Patriotic Group Allegedly Removes Christ From Material and Tells Members to Stop Praying in Jesus' Name

Some members of The Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), a non-profit women's organization devoted to promoting patriotism, are outraged over some purported changes that the group has made to its official book. According to a subset of DAR devotees, all references and mentions of Jesus Christ have been removed from the book. Additionally, poems and prayers have been axed, with members allegedly being told to refrain from praying in Christ's name.

The debate over these changes has been going on now for more than a year after a revised version of DAR's Ritual and Missal books was published in Dec. 2011. This book, the primary guide for chaplains to follow, is sparking quite a bit of angst among members who stand firmly opposed to the removal of Christ from the group's practices.

"A group of us went through the Ritual and Missal and compared the old version and the new version," one member told Fox News Todd Starnes. "Every single prayer closing in the name of Jesus Christ no longer included the name of Jesus Christ."

Photo Credit: Daughters of the American Revolution

After 122 years of Christianity serving a central role on DAR, some members are dumbfounded by these alleged changes, accusing the organization of making an inappropriate and historically-inaccurate effort to be more politically correct. Rather than mentioning Jesus' name, the goal is apparently set on being more inclusive and welcoming to non-Christians who wish to join DAR. The alleged directive has some members who believe that faith is a central pillar of the organization's history up in arms.

Some of these outraged members spoke with Starnes anonymously about their feelings and concerns. From ignoring the Founding Fathers to rewriting history, they are waging pointed charges against DAR leadership over its handling of the Ritual and Missal books.

"They are changing the legacy and intent of the Founding Ladies and rewriting the history of the Daughters of the American Revolution," one member said. "How dare they? They’re supposed to be doing it out of inclusion. To me, it’s exclusion."

But according to Starnes' sources, removals of Jesus weren't the only noteworthy exclusions. DAR also reportedly left out an oath to the U.S. Constitution, a pledge to the American flag and hymns that reference God. Members claim that the organization claimed to accidentally cut these and pledged to include them in future publications.

A petition was launched in an effort to garner support for reversing these changes. So far, very few people have signed on to support the move, but the information the petition provides about the dilemma is intriguing. Here's just a portion of it:

Unacceptable changes have been made by the current NSDAR Administration to two small NSDAR books known as theRitual and the Missal.  The Ritual was authorized by the Forty-third Continental Congress in 1934 for use in conducting formal ceremonies.  The Missal dates back to the very founding of the NSDAR and copies have been collected and passed down from one generation to another as treasured books of meditations and prayers...While most of these contributions were Christian, there were also alternate rituals and prayers included for the non-Christian members of NSDAR.

The problem is not that the books have been combined, which was authorized by the Executive Committee in October 2011, but rather rests in the new book's promotion and sanctioning of anti-Jesus and anti-Christian attitudes by simply eliminating the actual name of Jesus and all Christian symbols, which were dear to our patriot ancestors and the founding ladies of NSDAR...Now, members are forced to make a choice:   Which is more important, standing up for the name of Jesus and for what your forefathers and the founding ladies of the NSDAR truly believed, or going-along-to-get-along in order to maintain one's own personal status and standing in the NSDAR?  For many members, the NSDAR has been their life's work, so what should be an obvious choice, is not always the case.  In addition to the religious aspect of these books, patriotic omissions are also alarming.

While some members say they approached leaders to speak about the changes, they were purportedly dismissed on the basis of a need for more inclusiveness.

Photo Credit: Facebook

"The response from the leadership was one of being inclusive and being sensitive to non-Christians and other beliefs," another member explained, apparently hinting at the notion that a member vote on the changes was not taken. "The minority rules instead of the majority."

DAR has a devoted membership base, considering that the group is open to any woman who can prove that she is a descendant of a patriot from the American Revolution. So rather than being bound by ideological constructs, those who join are also tied historically and through a bloodline to the nation's founding. Currently, 170,000 women are a part of DAR.

(H/T: Fox News' Todd Starnes)