In the unlikely event you haven’t heard about this elsewhere, I’d like to join the growing chorus of outrage over the decision by CBS and NBC to refuse advertising from the United Church of Christ.
If you’re not familiar with the UCC, it’s a progressive and inclusive Christian denomination with a message (and a history) of tolerance, respect, and hope. The UCC decided to take this pitch to the nation with a massive ad buy, making the church available to new members and, more importantly, offering a counterweight to the divisive theology of the religious right movement.
The debut 30-second commercial features two muscle-bound “bouncers” standing guard outside a fabled, picturesque church and selecting which persons are permitted to attend Sunday services. Written text interrupts the scene, announcing, “Jesus didn’t turn people away. Neither do we.” A narrator then proclaims the United Church of Christ’s commitment to Jesus’ extravagant welcome: “No matter who you are, or where you are on life’s journey, you are welcome here.”
“The symbolism in this commercial reflects the very real rejection people feel toward church,” says Ron Buford, the campaign’s director. Though it has more than 1.3 million members in about 6,000 congregations across the country, the United Church of Christ (UCC) is widely unknown and the UCC hopes to improve its name-recognition among potential U.S. churchgoers — especially young persons. “The comment I hear most often when people visit a UCC church for the first time is, ‘I never knew that a church like this existed,'” says Buford.
But, the UCC’s inclusive message is a problem for CBS and NBC, which refuse to broadcast the ad, citing its content as “too controversial.” Please watch the ad. If you see anything that shouldn’t be aired on a broadcast network, feel free to explain it to me.
CBS’s explanation is painfully stupid.
“Because this commercial touches on the exclusion of gay couples and other minority groups by other individuals and organizations,” reads an explanation from CBS, “and the fact the Executive Branch has recently proposed a Constitutional Amendment to define marriage as a union between a man and a woman, this spot is unacceptable for broadcast on the [CBS and UPN] networks.”
This cannot stand.
To their collective credit, other networks have accepted the UCC ad, including ABC Family, AMC, BET, Discovery, Fox, Hallmark, History, Nick@Nite, TBS, TNT, Travel, and TV Land.
But CBS and NBC, for reasons that defy comprehension, refuse. If you were so inclined, here’s CBS’s online feedback form. NBC doesn’t seem to have one, but the Center for American Progress has created an online form for anyone interested.
And as long as we’re on the subject, keep this in mind for the next person who complains about a “liberal media.”