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Institute on Religion and Democracy is Target of TEC Liberal Episcopal Diocese
By David W. Virtue
www.virtueonline.org
November 11, 2010
A Washington-based orthodox church think tank has come under fire from an ultra-liberal Episcopal Church diocese accusing them of punishing the Episcopal Church by supporting the seizure of church property and other assets.
The Episcopal Diocese of New York says the The Institute on Religion and Democracy (IRD) poses a threat to religious freedom. They want TEC's General Convention to authorize creation of a joint task force to mitigate such threats which, they say, also affects Presbyterian, and United Methodist denominations.
The diocese also wants to ascertain the cost to the three denominations to date of litigation to prevent the alienation of church property and other assets.
The diocese maintains that for nearly 30 years, IRD has publicly stated its goal of "reforming" the Episcopal, Presbyterian, and United Methodist churches along "orthodox" lines, even though it is not accountable to any of those churches.
Each denomination has produced films, documentaries, and exposés about IRD's damaging activities, but each continues to treat the problem as internal discontent rather than as a coordinated assault on religious freedom.
This approach has resulted in costly litigation for all three denominations. A joint task force is needed to share information and develop common strategies to safeguard the freedom and financial health of the three target denominations.
The diocese said it wants to develop recommendations to mitigate such threats. The Diocese of New York plans to raise the issue at their diocesan convention which starts Nov. 13 in New York City.
Their resolution states that the Institute for Religion and Democracy has had a negative impact on religious freedom.
The resolution calls for creation of a joint task force of the Episcopal, Presbyterian, and United Methodist churches to study the question arguing that all three denominations have been "targeted for reform" by IRD for more than 20 years. All have subsequently spent millions in legal efforts to prevent conservative dissidents from taking church property with them when they declare a formal break with the denomination.
Commenting on the actions of the Episcopal diocese, IRD President Mark Tooley said, "The Diocese of New York is one of the most liberal and fastest declining areas of the liberal controlled and fast declining Episcopal Church. Blaming the 29 year old IRD for Mainline Protestantism's 45 year membership spiral is convenient but nonsensical.
"More constructively, a United Methodist Church special commission has recently faulted the denomination's own failed leadership for nearly 3 million lost members and is urging, in the words of one religion writer, 'Better pastors. Healthier churches. Less bureaucracy.'
"Non-paranoid Episcopalians, inside and outside the Diocese of New York, should consider the Methodist example rather than scapegoating critics like IRD.
"The Institute on Religion & Democracy works to reaffirm the church's biblical and historical teachings, strengthen and reform its role in public life, protect religious freedom, and renew democracy at home and abroad," added Tooley.
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