Falwell's 'vote Christian call' criticized
Anti-Defamation League presses conservative preacher to retract statement calling for Americans to 'vote Christian' in 2008
LYNCHBURG, Virginia - The Anti-Defamation League is calling on the Rev. Jerry Falwell to retract a "vote Christian in 2008" statement made months ago in a letter raising money for his ministries.
Falwell, founder of Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va., and Moral Majority, included with his mass fund-raising letter for Falwell Ministries a sticker that reads, "I Vote Christian."
Abraham Foxman, the Anti-Defamation League's national director, said Falwell's statements are "directly at odds with the American ideal and should be rejected."
"Understanding the danger of combining religion and politics, our founding fathers wisely created a political system based on individual merit and religious inclusiveness," Foxman said.
Falwell: Statement misunderstood
Foxman said Rev. Falwell "should retract his divisive and un-American call to action. Appeals to voters should not be on the basis of religion, nor should a candidate's religious beliefs be a litmus test for public office."
Falwell told The News & Advance of Lynchburg Tuesday that his statement was misunderstood.
"What I was saying was for conservative Christian voters to vote their values, which are pro-life and pro-family," Falwell said. "I had no intention of being anti-Jewish at all."
ADL said Falwell’s “vote Christian” appeal was contained in the fundraising letter in which Falwell urged supporters to “call America back to God.”
ADL said the letter included a car sticker, which read, “I Vote Christian.”
