Source: The New York Times
On October 23, 2005 The New York Times reported, "Starbucks coffee cups will soon be emblazoned with a religious quotation from Rick Warren, the best-selling author and pastor, which includes the line, 'You were made by God and for God, and until you understand that, life will never make sense'... [Starbucks] was widely criticized by evangelical Christian groups last summer after its cups included a quote from the writer Armistead Maupin that said, 'My only regret about being gay is that I repressed it for so long.' Robert H. Knight, director of the Culture and Family Institute, one of the conservative groups that led the charge, said the company's support for liberal causes made it an obvious target. 'Starbucks has long served up a New Age secular worldview,' he said. 'It's about time that they acknowledged that 90 percent of Americans believe in God and that millions of them are Christian.' Starbucks executives deny that the company was trying to placate religious groups when it decided to add Mr. Warren's quote to its cups. 'We're trying to show a diversity of thought and opinion,' said Anne Saunders, a senior vice president in charge of marketing. 'There is not a quote that's an answer to another.'"