MISSION
The overarching goal
The Danbury Institute is an association of churches, Christians, and organizations aligned to affirm and preserve God-given rights to life and liberty by influencing culture and public policy, upholding the free exercise of religion, inspiring the vigorous involvement of an informed citizenry, and promoting Judeo-Christian values as the proper foundation for a free and prosperous republic.
What is it that you do?
Broadly, we serve as a conservative voice to leaders and policy makers and an advocate for conservative Americans. Some of what we do includes meeting with elected representatives to let them know where Christians stand on various issues and to urge them toward good governance. In the reverse, we also gather important information from Washington and her leaders and take that back to Americans in towns and cities across the nation. That may entail alerting you to important votes about which you should contact your legislators or sending reminders to pray for specific court cases that will affect your liberties and the future of the nation. There is a wide array of ways to accomplish both of these tasks, both private and public, so the work of the Danbury Institute is robust and naturally multi-faceted.
When we speak with legislators, they communicate to us how much they rely upon hearing from constituents and advocacy groups to know which issues should receive more attention and which bills should garner their support. The mentality, they say, is often that "everyone else" will contact Washington. In reality, conservative Christian views are underrepresented in our nation's capital. Similarly, accurate information can be difficult to find, especially with trust of mainstream media being at an all-time low. We intend to bridge that gap in both directions through communication and engagement. If everyone thinks "someone else will do it," "it" never gets done. The Danbury Institute serves as a beacon and a nucleus for those who will stand clearly and boldly for the values of life and liberty.
INITIATIVES
Affirming the Sanctity of Human Life
We stand for life from conception to natural death. Our efforts begin with advocating for every person’s rights to be respected from the moment of conception, meaning that each pre-born baby would be treated with the same protection under the law as born people. The intentional, pre-meditated killing of a pre-born child should be addressed with laws already in place concerning homicide. We also support bolstering the foster care system and encouraging Christian adoption and are working with churches around the country to help them become equipped to care for children in need of loving families. Protecting the sanctity of human life, including opposition to euthanasia, is one of the initiatives most central to our mission.
Affirming a Biblical, Biologically Accurate View of Sexuality and Gender
We stand for a biblical definition and understanding of sex, sexuality, and gender, and we vehemently oppose all efforts to lure children into promiscuity, homosexuality, or transgenderism. We recognize that children and their innocence are under direct assault and that infusing confusion into the biological reality of gender is harming people every day and in many cases leaving them permanently hurt and even sterile. Upholding the fact that God created two unique sexes is a position that values truth, protects children, and advocates for the importance of the God-ordained nuclear family.
Affirming Religious Liberty as an Inalienable Right
We stand for the freedom each man and woman, boy and girl have to exercise their religion and to be free from government infringement upon that right. We recognize that the founding of our nation was due in large part to the sacrifices made by those who desired to leave behind the oppressive, invasive nature of a state church in order to establish a government that would honor man’s basic right to religious liberty. In holding this view of God-given rights, we reject government overreach into our churches and faith traditions, government censorship, and government coercion that causes men and women to violate conscience. Along with its sister freedoms described in the Bill of Rights, freedom of religion is a central aspect of the American way and its infringement cannot and will not be invited or accepted.
RELIGIOUS LIBERTY EVENT
Guest speaker, Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
Pompeo to pastors: Don't let culture tell you politics is outside your lane. "It is squarely in your lane."
"I’m incredibly confident that America is going to get another 250 great years. I am not confident in that because someone in Washington, D.C., is going to make it happen. I am confident in it because of rooms like this tonight. Where people come together to share their faith, their stories, their good works, and their best practices.”
INITIATIVES IN PRACTICE
Ohio (HB68)
When Gov. Mike DeWine vetoed a measure passed by the legislature that would have protected children from transgender treatment and kept men out of women's sports and locker rooms, The Danbury Institute encouraged citizens to voice their support for an override of that veto in keeping with their Judeo-Christian values. Several influential leaders signed on to our letter, along with more than 400 others citizens. Our team hand-delivered that letter to the sponsor of the legislation, Rep. Gary Click, in the Ohio Capitol. The Ohio House of Representatives and the Senate went on to successfully override the veto, bringing greater protection to women and children in the state.
Maine (LD 1735)
A judiciary committee in Maine recently considered a bill that would have allowed the state to take a child away from parents if the parents declined to allow the child to receive "gender affirming care." The Danbury Institute compiled a letter that citizens could use or adapt to contact the committee members considering LD 1735 in late January. Shortly afterward, the bill was successfully halted.
What do you stand for?
We stand for life and liberty.
These two elements encompass a large swath of issues for which we stand including the sanctity of human life and the God-given right to live freely. The Founding Fathers saw virtue in constructing a society that modeled and honored God's laws and wisdom. While no person should be forced to observe a religion, the fact that America was founded upon Judeo-Christian values is historically undeniable. You do not have to become a Christian to be an American. But Americans have decided to base their system of justice and governance on the systems designed by God and displayed in Scripture.
Consider this comment written by John Adams in 1798:
"Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious People. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."
Today, there is a significant pressure to view America as neutral and agnostic. But nature abhors a vacuum, and when you remove the Judeo-Christian DNA from the foundation of the nation, a new system of belief floods the empty space. Everyone develops a system of ethics, and everyone adopts a system of belief. The question is, what are your systems based upon? Will our nation be guided by commitments to tolerance at any cost, to climate goals, to social justice, to Marxist ideologies, to pragmatism, to ESG scores? Or will our nation maintain its nearly 250 year history of being built upon God's laws—ideas such as justice for all, innocent until proven guilty, and rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness?
What do you stand against?
No one likes to be known solely for what they stand against. We are honored to stand for life and liberty. But that does necessarily mean that there are things which we kindly but convictionally oppose.
A few examples:
Abortion
LGBTQ+ indoctrination of children
Gender confusion
Transgender ideology
The dissolution of the nuclear family
Infringement upon religious liberty
Government overreach
Censorship
Critical Race Theory and Marxist ideologies
Socialism
MISSION
In three parts
How do we harness the coalition strength of our association of churches, individuals, and organizations to make progress for the cause of life and liberty?
INFLUENCE
culture, education, Christian resources, public policy, and governance
INFORM
citizens and leaders about agenda progress and priorities, respectively
INSPIRE
citizens and leaders to honor Judeo-Christian values and defend life and liberty
Want to learn more? Let's connect.