同性戀權益的絕對與相對
亙古不變的真理與逐流演變的商業美國之爭
As business America evolves in the cultural war over gay rights, can Christian entrepreneurs hold on to the unchanging truth?
In 2012, Jack Phillips, the owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop in Colorado, refused to make a wedding cake for a gay couple in order to uphold his Christian faith. The Colorado Civil Rights Commission determined that Masterpiece Cake Shop had discriminated against the same-sex couple, forcing the shop to make a wedding cake for them, opening a lawsuit between the civil rights commission and the cake shop. It was not until 2018 that this order was rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court, which held that the order lacked religious neutrality and violated the Masterpiece Cake Shop's right to exercise religious freedom (Free Exercise Clause).
Jack, the owner of Masterpiece Cake Shop, also refused to make a cake to celebrate a transgender customer. He said he could make them other cakes or cookies, but refused to use his God-given artistic talents to do something contrary to his faith.
Masterpiece is just a small privately owned cake shop. The owner, Jack, is determined to honor God in his business. He must resist cultural trends and the threat of lawsuits on the issue of gay rights. Looking at the commercial United States, how many companies choose to follow the trend, and how many companies choose to stick to the unchanging truth?
The Evolving Business America
Gay rights have always been extremely controversial in the United States and around the world. On December 13, 2022, US President Biden signed the "Respect for Marriage Act" (Respect for Marriage Act); after the new bill takes effect, the original "Defense for Marriage Act" (Defense for Marriage Act) defines marriage as one man and one woman. female union) invalidated.
When President Biden was a senator in 1996, he voted for the "Defend Marriage Act"; in 2022, he signed a bill that overturned the bill he supported more than two decades ago. According to a survey by the U.S. non-profit, neutral Public Religion Research Institute (Public Religion Research Institute), only 14% Americans supported same-sex marriage in 2014, but 68% Americans supported same-sex marriage in 2021.
A 2021 Gallup survey showed that nearly 70% Americans support same-sex marriage. (As shown in the picture)
Image Source: https://news.gallup.com/poll/350486/record-high-support-same-sex-marriage.aspx
It can be seen from the survey data that sympathy for the situation of homosexuals and support for same-sex marriage has become a social trend. This trend has also set off a trend of protecting homosexuals in the American business community. Whether it is public trust principles such as Environmental, Social, and Governance Principles (ESG) or the Equality Act passed by the U.S. House of Representatives, they are affecting the American business community, ranging from small and medium-sized businesses to large companies. Business strategies and decisions in large family businesses and public companies. At the same time, companies' freedom to express same-sex rights is also greatly restricted when formulating corporate codes of conduct (Code of Conducts), employee benefits, marketing plans, and business strategies.
In recent years, although ESG has no mandatory power, it has become increasingly influential in corporate governance. Generally, companies hope that they can fulfill their corporate social responsibilities (Corporate Social Responsibility), win a good reputation for the company, and help the company's operations and sales. The "social" part of the ESG Code focuses on corporate human rights, business ethics, and diversity and inclusion policies. For example, ESG provides guidelines and monitors whether companies form sweatshops that exploit workers through extremely low wages, excessive working hours, poor working conditions, etc. In recent years, in addition to focusing on fair and reasonable labor treatment, more and more social pressure has been put on companies to review the protection of gay human rights, and gays and sweatshop workers have been included in the protection of human rights.
In addition, since 2002, the Human Rights Campaign Foundation (HRCF), the largest support group for gay human rights in the United States, has designed and published the "Corporate Equality Index".
This index comprehensively examines the company's protection of homosexuality from the company's working environment, welfare, culture, and social responsibility. In recent years, many companies, organizations, and institutions have promoted policies on diversity, equality, and integration to help companies perform better in corporate equality indicators. HRCF hopes that the equality index will not only help American companies build a more inclusive working environment for gays and lesbians, but also hopes to promote this index to the world.
The above-mentioned ESG or HRCF propose to protect the human rights of same-sex people. Although there is pressure from the social consumer public, companies can still make independent choices that are in line with company policies or interests. However, the Anti-Discrimination and Gay Equality Act passed by the U.S. House of Representatives in 2019 will become legally binding once the legislation is formally passed. If a company fails to comply, it will be illegal and must accept legal sanctions.
This bill is to protect the human rights of gays and lesbians and protect them from discrimination and unfair treatment based on their sexual orientation and gender identity. The Equality Act applies to places including public areas (such as shops), public places (such as parks), educational places (such as schools), federally funded courses, workplaces, residences, credit (such as applying for a loan), and participation in the jury system.
HRCF announced that their Business Coalition has reached an unprecedented milestone in supporting the Equality Act. This business alliance includes: 3M, which is famous for making tapes, sticky notes and other stationery; clothing company Abercrombie & Fitch; homestay Airbnb Inc.; technology giant Apple; online shopping giants Amazon, eBay, Delta Airlines; McDonald's, the leading fast food company... …. These 528 major American companies stand together and call on the Senate to pass the above-mentioned Equality Act.
Christian merchants’ response
Such social trends require large companies and small businesses to not only care about profits and service quality, but also take into account political and cultural pressures when operating. How to uphold love and respect for people in an environment that is hostile to Christianity without compromising the truth?
Business In the United States, most large retailers adhere to a strict policy of separation of church and state. In a generation where supporting homosexuality seems to have become mainstream, in order to make profits, most companies choose to uphold so-called inclusive policies and support gay rights. The Bible does teach to love your neighbor, but while caring for and supporting the rights of the vulnerable, does it also accept behaviors and relationships that are not allowed by the truth?
In the aforementioned masterpiece, Jack, the cake shop owner, bravely paid the price and made a decision that was in line with God's heart when faced with a challenge. Masterpiece Cake Shop is a small business and has greater autonomy than large enterprises.
Some large companies in the United States are established and operated on the basis of faith, and take glorifying God as the core value of the company, such as Hobby Lobby, which sells home furnishings; Chick-fil-A, a fast-food chain famous for its service quality; food processing and Seller Tyson Foods; Lowe's, which sells home improvement and building materials; airline Alaska Air, etc. How can these large corporations swim against the tide of support for gay rights? Here we take two family businesses that are unlisted companies as examples.
1. Hobby Lobby
▲ Hobby Lobby, which sells home furnishings and handicrafts, operates its business based on biblical principles.
Image Source:https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hobby_Lobby,_Killearn_Shopping_Center,_Thomasville_Road,_Tallahassee.JPG
The Green family founded this company in 1972 in Oklahoma, a state in central America, mainly selling home furnishings and handicrafts. It currently has more than 900 stores across the United States. All stores are closed on Sundays, and the company's core values are also announced on the company's website: honor God in what you do, and operate according to biblical principles (referencehttps://www.hobbylobby.com/about-us/ourstory).
In June 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Hobby Lobby, as a private for-profit company, has the right to refuse to pay employees for four types of contraceptive measures that they believe are tantamount to induced abortion due to freedom of religion. Hobby Lobby won the final victory in this case.
In 2021, in the lawsuit Hobby Lobby vs. Somerville, the Illinois Superior Court ruled that Hobby Lobby violated Illinois anti-discrimination laws when it refused to allow a transgender employee to use the women's restroom. The case can be appealed to the Illinois Supreme Court and eventually to the U.S. Supreme Court. Hobby Lobby has paid a high price for sticking to its beliefs.
2. Chick-fil-A
▲Family-owned Chick-fil-A insists on being closed on Sundays in order to respect biblical principles.
Image Source:https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chick-fil-A_in_Fairlawn,_Ohio_-_panoramio.jpg
Chick-fil-A, which has established its foothold in the fast food industry with its signature chicken sandwich, is also a family business. It was founded in Georgia in 1946 by S. Truett Cathy. It currently operates a chain of 2,897 restaurants across 49 states in the United States. Over the years, Chick-fil-A has given up on the prime time period in the fast food industry and remained closed on Sundays. However, there are long queues every meal time. The fresh ingredients, friendly service, and fast and efficient ordering system make it so Chick-fil-A has become the third most profitable fast-food company in the United States amid many competitions.
Before 2012, Chick-fil-A donated heavily to anti-gay groups, and CEO Dan Cathy also publicly stated his opposition to same-sex marriage. Since then, there have been calls to encourage consumers to boycott. Since the counter-campaign began, Chick-fil-A began adjusting its donation targets. By 2019, their donation list had removed the Salvation Army and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, both of which are gay and lesbian. A Christian group whose stance on issues is more controversial.
Compared with small businesses and family businesses, listed companies have experienced more severe tests. Unlike small businesses and family businesses, the governance and important decisions of public companies often depend on whether the purpose is to obtain short-term profits or invest in the company's long-term development. Shareholders usually pay more attention to short-term interests because they want to enjoy immediate profits and free movement of funds; company management usually pays more attention to long-term development. Therefore, a common problem in governance is how to balance the differences between shareholders and management in corporate decision-making.
The social trend seems to be that accepting gay rights will be beneficial to the company's long-term development and short-term profits. Therefore, most companies do not have much disagreement when formulating policies to accept homosexuality, unless such policies shake the core values when the company was founded, such as the Christian faith that glorifies God. Among them, listed companies such as Tyson Foods, Lowe's, Alaska Air, etc. were founded with roots in Christian faith, so their decision-making on homosexual issues faces arduous tests. At present, these companies have not made any public statements on this issue.
Timeless Biblical Truth
Paul clearly listed unrighteous people in 1 Corinthians 6:9, including: fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, homosexuals, thieves, covetousness, drunkenness, insults, extortioners, etc. Homosexuality is just one of them.
Ask yourself, are you and I advocating fame, wealth and power, swearing, emotional blackmail, lying, being unfaithful to your spouse, acting dishonestly... Aren't these sins?
Image Source: https://www.freepik.com/search?format=search&query=5507827
Whether it is the woman who had five husbands, the religious leader who was preparing to stone the adulterous woman, or the onlookers, young and old, they are all sinners.
What sinners need is not overwhelming laws and policies that whitewash peace; what sinners need is confession and repentance prompted by the Holy Spirit, and the covering of the precious blood of Jesus.
In the face of a chaotic world and confused values, on the issue of same-sex rights, the evolving business America is actually caught in a spiritual war, and companies large and small that are willing to respect Christ as the head of the enterprise and uphold the truth are the first to bear the brunt. .
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulership of the darkness of this world. What the enemy is best at is deception, confusion, and creating specious disputes.
In this spiritual battle, only by putting on the full armor, girding your loins with truth, covering your breast with righteousness, putting on the shoes of peace, and using faith as your shield, can you quench the flaming darts of the evil one. And put on the helmet of salvation, and take up the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. The word of God is living and sharp, sharper than any two-edged sword, and a discerner of the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
This is a daily spiritual battle. We can only pray in the Holy Spirit in many ways, and pray that every Christian and every company can boldly say what they should say and do what they should do; be bold enough to protect the truth and insist on loving.
Huang Qiwei, Doctor of Laws, specializing in U.S. commercial law and international commercial law. Students describe her in class as "tough but entertaining." I love teaching and thank God for giving me the opportunity to serve on campus and witness life changes. Currently working in the Department of Global Affairs at the University of Pennsylvania (Penn Global).