It seems that the most dangerous and well-funded group within the animal rights lobby, the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) is again trying to reposition itself to seem mainstream. That transformation is a new “Faith Outreach” effort. Yes, HSUS is attempting to align itself with religions. This path closely follows the animal rights group’s programs that have thrust its tentacles into school systems and young student minds around the nation. Churches should definitely beware.
The programs championed by HSUS outreach efforts include articles promoting a connection between animal rights and the congregations of the Unitarian Universalists and the United Church of Christ. And the HSUS furthers the connecting efforts by pushing pro-animal-rights statements attributed to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, the Seventh Day Adventist Church, the Episcopal Church and others religious affiliations. Seems nearly any sermon can be twisted as promoting animal rights. These twists could have been far from the intent of the speaker or presenter when the materials were spoken or presented. This doesn’t matter to HSUS.
Real eyebrows are raised, however, when you discover the HSUS’s St. Francis Day in a Box project. A $15 toolkit promoting the animal rights philosophy includes: the Chronicles of Narnia; Animal Protection Ministries: A Guide for Churches; Eating Mercifully; the CAFO Reader: The Tragedy of Industrial Animal Factories (a stab at farming); and many others. These animal rights agenda packets are sold to churches, or congregation members, to raise funds for HSUS. While this propaganda intertwines religion and animal rights as connected crusading causes, there is an obvious lack of religious tolerance in the missing mention of St. Hubertus, the patron Saint of Hunters. And of course the “toolkit” includes envelopes and instructions on how to collect funds in the names of pets, animals and wildlife, and then send those funds directly to HSUS.
