Chick-fil-A Doubles Down, Keeps DEI on the Menu |
It’s one thing to catch a local Chick-fil-A rebelling against Christian values—and quite another for headquarters to defend it.
After this month’s revelation that an Orem, Utah, location was publicly supporting same-sex marriage in a congratulatory post on Facebook, several disappointed customers reached out to corporate, hoping for an apology—or at least clarity—on what they saw as a public departure from the chain’s longtime beliefs.
What they got instead was further confirmation that the Cathys’ beloved empire has lost its way.
According to an LGBTQ magazine in Salt Lake City, people who’ve complained about the post have gotten the following response.
Obviously, we’d expect a company rooted (at least formerly) in biblical values to serve everyone. That’s scriptural. But there’s a difference between selling a chicken sandwich to someone and celebrating their behavior.
Regardless, it’s absolutely baffling in America’s current pushback climate that any company—let alone a self-proclaimed Christian one—would openly admit to “embedding Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI)” in “everything we do.”
Obviously, this isn’t a business caught unaware by a single rogue operator. This is a business with a deep and pervasive problem of activism.
As Megan Basham asked, “What’s going on here??” What indeed.
While skeptics are tempted to pin all of this on the Orem managers, that argument falls apart under the weight of the company’s other policies. If the local operators can’t declare, “I want to be open on Sundays,” how can they say, “I’ll message on something antithetical to Chick-fil-A’s beliefs”? Either the mission statement exists “To glorify God by being a faithful steward of all that is entrusted to us” or it doesn’t.
Either way, the entire controversy is astounding. On what planet would consumers expect Chick-fil-A to be to the left of places like AT&T, Toyota, McDonald’s, Walmart, Amazon, and dozens more?
It boggles the mind, the Political Forum’s Steve Soukup agreed. But he was quick to point out, “It’s important to remember that Chick-fil-A is a privately held........