The Christian Academy of Louisville’s Homophobic Assignment

“A Louisville private school is facing criticism after a viral Facebook post showed a class assignment where students had to write a letter to a friend of the same gender who “is struggling with homosexuality.”

The assignment told students at Christian Academy of Louisville that the aim of the letter was to ‘lovingly and compassionately speak truth to the person’ in a way that ‘does not approve of any sin.’”

WHAS 11 News

The instructions to the middle schoolers of the Christian school read:

 “In at least 8 sentences, try to show the friend from the Bible, reason, and your personal friendship: that God’s design for them is good, that homosexuality will not bring them satisfaction, that you love them even though you don’t approve of their lifestyle.”

This assignment is deplorable in so many levels:

These instructions assume that there aren’t any gay, lesbian, bi or trans students enrolled at the Christian Academy of Louisville. It’s telling all the LGBTQ students that they are invisible, and that if they come out of the closet in an evangelical environment, they will be subject to judgment and condemnation.

It’s not our sexuality, whether is heterosexuality or homosexuality, that brings us satisfaction. It’s confidence in our intrinsic worth that makes us satisfied and beneficial members of society.

These evil assignment assumes that gay sexuality is a lifestyle that can be discarded or prayed away. Being gay isn’t a lifestyle or a choice, it’s a biological imperative that can’t be “cured” with conversion therapy.

The love of evangelicals comes with a lot of strings: we will love you and open our hearts and pews to you, if you aren’t gay, atheist, or liberal.  

The LGBTQ community doesn’t need the approval of religious Neanderthals, but they do need legal protection from discrimination by evangelicals and their ilk.