By Greg R. Lawson, Director of Communications
Another PETA ad and another example of anti’s attempting to manipulate religious faith. This time the ad used former Playboy model and reality show star, Joanna Krupa, striking a provocative pose complete with a halo over her head and a strategically placed crucifix covering her naked body.
While Krupa has previously bared all for PETA, this particular one has brought some intense criticism by numerous religious figures. For example, Bill Donohue, the President of the Catholic League, issued a statement referring to PETA as having "…a long and disgraceful record of exploiting Christian and Jewish themes to hawk its ugly services. Those who support this organization sorely need a reality check. They also need a course in Ethics 101."
PETA’s shock tactic is nothing new given its history and those tactics probably alienate most reasonably sane people. However, the move highlights the continuing efforts of anti’s in general to use religion for their own purposes.
The U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance has written about this before. Unlike PETA, the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) has decided not to offend people in its campaigns, but to use faith to lure more religious folks to its way of thinking. Just this fall, HSUS promoted a nationwide music tour featuring hot MTV acts that included stops at several Christian universities. HSUS even has its own dedicated staffer devoted to “faith outreach.”
Dr. Wes Jamison, an ordained Minister as well as a professor of Communications at Palm Beach Atlantic University, has been touring the country highlighting this for awhile. At a May conference for the Animal Agriculture Alliance, Dr. Jamison warned that animal rights’ groups are intentionally selecting certain biblical passages that focus on individuals’ compassion and guilt.
So once again, while PETA gets its headlines, HSUS is busy trying to make changes under the radar without rocking the boat. It knows that by cherry picking different passages from the Bible, it might be able to enlist one of the strongest of all weapons in its battle to change American habits. In their mind, if faith played a prominent role in stopping other “social ills” in American history, it may be able to be used to promote their radical beliefs to end all hunting, fishing, trapping, animal agriculture, medical research and on and on.
We believe they will ultimately fail in this tactic, but sportsmen should never underestimate the challenge this presents.