In recent years, much of the coverage of Christianity Today magazine has largely been framed as a flagship outlet of evangelicalism in the United States. Yet new data on political donations among the magazine’s leadership and staff suggests that their views may be out or step with ordinary evangelicals.
After all, it was founded by Billy Graham in 1956 and he would roll over in his grave if he knew what was happening.
Federal election records show that over the past seven years, nine employees at the magazine have made 73 political donations, all of which went to the Democratic Party. Many of these donations have also been made to candidates who prioritize woke policies.
The Society of Professional Journalists holds that editorial staff should never contribute to candidates or campaigns, yet two editors at Christianity Today appear to have done so while overseeing political coverage.
Tom Ascol, President of the theologically conservative Founders Ministries, commented on the magazine’s staff donations by saying, “The fact that modern CT staff have financially supported pro-abortion, pro-sexual perversion candidates does not surprise me at all. The magazine long ago lost its biblical moorings and has been under the influence of progressives and leftists for years. It’s tragic.”
Christianity Today president and CEO Timothy Dalrymple says his staff’s views are more balanced than their political donations make them seem (sure buddy whatever you say), and pointed to a recently hired member of his donor relations team who appears to have contributed $100 to a Republican candidate or group in April 2023. He added that the magazine’s new editor-in-chief, well-known Trump critic Russell Moore, does not believe that reporters should make political donations and that none have made any since Moore took over last year.
Despite claims of neutrality, the magazine has still run multiple pieces promoting left-wing policies with titles like “White Churches, It’s Time to Go Pro-Life on Gun Control” but showing little to no coverage of issues important to evangelicals such as bans on transgender surgeries and treatments for minors.
As Ashley Hayek, National Coalition Director for Trump’s 2016 and 2020 campaigns, put it, “I would like to know if Christianity Today is pleased with the policies of the Biden Administration. [Evangelicals] have made it clear these issues are highly important to them.”
