Thirty-nine members of Congress have sent a letter to PBS Chairman John Porter expressing concern about a proposal that would strip affiliation from any station that carries “sectarian” content, such as local religious services. The board plans to vote on the issue June 16.
The lawmakers wrote: "There simply is no compelling reason for punishing these stations by forcing them to choose between programming that many depend on ... and the PBS affiliation."
The letter asks Porter to allow a 30-day public comment period.
"Forcing stations to ban religious programming or lose their affiliation treats religion like some kind of disease," said Ashley Horne, federal policy analyst at Focus on the Family Action. "That is absurd, considering 65 percent of Americans report that religion is important in their daily lives, and 3 out of 4 say Christianity is their religious preference."
TAKE ACTION
Please ask PBS Chairman John Porter to allow affiliated stations to continue to air religious programming. You can e-mail him or call him.
(703) 739-5051
— Roger Greer
