WHO WE ARE

The Religious Alliance Against Pornography began an ad hoc group of religious leaders. During July 1986, in New York City’s St. Patrick's Cathedral, twenty-eight religious leaders were present in that meeting, representing a constituency of millions of Americans. These religious leaders came from different Christian denominations, from other faiths, and from other religious organizations, to hear the  keynote speaker, noted author and child psychologist James Dobson, Ph.D., speak on the harms of pornography. Representatives at that meeting came from the Catholic Church, which included five Cardinals, the Southern Baptist Convention, the Greek Orthodox Church, the Episcopalian Church, three leading Rabbis from the Jewish community, the Church of Latter Day Saints, the Methodist Church, the Presbyterian Church, the National Association of Evangelicals, and the National Council of Churches." 

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Dr. Jerry Kirk was one of the twenty-eight religious leaders who met at St. Patrick’s Cathedral during July, 1986. Dr. Kirk sat through many of the hearings that led to the Attorney General's 1986 Report, silently praying for his friend, James Dobson.  Each of the Commissioners were given an opportunity to make personal remarks to supplement the 571 page Report.  Within Dr. Dobson's remarks he stated, "...until we know that pornography is not addictive and progressive... until we are certain that the passion of fantasy does not destroy the passion of reality... until we are certain that the obsessive use of obscene materials will not lead to perversions and conflict between husbands and wives ...then we dare not adorn them with the crown of respectability." McManus, Michael J., (1986) Final Report of the Attorney General's Commission on Pornography, p.508 Rutledge Hill Press, Nashville TN.
 

Other observations included in the 1986 Report include the following:

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1. “… Issues of human dignity and human decency, no less real for their lack of scientific measurability, are for many of us central to thinking about the question of harm. And when we think about harm in this way, there are acts that must be condemned not because the evils of the world will thereby be eliminated, but because conscience demands it.” McManus, Michael J., (1986) Final Report of the Attorney General's Commission on Pornography, p.32 Rutledge Hill Press, Nashville TN.

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2. “Law may influence belief, but it also operates in the shadow of belief. And beliefs, of course, are often a product of deeply held moral, ethical, and spiritual commitment. That foundation of values is the glue that holds a democracy, which functions according to the will of the majority, together.” McManus, Michael J., (1986) Final Report of the Attorney General's Commission on Pornography, p.74 Rutledge Hill Press, Nashville TN.