The Christian Coalition of America (CCA) is a social-conservative advocacy group formed in 1988 as the Christian Coalition by Christian broadcaster and Republican Presidential candidate Marion Gordon “Pat” Robertson. The group is ecumenical, and includes supporters representing many Protestant denominations and Roman Catholicism.

CCA espouses conservative positions on many public policy issues, such as family values and foreign policy, but also advocates for strong government support of environmentalist energy sources such as wind and solar to offset the country’s dependence on both foreign and domestic oil sources. The group advocates against policies the group perceives as discriminatory towards Christians in the US military, against public funding of abortion, for ending embryonic stem cell research, for ending federal funding of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA), and for repealing and replacing Obamacare.

Founding and History

The Christian Coalition of America (CCA) is a 501(c)(4) conservative-leaning “social welfare” advocacy nonprofit formed in 1988 as the Christian Coalition by Christian broadcaster and Republican Presidential candidate Marion Gordon “Pat” Robertson. The group is ecumenical, and includes supporters representing many Protestant denominations and Roman Catholicism. The CCA advocates for Christian-inspired pro-family public policies, conducts pro-Christian messaging in the media, trains activist leaders, and advocates for the rights of Christian Americans. ¹

Activism

CCA’s educational advocacy focuses on political training to Christian groups to affect pro-family policies on all levels of government. The group’s voter education efforts consist of distributing millions of “voter guides” in each state to inform voters about which candidates support the group’s issues. ² CCA also lobbies the US Congress and the White House to promote its preferred policies.

Policy Issues

Energy Independence and Reform

On energy policy, the CCA desires an energy mix that contains all possible energy generation methods, including solar, wind, nuclear, geothermal, fossil fuels, and hydro-electric power generation, that are “Made in America” to the extent possible. The group links considerable improvements to the US’s economic growth, national security, Americans’ health, and the environment to changing America’s energy policy to domestic production. CCA claims this policy shift will give the US energy independence, create jobs, and reduce energy prices. ³

 Christians in the Military

The CCA advocates for the appointment of evangelical Christian military chaplains and service members to exercise their religious beliefs. ⁴ The group blames atheist activists, left-wing Members of Congress, and senior military policymakers that have allegedly “instituted regulations which forbade military chaplains from praying in the name of Jesus during military functions other than worship services.” ⁴  The group also claims that congressional authorization for gay and lesbian service personnel to serve openly “open[s] for the government to discriminate against Christians at all levels of our nation’s military in myriad ways.” ⁴

Fairness Doctrine

CCA opposes any re-implementation of the “Fairness Doctrine,” claiming that the doctrine can force “radio and TV stations to broadcast an equal amount of time for liberal programs to match that of each conservative program.” ⁴ The fairness doctrine was implemented in 1949 and removed in part by President Ronald Reagan in 1987. The doctrine gave the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) the ability to mandate and determine the amount and type of opposing views FCC license holders must have on their programs. ⁵  The group claims that the re-implementation of the “Fairness Doctrine” would negatively affect conservative and Christian media programs. ⁶

Second Amendment

CCA advocates against any laws that restrict American’s Second Amendment rights and that infringe on law-abiding citizens’ rights to defend themselves. The group claims that new gun control laws cannot prevent many mass shootings and recommends laws that provide people with mental illnesses preventive care in place of new gun laws. The group cites the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary and a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, both of which were conducted by mentally disturbed individuals, to highlight that the proposed gun laws would not have prevented the tragedies. ⁴

Obamacare

CCA desires to repeal and replace Obamacare for two reasons, the group’s view that the law dramatically disrupts the US healthcare market and the law’s mandatory coverage of abortion services. Obamacare’s pro-abortion mandate requires taxpayers, Christians, and Christian businesses to pay for healthcare plans that cover abortion services and contraceptives. ⁷

Government Spending and Debt

CCA advocates for fiscally responsible policies to reduce the national debt from its current levels exceeding $20 trillion because the cost and obligation to repay the debt will fall on future generations of Americans. The group wants reform to entitlement programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, and Obamacare that have incurred a high level of liabilities and unfunded obligations to the US government. CCA supports the passage of a balanced budget amendment to the US Constitution and opposes any laws that would increase the number, revenue, or creation of new taxes by the US Congress. ⁸

Public Funding of Abortion

CCA supports the passage of legislation that will end all taxpayer-funded abortion. The group wants an end to all federal health care benefits, grants to abortion providers, and the use of federal government facilities for abortions. Additionally, the group wants an end to all federal funding for human embryonic stem cell research lobbis against any Congressional support for laws that expand embryonic stem cell research. The group accepts any funding for research using any adult stem cell research.

Other Policy Stances

CCA supports a strong military alliance between the US and Israel to defend its territory, borders, national interest, and economy. The group does not support any land transfers from Israel to the Palestinians and advocates to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. ⁹

CCA advocates for traditional marriage and wishes to overturn the June 2015 US Supreme Court ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges that requires state recognition of same-sex marriages in all 50 states. CCA opposes liberal judicial nominees and supports originalist nominees to the US Supreme Court. ⁴

CCA desires to increase the US’s military spending significantly to make up for the Obama administration’s policies and congressional sequestration that significantly reduced military expenditures from 2011-2014. The group invokes former President Ronal Reagan’s policy of significantly increasing military spending by advocating “Reestablishing a Peace Through Strength Military Policy.” ⁴

Leadership

Roberta Combs was a founding member of Christian Coalition of America in 1988 and became the President and CEO in 2001. ¹⁰  Combs has advised US Congressmen, US Senators, Governors, and the George W. Bush administration on pro-family and Christian issues. Roberta’s has served on numerous policy boards, commissions, and different appointed and elected positions in the Republican Party, including as a national delegate to the Republican National Convention and member of the National Republican Party Platform Committee. She has conducted multiple media appearances and Congressional testimony to advance CCA’s pro-family and Christian policy objectives. ¹¹

1. “Christian Coalition.” About Us | Christian Coalition. Accessed January 16, 2020. http://www.cc.org/about_us.
2. “Christian Coalition.” Voter Education | Christian Coalition. Accessed January 23, 2020. http://www.cc.org/voter_education.
3. “Christian Coalition.” America’s Path to Progress | Christian Coalition. Accessed January 23, 2020. http://www.cc.org/americas_path_to_progress.
4. “Christian Coalition.” Our Agenda | Christian Coalition. Accessed January 23, 2020. http://www.cc.org/our_agenda.
5. Stefon, Matt. “Fairness Doctrine.” Encyclopedia Britannica. Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., December 30, 2018. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Fairness-Doctrine.
6. “Christian Coalition.” Save Talk Radio | Christian Coalition. Accessed January 23, 2020. http://cc.org/olcampaign/save_talk_radio.
7. “Christian Coalition.” Stop the Government Healthcare Takeover | Christian Coalition. Accessed January 23, 2020. http://cc.org/olcampaign/stop_government_healthcare_takeover.
8. “Christian Coalition.” Demand a Balanced Budget! | Christian Coalition. Accessed January 23, 2020. http://cc.org/olpetition/demand_balanced_budget.
9. “Christian Coalition.” Stand with Israel | Christian Coalition. Accessed January 23, 2020. http://www.cc.org/olpetition/stand_israel.
10. Form 990: Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax Christian Coalition of America,  0 , 2001,Part V: Lis of Officers, Directors, Trustees, and Key Employees, https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/752372537.
11. “Christian Coalition.” Roberta Combs | Christian Coalition. Accessed January 25, 2020. http://www.cc.org/roberta_combs.