Radical right-wing organizations are funding and organizing a "million-man" (male-only) conference to take place this fall, October 4, in Washington, DC.

The Promise Keepers, a Christian organization which claims to be encouraging men to be more responsible husbands and fathers, has held men-only conferences at stadiums across the country for the past few years. They are calling their million-man conference a "sacred assembly of men" where men will confess their sins and repent.

The Promise Keepers appear to be organizing around a conservative, anti-woman agenda. "Speaking about spiritual warfare and using a military model of organizing, the Promise Keepers are establishing thousands of small, all-male groups and taskforces in Congressional districts around the nation," said Eleanor Smeal, President of the Feminist Majority Foundation. "In 1996 the Los Angeles Times estimated their budget in excess of $100 million."

In the book Seven Promises of a Promise Keeper, Tony Evans, one of the Promise Keeper speakers, advises men to "reclaim" their role as leader in the family: "I'm not suggesting that you ask for your role back, I'm urging you to take it back," writes Evans, and goes on to advise women to give men the leadership role and "let your man be a man if he's willing."

"The Promise Keepers attempt to hide their anti-woman, anti-lesbian/gay, and anti-abortion agenda behind a mask of brotherly love," said Alice Cohan, Director of National Programs at the Feminist Majority Foundation. "But look at their funders and supporters: Pat Robertson, the religious right media mogul and founder of the Christian Coalition, provides major coverage of the Promise Keepers through the 700 Club. Bill Bright's Campus Crusade for Christ has lent at least 85 full-time staffers to Promise Keepers' national headquarters in Colorado. Gary Bauer, head of the anti-abortion and anti-lesbian/gay Family Research Council, is a strong supporter. The Promise Keepers' National Spokesperson is Mark DeMoss of the DeMoss family, whose foundation pours millions of dollars into religious right causes including anti-abortion advertisements. And Promise Keepers founder Bill McCartney has been a featured speaker at Operation Rescue events."

The Feminist Majority Foundation joined six other women's rights, lesbian and gay rights, and anti-domestic violence groups in protesting the June Promise Keepers conference in Washington, DC.

"The Promise Keepers have created a false veneer of men taking responsibility," said Patricia Ireland, President of the National Organization for Women, "when they really mean men taking charge."

"The Promise Keepers fail in moral and spiritual leadership by endorsing the restoration of men's power in the home without acknowledging what some men do with that power," said Donna Edwards, Executive Director of the National Network to End Domestic Violence.

For more information about the Promise Keepers' hidden agenda, contact the Center for Democracy Studies at (212) 423-9237.