Bank of America canceled accounts belonging to Indigenous Advance Ministries, an evangelical Christian nonprofit which partners with ministries in Uganda, for unclear reasons.
Indigenous Advance Ministries has maintained credit card and deposit accounts with Bank of America for the past eight years. The organization received a letter in the spring informing them that their accounts would be closed within thirty days; the letter said they were “operating in a business type we have chosen not to service at Bank of America” and that the charity “no longer aligns with the bank’s risk tolerance.”
Indigenous Advance Ministries filed a consumer complaint with Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti expressing concern that Bank of America discriminated against the charity because of their religious views. Beyond confessing historic beliefs about Christian doctrine, Indigenous Advance Ministries affirms “an orthodox Christian view of life, identity, marriage, and sexual morality in full accord with the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament.”
“Being forced to transition so quickly caused a great deal of trouble for us. We had to find another bank and open new accounts and adjust our payroll, accounting, accounts payable and receivable, and other parts of our business. It also disrupted our mission trip to Uganda in June and we were temporarily unable to pay salaries in Uganda,” the group said. “We have never had any financial issues with Indigenous Advance and we do not donate to or otherwise advocate for any political causes, domestic or international. And our mission and work, supporting Ugandan children and families through indigenous Ugandan ministries, has remained the same since we were founded and first opened our accounts with Bank of America.”
Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel Jeremy Tedesco said in a press release that the abrupt cancellation of services from Bank of America is one of several recent instances of a major financial institution ending services for religious nonprofits.
“No American should have to worry that a financial institution will deny them service based on their religious beliefs, but Bank of America appears to have done just that,” he said. “Canceling their account hurts those in need. It also sends a disturbing message to everyone: you can have your beliefs or your bank account, but you can’t have both.”
Alliance Defending Freedom indeed noted that the National Committee for Religious Freedom, a faith-based nonprofit that advocates for religious liberties around the world, likewise suddenly lost their bank account with Chase Bank, which asked the group to supply a list of their major donors and their criteria for deciding which candidates they would endorse. Other entities, such as Defense of Liberty and the Arkansas Family Council, have faced similar issues.
David Bahnsen, the founder and chief investment officer of The Bahnsen Group, recently introduced a shareholder proposal to JPMorgan Chase contending that the actions of Chase Bank violated freedoms enumerated in the United States Constitution and the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights. The proposal called on the financial institution to reveal how the firm handles risks related to discrimination against clients for religious or political viewpoints.
