Southern Baptists To Boycott Disney

The Southern Baptists, whose 16 million members are the United States’ largest Protestant body, are expected next week to formally declare a boycott against the Walt Disney Co. to protest what they called “promotion of homosexuality.”

The Baptists, meeting Tuesday through Thursday in Dallas, are likely to approve a resolution urging churchgoers not to patronize the entertainment giant, church leaders say. They contend Disney ignored their warning last year of a boycott if the company continued “this anti-Christian and anti-family trend.”

Members of the conservative denomination are upset with the annual “Gay Day” at Disney World in Orlando, Fla., and corporate policy by Burbank, Calif.-based Disney extending insurance benefits to companions of gay employees. Southern Baptists also criticized the Disney-owned ABC television network when the lead character in the “Ellen” sitcom came out as a lesbian.