BY MELISSA RUGGIERI/AJC Music Scene
Carrie Underwood surprised the 50,000-plus people at the Georgia Dome on Jan. 2 for Passion 2017, a Christian-based gathering of young adults.
The country music superstar played “Something in the Water”- a hit on country and Christian radio in 2014 - with scheduled performer, Atlanta-based David Crowder.
But now Underwood is being criticized by the fundamentalist Christian non-profit American Family Association for her appearance at the event because of her stance on gay marriage.
In a 2012 interview in the British newspaper, The Independent , Underwood stated, "I definitely think we should all have the right to love, and love publicly, the people that we want to love."
Wesley Wildmon, outreach director of the AFA, penned an open letter to Atlanta's Passion founder Louie Giglio in the organization's Engage Magazine, which reads in part :
“The most popular headline and image circling social media thus far this week show the performance of Carrie Underwood. Louie, if I can be completely transparent, I was very frustrated that you would allow her to help lead thousands of people in worship. My frustration quickly turned to disappointment and then to sadness. Carrie Underwood encourages and supports homosexual marriage which the Word of God does not (1 Corinthians 6:12-20).”
Underwood, who is set to present at Sunday’s Golden Globes on NBC, hasn’t commented on the controversy.
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