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Who owns Hobby Lobby? July 4 ad calling for Christian-run govt slammed as 'christofascist'

Hobby Lobby took out ads in many newspapers on July 4 that read 'One Nation Under God' with the bible verse 'Blessed is the Nation whose God is the Lord'

Hobby Lobby has been trending on Twitter since the morning of July 4 and the discussion about the arts and crafts giant has rolled over to the next day. The business ran a full-page advertisement in multiple newspapers across the country on Independence Day under the title "One Nation Under God". The whole point of it was advocating for a Christian-led government and it also included the biblical verse: "Blessed is the Nation whose God is the Lord."

Judging by the reactions on Twitter, people across the country are shocked at the nature of the advertisement and the fact that the business chose to run it across multiple publications. The advertisement was also shared on Hobby Lobby's Facebook page and the PDF version has been uploaded to the company's website as well. A holiday message uploaded on Hobby Lobby's website states the founder "felt commissioned by God" to do something unique with their Christmas advertisements in 1995. The following year, they started adding testimonies from Christians in their advertisements for all occasions including Easter and Independence Day. 

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Who is Hobby Lobby's founder?

David Green is the founder of Hobby Lobby and he's continued to be a controversial figure for many years. He came under fire for announcing they were in the process of slashing their staff by a major percentage in March 2020. The Oklahoma-based craft store was closing many of its stores and the employees were told the lay-offs were permanent. Many were of the belief that Green didn't fight to keep his team employed and was more than eager about the lay-offs which in turn could have saved him money. 

Green, an Evangelical Christian, comes from a family of preachers. He started Hobby Lobby in 1970 in his garage with his wife and the business caught steam over the next five years. Green was able to quit his job as a manager at TG&Y in 1975. They opened their second Hobby Lobby shop that same year and the business became a national chain in the next couple of years and turned Green a billionaire. 

According to various reports including Forbes in 2012, Green donated half of Hobby Lobby's pretax earnings to a variety of evangelical Christian ministries. Another report stated he was the biggest donor to evangelical Christian causes in the country. The same year Green found himself in midst of controversy for opposing Obamacare. He wasn't quite happy about the mandate that the morning-after pill was included in the healthcare coverage offered to employees. Hobby Lobby's lawyer said at the time that the company would provide healthcare to qualifying employees but "to remain true to their faith, it is not their intention, as a company, to pay for abortion-inducing drugs."

'Quit shopping there, already!' 

Hobby Lobby's July 4 advertisement had testimonies by presidents, founding fathers of the US, Congressmen, and Supreme Court Justices talking about the importance of Christianity, a move that didn't go down well with some. "Did we not cancel Hobby Lobby hard enough the first time? Quit shopping there, already! You really don't need any more wooden blocks that say 'HOME' or 'BLESSED' anyway," read a comment. "Hobby Lobby advocating for a religious government is as UNAMERICAN as can be, going against everything the founding fathers wrote into the Constitution," another tweet read. "Apparently, being universally hated and mocked isn't enough for Hobby Lobby. They want to go out of business, too. Okay," tweeted an irate user. "Hobby Lobby doesn't belive in religious freedom, but partisan political-religious favoritism in American government. A concept that will lead to tyranny. If you want theocracy @HobbyLobby then your CEO can feel free to move someplace else," another tweet read. "Hobby Lobby is a christofascist front at this point, making white supremacy as palatable as water color paints for the kiddies," wrote another user.