Hobby Lobby faces backlash after issuing ad advocating for the US to be 'one nation under God'

The arts and craft store Hobby Lobby is facing backlash after it ran a full page ad on Independence Day that featured quotes from the nation's founding fathers favoring Christian influence on government and saying that the US is "one nation under God."

In a statement released by Hobby Lobby in conjunction with the ad founder David Green said he felt "commissioned by God" to run the ad and to advocate for Christian ideals.

The ad quotes John Adams saying: "We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion... Our Constitution was made only for religious and moral people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."

This sparked backlash from the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF), an advocacy group for atheists and non-religious people. They told Newsweek that the quotes are manipulated out of context and the sentences are far apart in a long speech.

FFRF says the way the quote appears distorts how Adams used the words "religion" and "moral" in the speech and say Adams is not saying what Hobby Lobby is implying. FFRF says that Adams used "religious" and "moral" as synonyms in the speech and is not advocating for any religion specifically.

Reactions from leftists who disapprove of the nation's Christian founding had similar reactions. Sree Sreenivasan said: "The full-page ad by @HobbyLobby is an attack on freedom of religion & the rights of religious minorities."

John Pavolvitz tweeted: "I've served as a pastor for over two decades. Organizations like@HobbyLobby are why so many people believe all Christians are hateful, intolerant bigots. The rest of us apologize for them."

Hobby Lobby is not new to controversy; many called for boycotts of Hobby Lobby after pictures surfaced of a "USA votes Trump" sign arranged in the store.

Hobby Lobby has a history of speaking out on behalf of their Christian beliefs. They were the first for-profit company that received an exemption from the American Care Act, which required that all companies provide contraception to employees as part of their health care offerings.

The Supreme Court found that Hobby Lobby could not be obligated to subsidize contraception because it would be a violation of their religious liberty.