On November 20, 2009, a coalition of more than 150 prominent evangelical, Catholic, and Orthodox Christian leaders released the Manhattan Declaration: A Call of Christian Conscience, with its formal public launch widely noted on December 1. Drafted by Robert George, Timothy George, and Charles Colson, the 4,700-word document boldly reaffirmed three non-negotiable principles: the sanctity of human life from conception to natural death, marriage as the conjugal union of one man and one woman, and religious liberty as the bedrock of a free society.
Framed as a line in the sand against growing secular pressures, it declared that Christians could not comply with laws that would compel them to participate in abortion, embryo-destructive research, same-sex “marriage,” or other practices that violate divine and natural law. The signatories pledged to accept civil disobedience, including imprisonment, rather than betray these convictions.
Within weeks, the Declaration had gathered over half a million signatures and became a unifying charter for the pro-life, pro-family wing of American Christianity. It marked one of the most significant ecumenical efforts since the 1970s culture wars and directly influenced later battles over the HHS contraception mandate, same-sex marriage rulings, and religious-freedom restoration acts.
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