For years, JPMorgan Chase has had its thumb on the scale of the culture wars through an unfair practice called “de-banking.” By rejecting payment processes and closing accounts of politically conservative and religious organizations and individuals, Chase has attempted to silence those voices and views from public debate.
In response to institutions like Chase, the Alliance Defending Freedom has developed the Viewpoint Diversity Score Business Index. The index assesses 75 corporations on diversity of thought in the workplace. ADF has also led an effort to bring a resolution to the Chase shareholder meeting today—a resolution that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission had to rule to be included in the vote. If passed by shareholders, the resolution would “ensur(e) equal treatment of the financial giant’s customers regardless of their religious and political beliefs.”
Despite the claim by Chase and others to value diversity, inclusion, and difference of opinion, the reality is different. Just last year, the transaction giant PayPal announced it would fine customers $2,500 for what it deemed as “misinformation,” a policy that has since been revoked.
Though it didn’t make as many headlines, Chase Bank went even further. The biggest U.S. bank, which serves over 66 million households, denied payment processing to the Republican-associated Defense of Liberty for hosting an event with former President Donald Trump. Chase also closed the accounts of the Arkansas Family Council, the family of retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, and the National Committee for Religious Freedom, a nonpartisan, faith-based nonprofit that boasts members who are Christians, Muslims, Hindus, and Jewish.
According to former Kansas governor Sam Brownback, the chairman of the NCRF, no clear reason was provided by Chase for closing these accounts. However, the bank eventually informed them that they would be willing to reconsider doing business with the NCRF if we would provide our donor list, a list of political candidates we intended to support, and a full explanation of the criteria by which we would endorse and support those candidates.
Other organizations, including the Colson Center, have been canceled or rejected by service providers, tech companies, and insurance providers, typically with much-more vaguely stated justifications.
Regardless of politics, no one should be comfortable with corporate interests playing ideological favorites in this way. Thankfully, 14 state financial officers and 19 state attorneys general have called on Chase to stop this discrimination. Their words and actions will have more teeth because of the carefully crafted methodology of the Viewpoint Diversity Score Business Index and the team of research analysts and corporate engagement specialists behind it. Not only will Chase, Meta, Microsoft, and other major corporations be held publicly accountable for viewpoint discrimination, but they will be given guidance in the form of policies and practices to better honor a diversity of viewpoints for employees, clients, vendors, and suppliers.
By the way, Chase received a score of just 15 percent on the index, and only two companies did better than 25 percent. Much of the low scoring had to do with the lack of transparency concerning policies toward diversity of thought. Though transparency is often touted by companies supporting progressive causes, no one has kept these companies accountable for their discrimination until now. The index scores companies in three broad areas of “market,” “workplace,” and “public square” using 42 performance indicators. “Workplace” was the lowest scoring area for Chase, mainly because their diversity, equity, and inclusion reporting does not incorporate viewpoint diversity. Among the companies indexed are Amazon, Airbnb, Apple, Goldman Sachs, Snap Inc., Twitter, Visa, and Oracle.
Anyone who holds shares in these corporations, for example in employer-sponsored retirement plans, can speak out about their policies. Each corporation’s assessment page includes the company address, shareholder phone number, and email address. To learn more about the Viewpoint Diversity Score Business Index, its methodology, and the 75 corporations assessed so far, visit viewpointdiversityscore.org.
Preserving and promoting freedom to have diverse viewpoints in the marketplace profits everyone, Christians and non-Christians alike.
This Breakpoint was co-authored by Dr. Heather Peterson. For more resources to live like a Christian in this cultural moment, go to breakpoint.org.
Publication date: May 16, 2023
Photo courtesy: ©Frugal Flyer/Unsplash
John Stonestreet is President of the Colson Center for Christian Worldview, and radio host of BreakPoint, a daily national radio program providing thought-provoking commentaries on current events and life issues from a biblical worldview. John holds degrees from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (IL) and Bryan College (TN), and is the co-author of Making Sense of Your World: A Biblical Worldview.
The views expressed in this commentary do not necessarily reflect those of CrosswalkHeadlines.
BreakPoint is a program of the Colson Center for Christian Worldview. BreakPoint commentaries offer incisive content people can't find anywhere else; content that cuts through the fog of relativism and the news cycle with truth and compassion. Founded by Chuck Colson (1931 – 2012) in 1991 as a daily radio broadcast, BreakPoint provides a Christian perspective on today's news and trends. Today, you can get it in written and a variety of audio formats: on the web, the radio, or your favorite podcast app on the go.
