Concerned Women For America Pushes Faith-Based Policies

A link on the website for the Iowa chapter of Concerned Women for America opens up an MP3 clip with soft music behind a soothing voice.

The voice belongs to Tamara Scott, director of CWA of Iowa. “Our mission is covering our communities, our state and our nation in prayer,” she says on the clip. “Whether you are a quiet prayer warrior or you’re looking for a way to plug in and make a difference, we have a welcome place for you. We support men, women, and children in becoming the responsible citizens God has called us to be. Through equipping you with information, to empowering you with possible action you can take to uphold the biblical values in your world, please contact our state office today.”

Iowa Independent recently interviewed Scott by phone about faith, politics, and faith in politics.

Part 1 of the interview is below; Part 2 is here.

Scott said she got involved with CWA in 2001 after someone approached her about becoming the organization’s legislative liaison. “I had been active in my community [on] issues of the statehouse,” she said.`“I thought about it and it was already what I was doing,” so she agreed. In 2004, she became the organization’s director.

Why? “My faith,” she said immediately. “Everything I do … if God expects us to live through it, he directs us how to deal with it. God has instructed us with his word” and through CWA, she hopes to fulfill it, she said. She also credited her children with motivating her to get involved. “When I really got politically active… when I really hooked in all the way, it was because policies were being set that were not going to have positive outcomes for my kids in the future and I decided I must get involved or I’d have to explain to my children why I neglected to help them.”

The organization’s mission, according to its website, is “to protect and promote Biblical values among all citizens – first through prayer, then education, and finally by influencing our society – thereby reversing the decline in moral values in our nation.” CWA focuses on six core issues: “the sanctity of life, religious liberty, family, pornography, education, and national sovereignty.”

Scott said her organization has a persistent lobbying operation at the state Legislature. In addition to a full-time legislative liaison, volunteers form lobbying teams, sometimes spending 30 hours per week at the Capitol. “Someone is at the statehouse most days, most times,” she said. The CWA of Iowa website currently has updates about bills concerning sexual education, gay civil rights and Fair Share.

In addition to lobbying on those issues, her chapter engages in a program called “Encourage-A-Legislator,” in which CWA members and non-members send lawmakers postcards telling them that they are being prayed for. Scott said the postcards have a bible verse, a founding father’s quote on the nation’s Christian heritage, and a simple thank-you. “They appreciate those cards,” she said. For Scott, the separation of church and state is not an issue, which she claims is not found in the Declaration of Independence or the U.S. Constitution.

CWA members and like-minded Iowans will play a large role, she said, in determining the GOP winner of the Iowa Caucuses. “Of course we always suggest to all our members to participate. Biblically, we’re called to be responsible citizens,” she said. “And I can tell you with a good amount of confidence that conservatives in Iowa are the voting base in the Republican Party right now.”