On December 4, 2017 organizations comprising faith traditions that consist of over 100 million people in the United States filed a letter to oppose repeal of current open Internet protections. These organizations addressed a letter to current Federal Communications Chairman Ajit Pai, who recently released a draft order rolling back net neutrality protections adopted in 2015. 

The letter cited the importance of communications rights in securing fundamental human dignity, "modern communication tools can be used and designed to maximize individual freedoms and human dignity or they can be developed with an eye only to maximize profit and power by the entities that control them."

The letter further explained the direct importance for faith-based institutions, "Modern communications are essential for our home faith institutions, to share scripture, help neighbors, support each other, and raise funds to support our work."

The letter urges the Federal Communications Commission to "retain the existing protections to protect an Open Internet and to use the strongest legal authority to prohibit paid prioritization."

The letter was coordinated by the United Church of Christ's media justice ministry, OC Inc., and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. For further information contact Cheryl Leanza, policy advisor for UCC's media justice ministry at cleanza@alhmail.com.

The letter was signed by: 

Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd, US Provinces

Franciscan Action Network

Islamic Society of North America

National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd

National Council of Churches

Presbyterian Church (USA) Office of Public Witness

Religion Communicators Council

SIGNIS North America | World Catholic Association for Communications

U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops

United Church of Christ, OC Inc.

World Association for Christian Communication, North America

Signatories of the Letter

The Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd, US Provinces represents Sisters who, with their Mission Partners address the needs of thousands of low-income people in 28 states of the United States and overseas each year. Dedicated to serving girls, women, and families who experience poverty, exploitation, vulnerability, and marginalization, the Congregation and their lay partners minister to immigrants and victims of human trafficking here and abroad as well as persons in situations of domestic violence. Communication is key to our networking within the US and in the other 71 countries where the Congregation is located in order to positively meet the challenges our program participants face. www.buonpastoreint.org

Inspired by the Gospel of Jesus, and the example of Saints Francis and Clare, the Franciscan Action Network (FAN) is a collective Franciscan voice, with more than 50 member institutions, seeking to transform United States public policy related to peace making, care for creation, poverty, and human rights. https://franciscanaction.org/

Since 1950, the National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA (NCC) has served as a leading voice of witness to the living Christ.  NCC unifies a diverse covenant community of 38 member communions and over 40 million individuals –100,000 congregations from Protestant, Anglican, Orthodox, Evangelical, historic African-American, and Living Peace traditions – in a common commitment to advocate and represent God’s love and promise of unity in our public square.  NCC partners with secular and interfaith partners to advance a shared agenda of peace, progress, and positive change. http://nationalcouncilofchurches.us/

The mission of the Islamic Society of North America is to provide a common platform for presenting Islam, supporting Muslim communities, developing educational, social and outreach programs and fostering good relations with other religious communities, civic and service organizations. ISNA's annual convention is generally regarded as the largest gathering of American Muslims in the United States. http://www.isna.net/

The National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd educates and advocates on social-justice issues for the transformation of society to the benefit of all people. The center reflects the spirituality, history, and mission of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd, who have had a presence in the United States for over 175 years. http://www.gsadvocacy.org/

The Presbyterian Office of Public Witness is the public policy information and advocacy office of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Its task is to advocate, and help the church to advocate, the social witness perspectives and policies of the Presbyterian General Assembly. The church has a long history of applying these biblically and theologically-based insights to issues that affect the public — maintaining a public policy ministry in the nation’s capital since 1946. https://www.presbyterianmission.org/ministries/compassion-peace-justice/washington/

The Religion Communicators Council (RCC), founded in 1929, is an association of communications professionals who work for and with a diverse group of faith-based organizations in the areas of communications, public relations, advertising and development. RCC members promote excellence in the communication of faith and values in the public arena and encourage understanding among religious and faith groups. RCC activities include local chapters and a yearly convention, and annually honors excellence in the communication of religious issues by RCC members and the secular media.http://www.religioncommunicators.org/

SIGNIS North America is a region of SIGNIS, a non-governmental organization that includes members from over 100 countries. As the "World Catholic Association for Communication," it brings together radio, television, cinema, video, media education, Internet, and new technology professionals. SIGNIS's mission is to engage with media professionals and support Catholic Communicators to help transform our cultures in the light of the Gospel by promoting Human Dignity, Justice and Reconciliation. http://www.signis.net/

The United Church of Christ is a faith community rooted in justice that recognizes the unique power of the media to shape public understanding and thus society. For this reason, UCC’s Office of Communication, Inc. (OC, Inc.) works to create just and equitable media structures that give meaningful voice to diverse peoples, cultures and ideas. Established in 1959, OC Inc. ultimately established the right of all citizens to participate at the Federal Communications Commission as part of its efforts to ensure a television broadcaster in Jackson, MS served its African-American viewers during the civil rights movement. The Cleveland-based United Church of Christ consists of approximately 5,000 local congregations across the United States. It was formed by the 1957 union of the Congregational Christian Churches and the Evangelical and Reformed Church. http://www.uccmediajustice.org/

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is a nonprofit corporation, the members of which are the active Catholic Bishops in the United States. The Catholic Church, the largest denomination in the United States, has over 67 million adherents in over 18,000 parishes throughout the country.  The USCCB provides a framework and a forum for the Bishops to teach Catholic doctrine, set pastoral directions, and develop policy positions on contemporary social issues. As such, the USCCB advocates and promotes the pastoral teaching of the U.S. Catholic Bishops in such diverse areas of the nation’s life as the free expression of ideas, fair employment and equal opportunity for the under-privileged, immigration, protection of the rights of parents and children, the sanctity of life, and the importance of education. Values of particular importance to the Conference include the protection of the rights of religious organizations and religious believers under the First Amendment, and the proper development of regulations in that regard. http://www.usccb.org/ 

World Association for Christian Communication, North America is a regional association of WACC Global. The World Association for Christian Communication (WACC Global) is a non-governmental organization that builds on communication rights in order to promote social justice with members in 120 countries. WACC offers professional guidance on communication policies, interprets developments in global communications, and discusses the consequences which such developments have for Churches and communities everywhere, especially in the South. WACC works towards the empowerment of women and assists the training of Christian communicators. http://waccglobal.org/our-networks/wacc-regional-networks/wacc-north-america