April 4, 2008
Questions About Hillary Clinton's Religious Ties Put College's Archives in the Spotlight
A series of recent news reports examining Hillary Clinton’s connections to a secretive religious group are drawing attention to the archives of a small Christian college in Illinois.
The Billy Graham Center at Wheaton College keeps in its archives more than 50 years worth of records from the Fellowship, a Christian organization that has played a role in Washington politics since the 1940s. While best known for organizing the National Prayer Breakfast, the group also has played a significant behind-the-scenes role in national and international politics, advising and bringing together many members of Congress and world leaders, most with decidedly conservative leanings.
Outside interest in the Fellowship—also known as “the Family”—has surged over the past year as Mother Jones, The Nation, The Atlantic, and, most recently, NBC News have published or aired pieces examining Hillary Clinton’s ties with the group.
Jeff Sharlet, a former Chronicle of Higher Education reporter and an associate research scholar at the NYU Center for Religion and Media, infiltrated the Fellowship for a March 2003 Harper’s Magazine article and is the author of a soon-to-be-released book on the group, The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power (HarperCollins, 2008). In an interview this week, he said Mrs. Clinton is not formally considered a member of the group, but she has attended its prayer meetings since 1993 and has turned to its leader, Douglas Coe, for spiritual advice. “Her connections are strong enough that, through the Family, powerful conservative activists were able to go through back channels to her,” Mr. Sharlet said.
While the Wheaton College archives have a treasure trove of historical records from the Fellowship, those looking for information related to Mrs. Clinton’s ties to the group are likely to be disappointed. The Billy Graham Center’s most recent Fellowship records are from 1988; Robert Shuster, the center’s archivist, said more recent records are kept by the Fellowship itself. Moreover, in November 2003, the Fellowship instructed the center to restrict all access to any records less than 25 years old, so that anyone currently looking into the group would be unable to get access to records dated after 1983.
Peter Schmidt | Posted on Friday April 4, 2008 | PermalinkComments
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Will the illusive Hillary Rodham Clinton ever become transparent?
— marci Apr 5, 10:51 PM #
Oh come on folks. Let’s get a grip. We jumped Obama for his choice in spiritual mentors and now we are on Clinton’s case. An individual’s “hurt feelings” tell me more about the person than where they chose to seek spiritual enlightenment. McCarthy would be setting up in his grave applauding.
— Dr. Bill Apr 5, 11:11 PM #
Has anyone asked Hillary Clinton about her stand on evolution? It woudn’t have occurred to me, but after reading the Mother Jones article, I’d like to know.
— bob Apr 7, 08:29 AM #