Faith Group Protests Southern Poverty Law Center Over 'Hate Group' Label

Faith Group Protests Southern Poverty Law Center Over 'Hate Group' Label:

'via Blog this'By Matthew Cortina , Christian Post Reporter

January 17, 2012|12:15 pm

A group of pro-family Christian and Jewish leaders – including many African-American pastors – plan to rally outside the offices of the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, Ala., Tuesday to protest the SPLC’s labeling of organizations, many of them faith-based, as "hate groups" due to their opposition to homosexuality and pro-gay agendas.

The SPLC categorizes "hate groups" as any organization in the nation that has "beliefs or practices that attack or malign an entire class of people, typically for their immutable characteristics."

The group of religious leaders believes the SPLC has wrongly applied that label to themselves and other members of the faith community. 

Dr. Patrick Wooden, pastor at the Upper Room Church of God in Christ in Raleigh, N.C., said calling pro-family groups "hate groups" is a casualty of the politically correct culture and unfairly penalizes organizations for their religious beliefs.

"Although I have deep respect for the time honored work of the SPLC," Wooden told The Christian Post, "there is a line that needs to be drawn between groups like the KKK and skinheads, and groups who simply believe in the biblical model of marriage, and believe that you're able to disagree with homosexuals and lesbians on this issue and not somehow be labeled a 'hate group' as a result of that disagreement."

Wooden is one of many African-American pastors who will be at the rally Tuesday afternoon, which will also feature a press conference. Wooden and his peers are also upset that the SPLC seems to liken the civil rights movement for racial equality to the gay rights movement of today.