Leslie Rosenblood
Ten years ago, I implored people not to donate to the Salvation Army. This was because, at the time, the Canadian chapter was evangelical and despicably homophobic. I decided to check whether it had changed in the decade since. Unfortunately, it has not.
The Salvation Army Canada’s Official Position Statements (2007) shows they believe that not just marriage, but also sexual intimacy, should be limited to between a man and a woman.
- “We believe that the family is ideally rooted in the biblical concept of a marriage covenant of one man and one woman.” (Page 7)
- “[B]iblical standards calls for chastity outside of heterosexual marriage and faithfulness within it.” (Page 9)
- “The Salvation Army believes marriage is the covenanting together of one man and one woman for life in a union to the exclusion of all others.” (Page 13)
- “The Salvation Army affirms the sanctity of sexual relationships based on the teaching of Scripture. The Bible presents sexual intimacy as a gift from God that is ordained and blessed exclusively within the context of heterosexual marriage.” (Page 14)
That is an explicit denial of same-sex equal marriage. The Salvation Army Canada affirms that no LGBT people should have sexually intimate relations. But that was over a decade and a half ago, well before I wrote my initial essay. Perhaps they are no longer quite as homophobic. Three years ago, Forbes published The Salvation Army Wants You To Believe They’ve Changed, citing the organization’s “long and horrid history of discrimination.” They have quite the history of anti-LGBT actions.
But what of the Salvation Army in Canada today? Their current mission statement begins with, “The Salvation Army exists to share the love of Jesus Christ.” Similarly, the Salvation Army Vision ends with, “building communities that are just and know the love of Jesus.” So it’s clearly a proselytizing Christian organization. Any organization that wants to appeal to all segments of Canadian society (such as police services, grocery stores, and retailers) should steer clear.
Though the Salvation Army’s Values emphasize non-discrimination and valuing everyone, this one of their four values: “Hope: We give hope through the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ.” This not very welcoming to non-Christians.
Further proof that The Salvation Army is a proselytizing organization, trying to get as many people as possible to accept Jesus as their Lord and Saviour, can be found by looking at the “Corps Health Stream” portion of the program of their 2023 Inspire conference. It includes workshops such as, “God Space: Making the Most of Every Opportunity to Start Spiritual Conversations” and “Faith Formation: Helping People with Disabilities Connect with Jesus.” It also includes biblical apologetics: “But Didn’t You Know the Bible Says…? A Study of the Scriptural Texts Often Used to Challenge Women in Ministry”. Their leadership stream has a workshop called, “Jesus-Centred: Serving with Jesus at the Centre of Who You Are and What You Do.”
The Salvation Army is clearly an organization by Christians, for Christians, seeking to convert as many non-Christians to Christianity as possible. Anyone who doesn’t believe that to be the case need only look at the Salvation Army’s Doctrines page, any line of which will be sufficient to convince any reasonable observer.
I’m not the only one who thinks so. Canadians are tiring of the Salvation Army’s bigotry and proselytization: They are critically short of volunteers in Winnipeg, Burlington, Victoria, and West Kelowna.
To be clear: As a religious organization, the Salvation Army is perfectly within their rights to use their resources to spread the “Good Word” in an attempt to get more people to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour. It is inappropriate, however, for any governmental entity (including those operating at arm’s-length, such as police services or the LCBO in Ontario) to partner with a sectarian group like the Salvation Army. In addition, private corporations should rethink their partnerships with the Salvation Army. Any organization that wants to give presents to the poor (a genuinely charitable intention) should find another group that does charitable works (there is no shortage) and partner with them instead.
If someone from the Salvation Army asks for a donation, politely decline and tell them you will make a contribution to a genuinely charitable organization, one that does not endorse bigotry and seek to convert the world to their faith.
Well, at least Christmas is over, so we don’t need their volunteers deafening us with their bell ringing every time we enter a store.
Amen!
Amen!
Yeah, I find it a bit odd that the public view of the organization since at least, I guess, the debut of the musical Guys and Dolls in 1950, is that they do good works. The view is likely maintained by inertia: they have been around for soooo… long, and nothing much against them has popped up in mainstream media.
I checked some charity watch websites in 2023 and it turns out they get a lower than average rating. I was surprised that they aren’t really very efficient as a charity. Unlike most charities, they are sitting on a large reserve fund. One would think that when they see that their performance is sub-par they would use their reserve to make things more efficient. Perhaps they just don’t prioritize the charity part of their “Christian charity” mission.