The organization has merely exposed its own religious bigotry and arrogant intolerance of those with whom it disagrees.

The Southern Poverty Law Center was once a courageous and righteous organization that, among other real achievements, bankrupted the KKK and Aryan Nations in civil court. This, at a time when acting against such vile groups openly was truly dangerous.

Alas, those righteous days are long gone. Today, the SPLC is a radical progressive activist organization that (one might say) hates orthodox Christianity as much as it does racists by labeling conservative Christian organization “hate groups” because they oppose radical gender ideology and abortion.

This practice is dangerous. After SPLC mislabeled the Christian-oriented Family Research Council a hate group for opposing LGBT policy agendas, a fanatic used the center’s “hate map” to target the organization in 2012, shooting up the FRC’s lobby and wounding a security guard.

Now it is the openly Christian Focus on the Family’s turn to be so slandered by the SPLC because it “has long relied on its biblical worldview strategy to push back against LGBTQ+ progress and reproductive rights.” If being pro-life and opposing gender-ideological policy agendas equals “hate,” that means the SPLC must also believe that the Catholic Church, the Orthodox Church, and many Protestant churches are hate groups as well.

But here’s the thing: While it is true that Focus on the Family candidly supports traditional values and pro-life causes (as do tens of millions of their fellow Americans), unlike actual hate groups, Focus does not threaten those with whom it disagrees about moral issues. It does not engage in or promote violence. It does not vandalize. Indeed, it does not seek to harm anyone.

Rather, its motto is “Helping families thrive in Christ.” The organization has thus organized ministries that have nourished those — in the hundreds of thousands — who voluntarily reach out for assistance. Among its many other beneficent ministries, Focus strives to save marriages, help families cope with elder care, counsel people addicted to pornography, prevent teen suicide, support parents in raising children, and help women choose life instead of abortions.

Whether one agrees or disagrees with the religious and moral values promoted by Focus on the Family, there is no question that the organization is a powerful force for good, the motives of which are founded in love, not hate.

By labeling Focus on the Family a “hate group,” the SPLC has merely exposed its own religious bigotry and arrogant intolerance of those with whom its hyper-progressive leaders disagree.