Habitat for Humanity Religious?

The Associated Press has its problems with religion. Newsbusters has documented many examples of the AP mentioning conservatives’ religious affiliations when they are actually irrelevant to the stories they publish.

Today however, they ran a piece called, Disasters Heighten Habitat's Profile, which dealt with the growing popularity of Habitat for Humanity, a group previously most known for its involvement with former president Jimmy Carter.

AP’s Elliot Minor writes glowingly of Habitat’s work in raising funds and rebuilding homes for those affected by Hurricane’s Rita and Katrina, as well as those displaced by last year’s Asian tsunami.

He goes on to document Habitat’s partnerships with various rock stars and Hollywood glitterati such as Barbra Streisand and also plays up their associations with NBC’s Today Show and Warner Music Group.

Curiously missing though is any mention of Habitat’s Christian ministry, which one can easily find with one click on their home page. The first paragraph of their mission statement:

Habitat for Humanity International is a nonprofit, ecumenical Christian organization dedicated to eliminating substandard housing and homelessness worldwide and to making adequate, affordable shelter a matter of conscience and action.

The piece also only mentions Habitat’s founder, Millard Fuller, a Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient, to point out that he was fired by the charity board “amid allegations that he inappropriately touched a female staff member,” but that he has denied the accusation.

You’d think the Christian angle of any story on Habitat would be hard to ignore. The AP itself recently ran a piece which mentioned Fuller’s dismissal over the sexual allegation titled, Ousted Leader Says Habitat Hides Christianity.

It seems the AP only mentions religion when it suits its purposes.

Is Habitat for Humanity Religious? Let’s hope Barbra doesn’t find out.