Barry Duke, the Angry Atheist

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   “The curriculum had already drawn tensions among the county’s religious parents, with some worrying about appropriateness and arguing the material…

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   As someone who produced dozens of nativity plays as a teacher and a Sunday School leader, that title ‘A Gay…

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TIM Wildmon, above, who heads the American Family Association, a designated hate group, is one of several AFA bigwigs named a lawsuit that alleges that a staff member was subjected to sexual harrassment.

Plaintiff in the case Robert Chambers—former vice president of policy and legislative affairs for the AFA from 2015 to 2022—alleges that another staffer, Ron Cook, made repeated sexual advances toward him, beginning in January of 2022.

In reporting the lawsuit, Religion News Service points out that the AFA, is a Mississippi-based outfit that promotes “the biblical ethic of decency in American society”.

Chambers claims he was fired for reporting the harassment. The complaint alleges that AFA and its leaders violated federal law by retaliating against him as a whistleblower, creating a hostile work environment, unlawfully terminating him and slandering him.

Robert Chambers. Image via YouTube

The lawsuit, filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi, names Cook, along with AFA President Tim Wildmon, several of Wildmon’s family members who are on AFA’s staff, AFA Vice President Ed Vitagliano and others. 

AFA denies all of Chambers’ claims.

Steve Crampton, AFA’s assistant general counsel, told RNS:

Since 1977, our ministry has continued to maintain the highest standards of morality and personal conduct for our staff and leadership. The claims made against our organization by a disgruntled former employee are unfounded gross mischaracterizations of the facts. We will use every tool at our disposal to prevail in this matter. Due to current enquiry, we cannot comment further.

Long active in promoting conservative politics, the AFA “believes true morality flows from biblical principles” and has been outspoken in its opposition to gay marriage, LGBTQ rights and abortion.

In 2022, ProPublica reported that AFA changed its tax status with the IRS and is now classified as a church. 

Image via YouTube

Chambers alleges he reported the harassment to AFA’s leadership, including Walker Wildmon, above, son of AFA President Tim Wildmon.

AFA’s statement of faith limits sex to married heterosexual couples:

As such, any extramarital conduct is decried by God as sinful conduct and it is defined by God’s Word as fornication and/or adultery.

The complaint alleges that Chambers repeatedly followed up on his allegations of harassment and a hostile work environment, but they took no action

During this time, Plaintiff continued to suffer increasing discomfort in the workplace due to Defendant Cook’s ongoing engagement in verbal and physical conduct of a sexual nature targeted at Plaintiff, and the threat that it could happen at any time, inside or outside the office building,.

Chambers, who also served on the board of AFA Action, AFA’s lobbying arm, also alleges that he had repeatedly raised concerns about the organisation’s finances, including failing to file financial disclosures on a timely basis. In 2019, AFA Action’s tax exemption was revoked by the IRS because of the failures. It has since been restored.

Chambers’ employment at AFA came to an end in the fall of 2022, after the daughter of AFA President Tim Wildmon allegedly claimed she’d had a dream in which Chambers kissed her infant child on the lips.

At a meeting on Sept. 22, 2022, Chambers alleges he again raised the issue of sexual harassment and what he considered defamatory comments made by Wildmon’s daughter in a meeting with AFA leaders.

Six hours after that meeting, according to the complaint, Chambers was fired in a call.

Image via YouTube

AFA Executive Vice President Ed Vitagliano, above, told Chambers:

Leadership has been talking and we just think it would be best for (us) to let you go.

During the call, Vitagliano told Chambers his firing was due to a lack of respect for leadership, not his whistleblower complaints.

AFA offered Chambers severance if he signed an agreement promising “a continual duty of loyalty to AFA” and banning him from making any negative comments about the organisation.

Chambers declined to sign the severance agreement. He alleges he has not been able to find work in his field after the termination. The complaint asks for compensation for lost wages and emotional distress as well as punitive damages.

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