Ed Vitagliano
AFA Journal news editor
September 1997 – Mention the word boycott, and a variety of images may come to mind: perhaps a middle-aged black woman on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama; or dolphins caught in tuna nets; maybe migrant workers picking grapes.
But what about the word Christian? Since American Family Association initiated a boycott of The Walt Disney Company some 20 months ago, people have been asking a simple question: Should Christians boycott?
Modern boycotts are usually leveled against a business, when a group expresses its disapproval of the company’s policies and practices by refraining from doing business with it. Generally, boycotts are instruments of protest, persuasion and even economic coercion in an attempt to bring about change. And it has often become the weapon of choice for those who feel that other avenues of change are closed.
Do boycotts really work?
Past examples of the success of boycotts reveal their great potential. When AFA president Donald E. Wildmon founded Christian Leaders for Responsible Television (CLeaR-TV) in the mid-1980s, the organization attracted some 1,600 religious leaders with a potential constituency of about 60 million people. CLeaR-TV began to call for boycotts of the companies who advertised on the most objectionable shows on the three major networks.
Success quickly followed. Boycotts – or the threat of boycotts – caused Clorox, Noxell, Burger King, S.C. Johnson, Pepsi, and Domino’s Pizza, among others, to change their sponsorship of television shows and entertainers. And, in an effort that began in 1984, AFA boycotts of convenience stores led to nearly 35,000 stores pulling pornography off their shelves, including the more than 4,500 7-Elevens owned by Southland Corp.
When boycotts succeed, it is often because a business is concerned about its public image. In 1989, for example, it took just over a month for AFA to convince Matchbox Toys Ltd. to stop producing its Freddy Krueger doll, based on the gory R-rated movie series.
The reason for the quick capitulation? “We would do nothing to compromise our name,” said Gene Morra, senior marketing director for Matchbox.
But prolonged boycotts can be successful, too. In fact, many successful boycotts take years to get started. “The rule in general is five to 10 years,” said Todd Putnam, editor of the National Boycott News. “And that’s because corporations usually know that if they wait, a boycott will fizzle.”
Thus, without a quick result from an announced boycott, perseverance is the key to victory.
Answering objections
Some argue that boycotts adversely affect those employees caught between the company itself and those protesting.
But the reality is that all consumers participate in an unwitting boycott simply by choosing one product over another. If a consumer chooses Burger King over McDonald’s, is he morally responsible when the Golden Arches is forced by competition to cut back its labor force? Must a consumer buy a Ford just to keep its workers employed? Then what happens to workers at Chrysler?
One of the rules of the business world is that it is the responsibility of the company to keep consumers loyal. That is how they stay in business. That is how they keep workers on the payroll. If the company produces an inferior product, or if a company offends the consumer, the company – and it alone – must accept responsibility for the resulting drop in sales.
Some object to boycotts on more philosophical grounds, claiming that a boycott is an act of censorship. That is, one group is preventing a company from doing what it wants to do.
Bishop Clyde Van Valin of the Free Methodist Church of North America views boycotts in terms of the open market of ideas. He said, “While the seller is free to advertise the positive values of his product the consumer is free to advertise the negative impact of the product. Boycotting is high visibility counter-advertising by the consumer. The community is free to make its choice accordingly.”
Is a boycott Christian?
The bottom line for the Christian is that all he thinks, says and does must be a representation of His Lord and Savior. So, regardless of whether a boycott is an effective tool or an instrument of free speech, is it a Christian thing to do?
A. The issue of stewardship
The Lord Jesus characterized His followers as stewards, or managers, of all that He gives them, calling them to dispense these resources – including their money – on His behalf and in a responsible manner (Luke 16:10-12; 19:11-27; cf. Matt. 25:14-30).
“Boycotts are effective because they make consumers think about where they’re spending their money,” said Randall Murphree, editor of the AFA Journal. “It becomes a stewardship question.”
And most Americans try to think about where they are spending their money. According to Christianity Today, a 1994 national poll revealed that 78% of Americans said they avoided or refused to buy from certain companies because of negative perceptions they had of them.
Since the recent decision by the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) to join the boycott on Disney centered on that company’s promotion of homosexuality, it may interest people to note that homosexuals also pay close attention to company policies. In a poll by a gay magazine, The Advocate, 45% of its readers said they try to support only gay-friendly companies, and 51% said they try to avoid “homophobic” companies. Stewardship is a concern for many groups, not just Christians.
B. The issue of holiness
Christian responsibility in a fallen world and in an often hostile culture is expressed by at least two well-known New Testament symbols: the believer is called to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world (Matt. 5:13-16).
The follower of Christ is a light in a darkened world first by the preaching of the Gospel (2 Cor. 4:4-6), and second by the good works which the believer performs (Matt. 5:16). In these two ways, God’s truth is manifest by both word and deed to point unbelievers to the Savior.
Salt represents a preserving quality of Christians. In society, the Lord’s disciples are to resist the corruption of the world and to add blessing to it. When Christians cease this function, Jesus said they have lost their flavor and have become worthless to the work of the kingdom.
This saltiness of the Christian is first evidenced by his refusal to live according to the sinful ways of the world. Paul said, “Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness,” (Eph. 5:11).
In this sense, the SBC boycott of Disney is certainly legitimate, said Charley Reese, a columnist for The Orlando Sentinel. “The Baptists are seceding from decadence,” he said.
Yet the responsibility of Christians as salt goes beyond the refusal to compromise (Rom. 12:1-2). Paul commands the believer to “even expose” such deeds of darkness (Eph. 5:11) – to uncover them, show them to be exactly what they are, and reprove them.
In the end, a boycott places a Christian squarely against something. Whether it was Jonah crying out against a pagan city, Elijah challenging the corrupted people of God, or John the Baptist rebuking a sinful civil leader, the exposing of sin is one of the responsibilities of the Christian.
What better way to expose this nation’s hedonism and idolatry than to point it out in the policies and practices of a company like Disney, by way of a boycott, and then to issue a call to repentance and faith in the only One worthy of this country’s worship – Jesus Christ? 
Principles of boycotting
1. Pray about your participation. Only Scripture should bind the conscience of a Christian in this matter.
2. Keep a charitable attitude toward others who choose not to boycott.
3. Politely communicate your displeasure to the company. Let them know of your decision to boycott.
4. Persuade others to join in.
