Faith, Policy, and Influence: A Conversation with the President of the Center for Christian Virtue

Over the past decade, the Center for Christian Virtue has emerged as one of the most influential nonprofit advocacy organizations in the state of Ohio, notching legislative victories on school choice and building coalitions with state government leaders. Much of this has happened under the leadership of Aaron Baer.\r\n\r\nBaer joined CCV as President in November 2016 after a number of years in policy and advocacy in Arizona. Known at the time as Citizens for Community Values, the organization traces its roots to religiously driven anti-obscenity organizing in Cincinnati in the early 1980s. In 1990, CCV famously opposed and filed criminal charges against the Contemporary Arts Center in Cincinnati over the museum\'s exhibition of photos by Robert Mapplethorpe.\r\n\r\nUnder Baer\'s leadership, the organization moved to a statehouse adjacent location in Columbus, changed its name, exponentially grew the budget and headcount, and now hosts a well-attended annual summit focused on Christian faith and policy, which features many elected leaders. The organization is not without controversy, however. In 2015 and again in 2023, the Southern Poverty Law Center designated CCV as a hate group because of its stance and rhetoric toward members of the LGBT community. Meanwhile, CCV has been praised for its efforts by the Heritage Foundation, whose president recently noted, \"So much of our nation\'s societal decay stems from our education system, and institutions like CCV are spearheading the effort to save our children and restore morality and sanity in our schools.\"