With over 113 million viewers, multiple ads from the “He Gets Us” foundation were played during the Superbowl, comparing Jesus to a canceled influencer, a family of refugees, and a person troubled by the amount of political turmoil in America. This organization claims that their mission is to spread Jesus’s messages of love and compassion for all, even those we disagree with. However, even a casual examination of this organization reveals the clear hypocrisy to their message.
The group claims to be entirely politically neutral, simply aiming to spread a message of religious love. “Be assured, though, that we’re not ‘left’ or ‘right’ or a political organization of any kind,” they state on their website. We simply want everyone to understand the authentic Jesus as he’s depicted in the Bible — the Jesus of radical forgiveness, compassion, and love.”
However, the foundation is funded by an organization called The Servant Foundation, also known as The Signatry. This group collects anonymous donors and uses their donations to fund various religious organizations, which often promote messages of intolerance. In fact, David Green, the CEO of Hobby Lobby, has admitted to funding the “He Gets Us” ads along with fifty other families.
Green claims that by giving away his fortune, he can honor God by supporting various religious ventures, such as the “He Gets Us” ads. While his charitable actions appear far from malicious, Green has racked up a number of scandals during his time with the company.
Hobby Lobby has a reputation for being a company with extreme conservative values. In Sep. 2012, David Green filed a lawsuit on behalf of his company against the US Government. Green wanted to stop providing contraceptives to his employees, claiming that the current law went against the company’s religious values.
In June 2014, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Green and the company, denying abortion pills to thousands of Hobby Lobby employees. Shortly after this ruling, multiple religious organizations petitioned the US Government to exempt them from LGBTQ+ anti-discrimination laws due to their faith.
In addition to this, the Signatry has also given massive donations to the Alliance Defending Freedom, also known as the ADF. The ADF is an organization of lawyers that work with various clients to defend their religious freedoms. They were involved in 72 different Supreme Court cases, including Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission and National Institute of Family and Life Advocates (NIFLA) v. Becerra, both cases that advocate against LGBTQ+ people and abortion rights.
PV senior Julianne Binto believes that religious organizations such as ADF should not have any say when it comes to making policies. “I don’t think that religion should be used as a justification for political action, especially when these issues are scientific or economic problems,” she said. “Religion is not a universal constant in our country, and our nation’s bill of rights mentions freedom of religion and separation of church and state. This means religion shouldn’t be imposed upon anyone, especially within the context of lawmaking.”
Because of this group’s far right ideologies, the Southern Poverty Law Center, also known as the SPLC, has classified the ADF as a hate group, citing multiple cases in which the ADF advocated for the criminalization of homosexuality, such as in Belize. They also state the ADF has advocated for the forced sterilization of trans individuals in order for their gender to be changed on legal documents, citing cases in Europe and in the United States.
The ADF responded to these claims by simply denying these accusations without citing any hard evidence. They also claim the SPLC is pushing the so-called “leftist agenda” onto conservative individuals simply for fundraising purposes. “In truth, the only reason SPLC considers many of these groups to be ‘hate groups’ is that they disagree with the SPLC,” the ADF stated in their response.
Despite its status as a hate group, multiple major political figures have publicly supported the ADF, including current Iowa Senator, Chuck Grassley. In a speech given by Grassley during the nominations for various judicial roles, he refers to the ADF as a respected organization.
One of the nominees Grassley was defending during his speech was Amy Coney Barrett, who, at the time, was being elected to be a federal appeal judge. However, today, she’s better known for her status as a US Supreme Court justice. Barrett was not shy about her ties with the ADF, as Grassley freely mentioned it in his speech. “Professor Barrett, and a few other nominees, have a relationship with or ties to the Alliance Defending Freedom group, which, as several Senators have recently pointed out, has been labeled a ‘hate group’ by the Southern Poverty Law Center,” stated Grassley.
The fact that far-right politicians have ties to hate groups such as the ADF is disappointing, but hardly surprising.
Hate groups have become so mainstream that advertisements funded by these organizations were allowed to be shown during one of the biggest television events of the year. Though the He Gets Us foundation is not explicitly labeled as a hate group, the fact that they accept funding from corrupt organizations renders the religious message of their ads mute.
At the end of one of these commercials, entitled, “Love Your Enemies”, the screen fades to black as text appears that reads, “Jesus loved the people we hate.” Knowing the background of this organization makes this message both hypocritical and borderline condescending. It’s impossible to trust a foundation that doesn’t even follow its own message.
How is it ethical to propagate the concept of a compassionate religion when it is supported by those who vehemently oppose the rights of minorities across the globe? Though many answers could be given as excuses, the true answer is that it is impossible.
