Evangelicals vow to defy abortion and gay marriage laws in new 'Declaration of Dependence'

Evangelical Christians have expressed their firm opposition to abortion rights and same-sex marriage in a document titled "Declaration of Dependence."

The document contains a pledge to refuse government mandate to support or fund abortions and oppose "same-sex marriage, polygamy, bestiality, and all other forms of sexual perversion prohibited by Holy Scripture."

"Therefore, we, the undersigned - not only as Christians but also believing we have the constitutional right as Americans to follow these time honored Christian beliefs - commit to conducting our churches, ministries, businesses, and personal lives in accordance with our Christian faith and choose to obey God rather than man," the document concluded.

The "Declaration of Dependence" appeared as a full-page advertisement in the Sunday edition of the New York Times.

The has already been signed by over 70,000 people on its official website. Some of the original signatories include David Barton of WallBUilders of Aledo, Texas, Kenneth Copeland of Newark, Texas, Jerry Boykin of the Family Research Council and James Dobson of Focus on the Family.

Andrew Wommack, the author of the document, has stated that he intends to show all the signatures to lawmakers.

"We are asking for 1 million signatures," said Karen Conrad, director of marketing for Andrew Wommack Ministries.

According to the website the document will be promoted through media coverage, television broadcasts, news programs and newspaper advertisements. $500,000 have already been committed to promote the document in major newspapers and digital campaigns.

When asked whether the "Declaration of Dependence" is aimed at a specific court case, Conrad replied, "It's probably more (aimed) at the elections than anything."

A critic writing for Christian Today has noted that the document's language is designed to appeal to voters. The critic also pointed out that two of the signatories, namely Dobson and Copeland, are members of Trump's evangelical advisory board. Other signatories such as Barton and Boykin have also expressed their support for the Republican nominee.

The critic has warned that there may be other worse campaigns than the "Declaration of Dependence" before the elections.