Disney and the Southern Baptist Convention would seem to have little in common. After all, we voted for a boycott of Disney in 1997 that lasted for eight years. Things seem to have changed. It is obvious Disney has moved even more liberal in its moral values, while the SBC seems, at this point, to be more accommodating.
Early this year, the SBC announced it was offering discount tickets to the Disney parks literally across the street from the Anaheim Convention Center, home of the annual meeting in June. In a Baptist Press article in February, writer Scott Barkley wrote, “Disneyland must be explored. Experience a whole new world through discounted tickets to Disneyland.” In the article, Jonathan Howe, SBC Executive Committee vice president for communications, interviewed a Disney travel specialist on “how messengers can let down their hair while enjoying all the rides and attractions the park has to offer while in town for the meeting.”
Recently, videos of a Disney Zoom meeting with staff revealed some interesting insights. At the meeting, Latoya Raveneau spoke of her new role at Disney Television Animation. She shared how welcoming the leadership had been to her “not-at-all-secret” gay agenda. “It was like I didn’t have to be afraid, like have these two characters kiss in the background. I was just, wherever I could, just basically adding queerness,” she said.
Karey Burke, a Disney executive, wants to include many more LGBTQ+ characters in the company’s films in the future. In fact, it has been reported that the company’s goal is to have at least 50 percent of its characters representative of sexual and racial minorities.
Disney is a megacorporation raking in billions of dollars in profits each year. Their holdings are massive, including ABC, ESPN, Pixar, 21st Century Fox, National Geographic, the History Channel, Marvel Studios, Lucasfilm, majority of Hulu, majority of A&E, majority of Lifetime, FX, Hollywood Records, Core Publishing, Touchstone Pictures, Maker Studios, Steamboat Ventures Synergy Group, Earth Star Inc., and more. The parks owned by Disney have been reported to be their largest source of income. Disney has power and money, but does it have Southern Baptists?
Florida passed the Parental Rights in Education Law this year (HB 1557) that prohibits children, third grade and under, to be taught a curriculum involving sexual orientation and gender identity. Disney, purportedly, has actively opposed this while supporting the LGBTQ+ movement. In fact, many onlookers have accused Disney/Pixar of making a subtle statement to Florida’s legislature and governor by adding back to the kids’ film (opening in theaters June 17), “Lightyear,” a same-sex kiss between two female characters that had previously been cut from the movie.
A Disney spokesperson stated, “Our goal as a company is for this law to be repealed by the legislature or struck down in the courts, and we remain committed to supporting the national and state organizations working to achieve that. We are dedicated to standing up for the rights and safety of LGBTQ+ community in Florida and across the country.”
Florida has now revoked Disney’s right to self-governance in the Orlando area. The company’s expenses (like taxes) will now increase. This battle is not over religious freedom but moral truth that has existed throughout the history of mankind.
For many years, Gay Days have been celebrated at Disney’s parks. Now, according to Disney Diversity and Inclusion Manager Vivian Ware, the staff at its parks have been trained to say, “Hello, everyone,” or “Hello, friends,” instead of saying, “Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls.” Disney is both LGBTQ+ friendly and supportive.
Disney is further left on social and moral issues than they were in 1997. But, thus far, there has been no response from the SBC officially. Maybe this will occur at the Anaheim convention.
Perhaps a resolution will come from the Resolutions Committee or from the floor of the meeting addressing this issue.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has been strong in his opposition to Disney, stating that this huge corporation has “crossed the line.” Franklin Graham said Disney had “gone too far.” But what will Southern Baptists say?
R. Albert Mohler Jr., president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, told the Missouri Pathway, “Where we have a consumer choice, we have a responsibility. No one is forced to go to the theater, to a theme park, or to take our children to see these entertainments. We have to understand the responsibility of taking our Christian convictions into the marketplace, and that is perhaps most important when we think about the marketplace of entertainment.”
The Conservative Baptist Network, a group of Southern Baptists who are not a ministry or institution of the SBC, has urged Southern Baptists who attend the annual meeting in Anaheim to “choose another family activity rather than support the anti-biblical agenda now clearly present within the Disney corporation.”