American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property, also known as The American TFP, and legally incorporated as The Foundation for a Christian Civilization, Inc. is a Catholic American advocacy group.
It is an autonomous organization which forms part of the larger
anticommunist Anti-communism is political and ideological opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in the Russian Empire, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, when the United States and the ...
international Tradition, Family and Property (TFP) movement founded by Brazilian intellectual, politician and activist Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira.


History

Founded in 1973, it is one of many " Tradition, Family and Property" groups (TFPs) and like-minded organizations worldwide, all of which are inspired by the work of the Brazilian intellectual, politician and activist Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira. The first American group was incorporated in 1975, and established its first hermitage in 1977 in Yonkers, New York. The Yonkers location was subsequently closed, with the hermits establishing their permanent hermitage on 70 acres in Spring Grove, Pennsylvania."Mary Queen of the Third Millennium, Inc. v. The Foundation for a Christian Civilization, Inc.", United States Patent And Trademark Office, December 3, 2008
/ref> The Foundation for a Christian Civilization ("Foundation") was incorporated in 1973, drawing on earlier ties between Brazilians, who traveled to the US to develop a North American affiliate. The American TFP developed early connections with leaders of the religious and political right, including
Paul Weyrich Paul Michael Weyrich (; October 7, 1942 – December 18, 2008) was an American religious conservative political activist and commentator associated with the New Right. He co-founded the conservative think tanks The Heritage Foundation, the Fre ...
of the
Heritage Foundation The Heritage Foundation (abbreviated to Heritage) is an American conservative think tank based in Washington, D.C. that is primarily geared toward public policy. The foundation took a leading role in the conservative movement during the preside ...
and the Free Congress Foundation and
Morton Blackwell Morton C. Blackwell (born November 16, 1939, La Jara, Colorado) is an American conservative activist. He is the founder and president of the Leadership Institute (established 1979), a 501(c)3 non-profit educational foundation that teaches polit ...
of the
College Republican National Committee The College Republican National Committee (CRNC) is a national organization for College Republicans — college and university students who support the Republican Party of the United States. The organization is known as an active recruiting tool f ...
and the Reagan administration. Founded to help fundraising for a Catholic counterrevolution against communism, it subsequently became a civil cultural organization that aims to uphold and promote the values of
Christian civilization Christianity has been intricately intertwined with the history and formation of Western society. Throughout its long history, the Church has been a major source of social services like schooling and medical care; an inspiration for art, cult ...
. The Foundation later merged in June 1992 with American TFP to form a single corporation identified as The Foundation for a Christian Civilization.


Organization

The organization solicits funds as a non-profit charity, not as a diocesan organization.""Office of the Chancellor", ''Pastoral Bulletin'', Archdiocese of Miami, October 17, 2007
/ref> Its annual public reports to the Internal Revenue Service indicate that between 2002 and 2014 it disbursed $1,800,000 to support the St. Louis de Montfort Academy and $1,500,000 to support related organizations in North and South America, most significantly Canada Needs Our Lady, Associação dos Fundadores and the ''Tradición y Acción'' organizations of Colombia and Peru.


Activities

TFP has continued its ties with the political right as a participating sponsor of the
Conservative Political Action Conference The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC; ) is an annual political conference attended by conservative activists and elected officials from across the United States and beyond. CPAC is hosted by the American Conservative Union (ACU) ...
, and by signing statements issued by the
Heartland Institute The Heartland Institute is an American conservative and libertarian public policy think tank known for its rejection of both the scientific consensus on climate change and the negative health impacts of smoking. Founded in 1984, it worked wit ...
that opposed housing finance reform legislation, and discussions of
climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...
in comprehensive energy legislation and in the State Department funding authorization. TFP Student Action is the university campus outreach of the TFP. Its activities include distributing fliers and other literature on the streets of universities, sponsoring speakers on campuses, hosting student conferences, and organizing protests and petitions, especially against abortion and LGBT student groups at Catholic universities. Its most recent campaign is against the 96 Catholic colleges and universities that allow LGBT student groups. In April 2009, volunteers of TFP Student Action traveled to the major cities of New Hampshire and Maine to distribute literature against same-sex marriage. The American TFP provides the staff to run Saint Louis de Montfort Academy, a boys' boarding school in
Herndon, Pennsylvania Herndon, formerly Trevorton Junction, is a borough along the Susquehanna River in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. Herndon was first founded by Robert A. Parrish in 1840. The town was later named for Naval commander William Lew ...
, that provides students with a traditional
Catholic education Catholic education may refer to: * Catholic school, primary and secondary education organised by the Catholic Church or organisations affiliated with it * Catholic university, private university run by the Catholic Church or organisations affili ...
. It also operates Call to Chivalry summer camps, which express Oliveira's view of
nobility Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The character ...
, chivalry, and the benefits of the feudal past. The Return to Order campaign is an offshoot of the US Foundation for a Christian Civilisation. In 2019, it organized a petition against the ''
Good Omens ''Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch'' is a 1990 novel written as a collaboration between the English authors Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. The book is a comedy about the birth of the son of Satan and the c ...
'' miniseries as mocking God's wisdom and making Satanism appear normal, light and acceptable, but they targeted the petition at
Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fi ...
rather than Amazon Prime Video which distributes the series. In 2021, they staged a protest at the 59th New York Film Festival due to the festival showing the
Paul Verhoeven Paul Verhoeven (; born 18 July 1938) is a Dutch director, producer and screenwriter, active in the Netherlands, France and the United States. His blending of graphic violence and sexual content with social satire is a trademark of both his dram ...
film ''
Benedetta Benedetta is a feminine given name of Italian origin, the feminine equivalent of the masculine name Benedetto, a cognate of Benedict. Persons having the name include: * Benedetta Barzini (contemporary), Italian actress and model *Benedetta Bianchi ...
'', which they deemed blasphemous for its portrayal of lesbianism within the confines of a convent.


Criticism

The American TFP has been cited in several articles by the
Southern Poverty Law Center The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit legal advocacy organization specializing in civil rights and public interest litigation. Based in Montgomery, Alabama, it is known for its legal cases against white s ...
(SPLC) for their anti-LGBTQ views. According to the SPLC the TFP is a "virulently anti-LGBT group". Jesuit priest James Martin, referring to the American TFP and to the organisation
Church Militant In some strains of Christian theology, the Christian Church may be divided into: *the Church Militant (), also called the Church Pilgrim which consists of Christians on earth who struggle as soldiers of Christ against sin, the devil, and "the ...
commented that “These online hate groups are now more powerful than local churches”.


See also

* America Needs Fatima * Alliance Defending Freedom * Catholic League * Christian Institute *
Family Research Council The Family Research Council (FRC) is an American evangelical activist group and think-tank with an affiliated lobbying organization. FRC promotes what it considers to be family values. It opposes and lobbies against: access to pornography, emb ...


References


External links

*
America Needs Fatima

TFP Student Action

St. Louis de Montfort Academy

"Foundation for a Christian Civilization, The", ''Charitable Solicitations Program Charity Profile Report'', Washington Secretary of State, Olympia, Washington

"American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property", Charity Navigator
{{DEFAULTSORT:American Society For The Defense Of Tradition, Family And Property Traditionalist Catholicism Anti-communist organizations in the United States Intelligent design movement Political advocacy groups in the United States Catholic Church in the United States Organizations established in 1973 1973 establishments in the United States Organizations that oppose LGBT rights in the United States Catholic advocacy groups Conservative organizations in the United States Tradition, Family, Property