Behind the backlash

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Today is Wednesday, June 28th. You’re listening to WORLD Radio and we’re glad you’ve joined us today.

Good morning. I’m Mary Reichard.

NICK EICHER, HOST: And I’m Nick Eicher. Coming next on The World and Everything in It: corporate pressure and the Christian response.

In June, it’s hard to get away from LGBT pride displays. Companies everywhere are promoting the agenda through marketing and merchandise, and recently they’ve moved beyond just putting rainbows in their logos. WORLD Associate Correspondent Zoe Miller asks the question, how should Christian consumers navigate the aisles in light of promotions like this one from Northface:

NORTH FACE COMMERCIAL: Theydies and gentlethems, you are cordially invited to the summer of Pride with my friends at the North Face.

ZOE MILLER, REPORTER: More and more major retailers are jumping on the Pride bandwagon. It’s not just Target and Disney. It’s Walmart, Adidas, Converse, Ford, Major League Baseball, Oreo, Skittles.

NORTH FACE COMMERCIAL: Put on your boots and come out...side with us!

But sometimes, the strategy backfires. Just scroll through the comments on that North Face ad: “As a longtime hiker, camper, and alpine mountaineer, I am happy to announce I'll be looking elsewhere for my future gear.”

Bud Light is still hurting after a transgender influencer posted on social media with a sponsored Bud Light product.

FOX BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Bud Light sales are slumping more than 24% for the most recent week, Anheuser's competitors all seeing a boost here.

Christians have debated shopping at Amazon and Starbucks for years. But as Pride continues to pick up followers, it’s getting to be a more pressing issue for more people generally, not just believers.

And not everyone agrees on the best way to respond.

Some say business and ideology shouldn’t go together at all.

John Aguirre is a marketing coordinator for a local brewery. He says that Bud Light’s first mistake was bringing politics into the mix.

JOHN AGUIRRE: Politics is something we don't want to get involved in. It's a double-edged sword. You don't want to compromise or put yourself in a state where people got an opinion about your brewery because that could affect yourselves in the future.

John wants people to come to his business because they like the product.

AGUIRRE: Not because we have an opinion about some political thing.

But it’s getting harder to keep business and ideology separate—especially when things like transgender products are designed for children.

HALEY ISBELL: I have stopped shopping at Target, even though it's right across the street from my house.

Haley Isbell is a recent college graduate, and a newly independent consumer. She’s noticed the recent trends in major retailers.

ISBELL: I don't think that the church can stay out of political things completelyPeople are also involved into the world and that's where we're called to be, is to go out into the world and make disciples. And so where does that line end or begin? I don't know. But I don't think that the church can fully remove itself from politics because this is the world that we live in now.

Some think the backlash against companies like Bud Light is a good sign, signaling positive developments in the culture.

Many conservatives encourage boycotts of businesses that support LGBT causes.

TIM POOL: And yes, sales of Bud Light continue to drop. We won. That's it. I, I'm like, we won. Congratulations everybody.

Tim Pool is an independent commentator. He’s kept an eye on Bud Light over the past few months, and posted his thoughts on his news site, Timcast.

POOL: It has been over a month, and this boycott is not backing down. This is how you win a culture war.

It’s the first time we’ve seen major backlash on a corporation for participating in Pride.

But not everyone is convinced that boycotts are a workable solution. Haley Isbell says that it’s hard to really discern what a corporation is doing with the money we give them.

ISBELL: I think it's a tough mentality to have, of boycotting anything that supports anything that maybe contradicts the Bible just because, I mean, in today's world, every place probably has things that go against the Bible.

But she does draw a line.

ISBELL: Now when it comes to things like what Target did, that's where I take a step back and go, “Okay, if they're this outward with it, I don't think I should spend my money there.”

For Isbell, boycotting is less about successfully defeating a company, and more about taking a public stance on what is right.

ISBELL: I also think that it's important that we do, when we say that this isn't right. And maybe that impacts one person to go and look up scripture that we try to combat things with. Do I think that we are able to make a global impact with boycotting places like Target? No. But do I think that the Lord can work in this? Absolutely.

She doesn’t think there’s a blanket approach for everyone.

ISBELL: I think that for the consumer, again, just seeking the Lord and what he would guide you to do and what convictions you have.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Zoe Miller in McKinney, Texas.

WORLD Radio transcripts are created on a rush deadline. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of WORLD Radio programming is the audio record.