Conservative Christians’ cash may sway Bible Museum mission

WASHINGTON — When the $500 million Museum of the Bible opens Nov. 17 just blocks from Capitol Hill, it won’t promote a specific religion, its leaders say. But the museum’s finances tell a different story.

Financial documents and interviews reveal a tangled relationship between the nonprofit museum, Hobby Lobby and its owners, the conservative-Christian Green family, and the National Christian Foundation, a fund that supports key soldiers in the national battle for conservative Christian values.

The Greens and their craftstore empire donated to the museum and to the foundation, and the foundation and Hobby Lobby are the primary donors to the museum, according to interviews and documents. The relationship appears to benefit the family and its firm, who have enjoyed large tax breaks for supporting their pet project.

The murky ties among the three entities have attracted the attention of museum and nonprofit experts who have expressed concern about the project’s political agenda, potential conflicts of interest and compliance with tax laws. These questions come on the heels of Hobby Lobby’s agreement this summer to pay a $3 million fine and forfeit thousands of artifacts that federal authorities said were smuggled out of Iraq.

The museum’s leaders down- play their connections to conservative Christian causes.

“The museum’s role is not to espouse faith,” Steve Green said, president of Hobby Lobby said. “We just want to present the facts of this book ... to celebrate this book. We want the visitor to make their own decision.”

Almost two-thirds of the museum’s $557 million in contributions comes from these two sources, according to interviews and tax filings. Nonprofits are not required to disclose donors, so its unclear how much of the donations are tied to the Greens.

What is clear is the craft store and the museum are connected through gifts and various business deals that shuttle funds between the two for rent, administrative and curatorial services.

Green would not disclose how much he has contributed to the museum.

The museum’s tax records show Hobby Lobby donated $201 million in artifacts, about 2,800 of the Green’s 40,000-piece collection. The family and company has given more through NCF.

The National Christian Foundation directed more than $163 million between 2013 and 2015 to the museum for “Christian discipleship,” according to the foundation’s tax returns

The museum’s recent audits show 89 percent of donations last year and 96 percent of donations the previous year came from one entity, which museum president Cary Summers identified as NCF.