Op-Ed: Santorum Is Bad for LGBT Adults, Worse for LGBT Youth
Over the last few weeks, the Republican race for president has been watched apathetically by many Americans, but Rick Santorum continues to shake things up with unexpected wins, courting “very conservative” Republican voters as his core strategy. While his rise may provide for interesting punditry across the media and rile up conservative Christians, it has also caused considerable anxiety and concern among moderate voters and many within the Christian community. That’s because Santorum stakes his candidacy on an old ideological framework that stereotypically pits people of faith against their LGBT neighbors. This rhetoric is not only damaging to many families and children, but it grossly misrepresents America’s religious community.
The Public Religion Research Institute recently showed that majorities of religious groups in the U.S. are actually supportive of the LGBT community, including their right to marry. The faith-LGBT dynamic in our culture is shifting, and as the research institute’s CEO, Robby Jones, notes, “assumptions about battle lines between secular proponents and religious foes no longer hold.”
While there is still much work to be done, many of us within the Progressive Christian community see this reality every day. Christians across the country are coming out in support of LGBT people and working to reflect this within their church communities. On the national level, we recently watched the Presbyterian Church celebrate the first lesbian approved for ordination in the its history, as a result of the church now allowing for the ordination of LGBT clergy. On the local level, hundreds of churches are declaring their welcome each year, including within the United Church of Christ, which celebrated its 1,000th open and affirming congregation this February.
As more Americans and religious people continue to openly engage with their LGBT friends, coworkers, and neighbors, those who are thought to have historically been in opposition to equal rights can change their hearts and minds. If he weren’t politically motivated, so could Rick Santorum.
http://www.advocate.com/Politics/Commentary/OpEd_Santorum_Is_Bad_for_LGBT_Adults_Worse_for_LGBT_Youth/
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