Faith Driven Consumers encouraged to participate in “Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day” on August 1st

The values upon which Truett Cathy grew his Chick-fil-A empire are no secret – after all, they’re why his chain of 1,600 chicken restaurants are closed on Sunday. But these values which Cathy, and now his son, Dan, have held for decades are now coming under attack from politicians, celebrities and activists nationwide over a statement the younger Cathy made in an interview with the Baptist Press. In it, Cathy said he personally supports traditional marriage:

“We are very much supportive of the family — the biblical definition of the family unit. We are a family-owned business, a family-led business, and we are married to our first wives. We give God thanks for that.”

This view should not surprise those who follow Chick-fil-A. The Cathys donate large sums of money annually to charities, many of them Christian.  Dan Cathy says that his business principles are grounded in Christian teachings, and that he’s called to be a good steward of everything he’s been given.

Ironically, Cathy’s biblical worldview is under fire in a nation founded upon Christian values—and in which more than 70 percent of Americans profess to be Christians. However, after Cathy’s views on marriage hit the national news, Boston Mayor Tom Menino made headlines stating that Chick-fil-A was not welcome in his city.

Later, Chicago mayor and former chief of staff for President Obama, Rahm Emanuel, issued a statement saying that the restaurant did not share the values of Chicago. Alderman Joe Moreno took it a step further by announcing plans to block a Chick-fil-A franchise from doing business in Chicago.

Clearly, Americans like Cathy who take a stand on the biblical view of marriage fly directly into a cultural hurricane with the gay rights agenda at its center. They find that what should be a matter of personal disagreement is now a freedom of speech issue. And those who most loudly proclaim tolerance, diversity and inclusion actively use the full force of societal institutions – including government – to intolerantly exclude those who disagree with their politically correct views.

And it isn’t just politicians who are expressing intolerance toward a biblical worldview. Celebrities like Kim Kardashian, Miley Cyrus and Lindsay Lohan also plan to boycott Chick-fil-A and have taken to social media with their plans. And comedian Roseanne Barr released a series of foul-mouthed and anti-Christian tweets against Chick-fil-A – a business that prides itself on going the extra mile and providing great service to all its customers.

In response to this cultural condemnation of Chick-fil-A, there’s an opportunity for Faith Driven Consumers and others who believe that Americans should be able to freely express their views and steward their companies in alignment with their values to support Chick-fil-A by eating at one of their restaurants on August 1st.  Known as “Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day,” this Facebook-driven movement was initiated by former Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee and now has more than 537,000 participants.

The national debate over Chick-fil-A offers a great example of the powerful effect Faith Driven Consumers can have in the marketplace when they choose to support companies that respect their values and worldview.  Take a stand for your faith-driven values on August 1st by supporting a company that’s currently taking the heat for boldly professing theirs.