

Model legislation

The Project is best known for providing

model legislation A model act, also called a model law or a piece of model legislation, is a suggested example for a law, drafted centrally to be disseminated and suggested for enactment in multiple independent legislatures. The motivation classically has been the ...

, proclamations, and talking points for state and local legislators who wish to introduce bills that support religious freedom and liberty, as defined by the Project. Through its ''Report and Analysis on Religious Freedom Measures Impacting Prayer and Faith in America'', the project provides models and strategies for addressing a variety of its concerns, including definitions of gender and sexuality, biblical literacy in public schools, recognition of Christian heritage and Christmas Day, and displays of the national motto. It also provides talking points for opposing efforts that restrict conservative practices, including the prohibition of conversion therapy, and repeals of

State Religious Freedom Restoration Acts State Religious Freedom Restoration Acts are state laws based on the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), a federal law that was passed almost unanimously by the U.S. Congress in 1993 and signed into law by President Bill Clinton. The laws m ...

. A previous version of the report was distributed to over 750 state legislators.

Influence

As of December 2018, 25 bills based on the recommendations of the Project were introduced out of over 70 being considered. They passed in five states, including

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

, and

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

. These sorts of bills included measures that would, for example, allow adoption and foster care agencies to refuse services based on religious beliefs and mandate public schools to display "

In God We Trust "In God We Trust" (also rendered as "In God we trust") is the United States national motto, official motto of the United States as well as the motto of the U.S. state of Florida, along with the nation of Nicaragua (Spanish language, Spanish: '' ...

" signage. "Also popular were bills encouraging schools to teach the Bible and encouraging students and teachers to express religious beliefs in school – both of which can lead to

proselytism Proselytism () is the policy of attempting to convert people's religious or political beliefs. Carrying out attempts to instill beliefs can be called proselytization. Proselytism is illegal in some countries. Some draw distinctions between Chris ...

or denigration of non-Christian faiths." Legislation drafted by Project Blitz to allow Bible classes in public schools was enacted in

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

in 2017, and at least ten state legislatures introduced versions of the same Project Blitz bill in 2019. As of October 2019, CPCF leadership had claimed a network of 950 state legislators in 38 states.

Criticism

The Project has been criticized by various

secular Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin , or or ), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. The origins of secularity can be traced to the Bible itself. The concept was fleshed out through Christian hi ...

organizations, including

Americans United for Separation of Church and State Americans United for Separation of Church and State (Americans United or AU for short) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that advocates for the disassociation of religion and religious organizations from government. The separation of chur ...

and

American Atheists American Atheists is a non-profit organization in the United States dedicated to defending the civil liberties of atheists and advocating complete separation of church and state. It provides speakers for colleges, universities, clubs, and th ...

for its alleged

theocratic Theocracy is a form of autocracy or oligarchy in which one or more deities are recognized as supreme ruling authorities, giving divine guidance to human intermediaries, with executive and legislative power, who manage the government's daily a ...

tendencies and

dominionism Dominion theology, also known as dominionism, is a group of Christian political ideologies that seek to institute a nation governed by Christians and based on their understandings of biblical law. Extents of rule and ways of acquiring governing ...

, resulting in a distortion of the idea of religious freedom, promotion of

discrimination Discrimination is the process of making unfair or prejudicial distinctions between people based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong, such as race, gender, age, class, religion, or sex ...

, and its opposition to the separation of religion and government, among other concerns. The research upon which some of the Project's claims regarding sexuality are based has also been called into question for consisting of "poorly designed studies and discredited, outdated statistics", according to the

American Humanist Association The American Humanist Association (AHA) is a 501(c) organization, non-profit organization in the United States that advances secular humanism. The American Humanist Association was founded in 1941 and currently provides legal assistance to defe ...

. In 2019, a coalition of 43 religious and allied organizations, including the

National Council of Churches The National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA, usually identified as the National Council of Churches (NCC), is a left-wing progressive activist group and the largest ecumenical body in the United States. NCC is an ecumenical partners ...

, the Anti-Defamation League, the

Hindu American Foundation The Hindu American Foundation ( ) is an American Hindu non-profit advocacy group founded in 2003. The organisation has its roots in the Hindu nationalist organisation Vishwa Hindu Parishad America and its student wing Hindu Students Council ...

, and the

Center for Inquiry The Center for Inquiry (CFI) is a U.S. nonprofit organization that works to mitigate belief in pseudoscience and the paranormal and to fight the influence of religion in government. History The Center for Inquiry was established in 1991 by ...

, issued a statement directed at state lawmakers opposing the Project and similar legislative efforts. In October 2019, in the face of public criticism and counter campaigns, Project Blitz had been renamed "Freedom for All" and the Congressional Prayer Caucus Foundation web site no longer referenced "Project Blitz."

References

External links

* {{official, https://cpcfoundation.com/first-freedom-coalition-project-blitz/
BlitzWatch
Christianity and politics in the United States Christian fundamentalism Evangelical organizations Dominion theology Christian nationalism in the United States Right-wing politics in the United States Conservative organizations in the United States Organizations that oppose LGBTQ rights in the United States

Model legislation

Influence

Criticism

References

See also

External links