Family Voice - CWA Launches Culture and Family Institute
By Family Voice Staff
May/June 2001 Family Voice

CWA recently announced a new division, the Culture and Family Institute (CFI), which will focus on cutting-edge issues such as homosexual activism. Robert H. Knight, veteran cultural analyst and author, is CFI’s director.

A former news editor with the Los Angeles Times and former Hoover Institution Media Fellow, Mr. Knight holds a master’s degree in political science from American University. He has testified before congressional committees, written and directed video documentaries, and authored many articles. He makes frequent media appearances. He is author of The Age of Consent: The Rise of Relativism and the Corruption of Popular Culture (Spence Publishing, 1998, 2000). Mr. Knight comes to CWA from the Family Research Council (FRC), where he was Director of Cultural Studies for nearly 10 years.

In this interview with Editor Pamela Wong, Mr. Knight relates his vision for CFI.

FV: How did you make the transition from journalism to advocating for the family?
RK: I spent 15 years as a working journalist. As the years passed, I noticed that many reporters and editors were less interested in reporting than in promoting liberal/left ideas. This bothered me. I had become a reporter because I wanted to pursue unvarnished truth. In 1986, while I was an editor at the Los Angeles Times, two things happened: I became a born-again Christian. Then I wrote an article for the conservative National Review magazine. The day after the article was printed, I was demoted and warned not to write again for political publications. Meanwhile, liberal Times journalists could write for liberal journals. God was moving me in new directions.

What challenges do you see in your new position? And rewards?
We face a liberal cultural elite dedicated to wiping out Christian influence in our society. Our challenge is to tell the truth no matter how unpopular or unwelcome it is.

George Orwell wrote that the duty of a sane person in an insane age is to tell obvious truths, over and over again. It’s a great reward to correct well-worn media myths. And it’s sheer pleasure to share the Good News that Jesus is Who He says He is.

What is your mission for CWA’s Culture and Family Institute?
To help restore a family-friendly culture. We specialize in shedding light on the fraudulent foundations of the sexual revolution and homosexual activism, and giving grassroots CWA activists information to resist the liberal assault on the family. The best part is helping pro-family activists and friendly media. The hardest part is overcoming the bias of mainstream journalists. But even they can be reached.

Our Cultural Studies staff at Family Research Council sent 500 letters to journalists challenging the 10-percent population estimate for homosexuality, a notion derived from the fraudulent studies of Alfred C. Kinsey. CWA also conducted a Kinsey campaign, along with Dr. Judith Reisman. Today, you rarely see the 10-percent figure used anymore. (The real figure is under 2 percent.)

What issues will you address?
We give special attention to cultural issues at the national level. Some priorities are to educate Congress and the public about the dangers of “hate crime” laws and homosexual job bills, such as the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. We also are expanding CWA’s longtime commitment to exposing the misuse of Kinsey-derived data. On CFI’s immediate menu is the Federal Communications Commission’s unwillingness to enforce broadcasting decency rules. A woman in Alabama heard profanity on the radio and alerted the FCC. Then the radio “shock jock” disparaged her on air in lascivious ways. Still, the FCC brushed her off. She deserves better. Finally, we are looking into the full-scale effort by homosexual activists to co-opt the nation’s schools.

Given media bias and radical activists’ momentum, can CWA members find any encouragement?
Oh, by all means. When these issues are put to a ballot measure, we almost always win. And the sexual revolution contains the seeds of its own destruction. As an agenda that is more interested in abortion than in new life, it does not procreate. Conservatives are having more babies! Also, the activists have overreached by attacking venerable institutions like the Boy Scouts. The radicals are overconfident, and it shows. This makes them vulnerable for upsets, such as Maine’s rejection of a “gay-rights” measure at the polls last November. Homosexual activists outspent pro-family forces by 10 to 1. Yet the proposal was defeated, thanks to prayer and a small group of courageous Christians who stood in the gap.

You’ve said CWA is a natural home for the new Institute. Why?
Under Mrs. LaHaye’s leadership, CWA has always stood for the family against a hostile culture. I have worked alongside many CWA people. I’m also excited about CWA’s radio outreach and active grassroots volunteers. Many times, when I have been on campuses or spoken in state legislatures, CWA volunteers have given me the most support. I remarked to an FRC colleague that CWA “seems to be everywhere!”

Why should the advances of homosexual activists concern us?
They say they want tolerance, but they are aggressively using schools to re-educate children to the view that “gay is good.” They promote policies that put people of faith on the wrong side of the law. If not stopped, their agenda will result in the criminalization of Christianity.

Christians in the work force already face “diversity” training that openly degrades and mocks Biblical values. Companies without prohomosexual policies are being denied recruiting at colleges. The Boy Scouts came under attack in New Jersey as soon as “sexual orientation” was added to the state’s nondiscrimination code. As “tolerance” for homosexuality advances, intolerance toward people of faith advances. And it is aimed right at our children.

How should we respond to accusations of “hate” when we speak out?
Ask this question: “Is it more compassionate to warn those you love about dangerous behavior, or to be ‘tolerant’ and encourage them to do things that will hurt them?” The medical, social and spiritual consequences of homosexuality are severe. Just as we care about people who abuse their bodies in other ways, we care about people who are addicted to unhealthy sexual practices. No one is “born gay,” and Jesus Christ has freed many, many people from this problem. God loves homosexuals and wants to offer them the same salvation He has given to those of us who have accepted Him as Lord and know the Bible as His Word. At CFI, we are extending a hand to people struggling with homosexuality, while putting a hand up to halt the radical homosexual agenda. If we speak the truth in love, we believe God will continue to honor our efforts.

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