The "De-banking" of Christians in the U.S. and the U.K.

Did you ever think that banks would go radically woke and start turning depositors away because of those customers' orthodox religious beliefs? 

From Crisis Magazine, 

"...nineteen Republican Attorneys General and fourteen Republican state treasurers have sent letters to JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon, alleging that the banking giant “has persistently discriminated against certain customers due to their religious or political affiliation.”

"They cite the National Committee for Religious Freedom (NCRF) being de-banked last year. Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the highest-profile Catholic who sits on the board of NCRF, is not known for being an especially conservative cleric, but he has been fairly vocal on issues like the protection of the unborn. That JPMorgan would de-bank even a centrist, pluralist religious organization shows how far they are willing to go."

"This is not the first time JPMorgan has de-banked a Christian organization. In 2021, a credit card processor owned by JPMorgan terminated the account of the Family Council, a Christian pro-life organization, because it was deemed 'High Risk'. It will not surprise those of us who know how this works to hear that the Family Council met none of the processor’s written standards for that category. "

"This year, due to the controversial nature of actions like these, a resolution was placed before JPMorgan shareholders to require the bank to evaluate how it quantifies risks associated with religious views. JPMorgan advocated that its shareholders vote against the resolution, going so far as to file a motion with the Securities and Exchange Commission to prevent this resolution from appearing on the ballot. The SEC denied this motion in March."

I am glad that I don't own any shares in or bank with J. P. Morgan. 

In the U.K., the same process of de-banking is going on, but they are targeting individuals as well as organizations. This from Premier Christian News,

"An Anglican minister has had his bank account closed after raising concerns over Yorkshire Building Society's promotion of transgenderism.

Rev Richard Fothergill, who leads the Filling Station network, sent an online message to YBS in response to a request for feedback.

In it, the 62-year-old, who's had an account for 17 years, complained that the company shouldn't be promoting a transgender ideology.

Four days later, he received a letter stating his account would be closed. 

Responding to his claims, a spokesperson said: 

'We never close savings accounts based on different opinions regarding beliefs or feedback provided by our customers.'

'We only ever make the difficult decision to close a savings account if a customer is rude, abusive, violent or discriminates in any way, based on the specific facts, comments and behaviour in each case.'

"The story comes just days after Christian charity Core Issues Trust received a payout from Barclays over the closure of its bank account as part of a settlement to avoid a court case.

The Core Issues Trust offers support to men and women who have unwanted same-sex attraction."

I recently took over the duties of Treasurer of our small Anglican church, and I have made numerous trips to our local bank to complete paperwork and straighten out the details of the transition. Not once was I asked about my opinions on hot button issues. 

I just hope they don't go woke on us because we would surely be de-banked.. 

If they do that, we will have to start keeping what little money we have in a mattress.