More on Salvation Army Funding Sources (or: Purifying Tainted Money)

lewisblayse.net
December 26, 2013

http://lewisblayse.net/

[Note: This is not an article about the pros and cons of the alcohol and gaming industries. It is only about the Salvation Army’s position on them.]

The Salvation Army in Australia appears to be resolutely hypocritical about what it regards as sins. Older Australians will remember when the Salvos would congregate outside hotels, making a lot of noise, and preaching against the evils of the “demon drink”. They also opposed legalizing gambling establishments.

Later, the Salvos stopped doing this, and were permitted to enter the hotels and bars to collect donations from the “sinful” drinkers. Similarly, the Salvos entered legalized gambling establishments to solicit donations from the “sinful” gamblers. In both cases, while it was prepared to take money from the drinkers and gamblers, it did not take money or other help from those who profited from these sinful activities, the alcohol and gambling establishments.

In Australia, the Salvation Army now does do this.

The founder of the Salvation Army, “General Booth”, in the 1860s, replying to criticisms that he was prepared to accept what he admitted was “tainted” money from the exploitative capitalists of the early days of the Industrial Revolution, responded by saying that the money was “purified” by passing through the hands of the Salvation Army, because of the good works it funded.