User:BirdsWithVertigo/nrcat

The National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT) is an American non-governmental organization committed to uniting and engaging people of faith to work to ensure that the United States does not engage in torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment of anyone, without exceptions. NRCAT’s mission statement explains that: “Torture violates the basic dignity of the human person that all religions, in their highest ideals, hold dear. It degrades everyone involved -- policy-makers, perpetrators and victims. It contradicts our nation's most cherished ideals. Any policies that permit torture and inhumane treatment are shocking and morally intolerable.”

History
NRCAT was created in January 2006 at the conference, “Theology, International Law and Torture: A Conference on Human Rights and Religious Commitment.” Dr. George Hunsinger of Princeton Theological Seminary convened the conference to better equip the  multiple religious communities to take a more prominent role in the dialogue about U.S.-sponsored torture. 150 leaders of a variety of faiths attended the Conference.

The Peace Action Education Fund of Princeton, New Jersey and the Churches’ Center for Theology and Public Policy, a national ecumenical research center located in Washington, DC, assisted in planning the conference and participated in the creation of NRCAT.

In early 2007, NRCAT became an independent organization and hired Rev. Richard Killmer as Executive Director. Additional staff were subequently hired.

In December 2007, the NRCAT Action Fund, a 501(c)(4) entity, was created. The Action Fund is responsible for lobbying and election campaign activities around the issue of U.S.-sponsored torture.

Organization
As of September 2009, 260 religious organizations are members of NRCAT. Member organizations include: Evangelical Christians, Roman Catholics, Orthodox Christians, mainline Protestants, Muslims, Jews, Sikhs, Hindus, Bahá’ís, and Buddhists. Members include national denominational and faith group bodies, regional entities such as state ecumenical agencies, as well as congregations and other local religious organizations.

Initiatives
In 2006, NRCAT helped create the organization, “Evangelicals for Human Rights.” This organization prepared “An Evangelical Declaration Against Torture,” which was adopted by the Board of Directors of the National Association of Evangelicals. Also in 2006, NRCAT launched its “Statement of Conscience,” which states that “torture violates the basic dignity of the human person that all religions, in their highest ideals, hold dear.”

In 2007, NRCAT placed its “Torture is a Moral Issue” statement, which was signed by 27 national religious leaders, in an ad on the op-ed page of the New York Times. In addition, NRCAT fostered the grassroots involvement of local religious organizations and leaders with the project “Spotlight on Torture,” through which over 1000 copies of the film “Ghosts of Abu Ghraib” were distributed to congregations around the country. 2007 also marked the founding of the NRCAT Action Fund, which included four state ecumenical agencies who developed projects to urge their senators to support the provision in the Intelligence Authorization bill that would require the intelligence agencies, including the CIA, to follow the U.S. Army Field manual in carrying out interrogations of detainees.

In 2008, NRCAT’s “Banners Across America Project” involved more than 275 congregations in all 50 states and the District of Columbia that displayed banners with anti-torture slogans on the exterior of their buildings during June. In cooperation with two partner organizations, NRCAT launched the Campaign to Ban Torture, a campaign aimed at pressuring President-elect Obama to end the practice of torture and inhumane treatment by the United States. This campaign culminated shortly after President Obama signed an Executive Order Banning Torture in January 2009. NRCAT organized a delegation of senior national religious leaders to meet with executives at Fox Entertainment to express concern about the television show “24” and Hollywood’s portrayal of torture.