Conservatives target NBC's 'Book of Daniel' - Epsicopals don't share AFA's objections

The American Family Association, the group that recently boycotted Ford Motor Co. for advertising in gay publications, has moved on to a new target: NBC’s new drama “The Book of Daniel.”

Accusing the show of being anti-Christian, the group launched a campaign to lobby NBC affiliates to drop the program that premiered Jan. 6.

“The decision by NBC to air the series reflects the anti-Christian bias which exists at the highest levels of the network,” said American Family Association chair Donald E. Wildmon in a statement.

The Mississippi-based group referred to the show’s creator, who is gay, as a “practicing homosexual.”

“The Book of Daniel” depicts an Episcopal priest, Daniel Webster, played by Aidan Quinn, who regularly talks with a manifestation of Jesus Christ as a means of coping with his turbulent family and professional life.

Among his many problems: his daughter was arrested for selling marijuana and his brother-in-law may have stolen the church’s money. While it’s clear that Webster loves and accepts his gay son, he’s unsure of how to tell his tightly wound father about it.

The American Family Association was not available for comment.

“The American Family Association in no way speaks for Episcopalians,” said Jim Naughton, director of communications at the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, D.C., which launched a blog about the program.

The American Family Association has a “miniscule” following in the Episcopal Church, he said. In 2003, the church consecrated its first openly gay bishop, V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire.

“The Episcopal Church and the United Church of Christ have very sharp differences with groups like the American Family Association,” he said. “We are paying a heavy price for our decision to include gay people fully in the sacramental life of our church. We’re not going to be bullied out of that.”

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