In Focus: Faith, LGBT People, & the Midterm Elections

INFOCUS FAITH, LGBT PEOPLE, & THE MIDTERM ELECTIONS ASKING THOUGHTFUL QUESTIONS: A GUIDE FOR REPORTERS

FAITH, LGBT PEOPLE, & THE MIDTERM ELECTIONS

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Joel Osteen

The church’s sacred task is to call us to conform our behavior to what God has revealed.

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I believe the scripture says that being gay is a sin. […] I don’t dislike anybody. Gays are some of the nicest, kindest, most loving people in the world. But my faith is based on what I believe the scripture says, and that’s the way I read the scripture.

Cardinal Timothy Dolan

on the Catholic Church’s ongoing opposition to civil marriage equality

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I can’t change what I think God has said.

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RICK WARREN

on his disapproval of civil marriage equality FAITH, LGBT PEOPLE, & THE MIDTERM ELECTIONS

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INTRODUCTION

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eporting during election season means hearing many of the same talking points over and over, especially from candidates. Every journalist covering lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) issues has received an answer like the ones on the previous pages. When faith leaders offer firm assertions that their personal opposition to LGBT equality is rooted in scripture, it can frustrate or even halt a productive interview or conversation.

These answers aren’t very informative, and they aren’t very interesting to readers and viewers. In fact, they seem to represent a “trump card” by the interviewee—and the end of the conversation. The strong implication is that these individuals are “forced” by God to oppose legal protections for LGBT people.

Put quite simply, nothing could be further from the truth.

So how can we move beyond sound bites to get to the real story underneath the easy platitudes?

First, many of these faith leaders are anything but personally agnostic on questions of LGBT equality.

In the 2012 election cycle, the Roman Catholic Church was the single largest contributor to anti-LGBT ballot initiatives. The American Roman Catholic hierarchy spent millions of parishioner dollars to try to defeat marriage equality legislation despite the fact that more than 60 percent of the American Catholic laity supports legal equality for committed and loving gay and lesbian couples. The story’s no different for prominent leaders in many Evangelical denominations. Whenever a city or state attempts to advance an LGBT-inclusive non-discrimination ordinance or law, pulpits are often handed over to those disseminating anti-gay and anti-transgender rhetoric.

Second, and even more importantly, the case is far from closed on what the Bible—and many other holy texts—actually says about LGBT people.

For decades, entire denominations, networks of churches, and Biblical and Talmudic scholars have been making a robust case that scripture actually embraces full and complete LGBT lives. In 2012 Christian and Jewish communities of faith spoke out for marriage equality in record numbers in Washington, Maine, Maryland, and Minnesota.

Likewise, the United Church of Christ has led a coalition of organizations that have sued North Carolina over its ban on marriage equality on first amendment grounds. And in Houston, Lutheran and Metropolitan Community Churches hosted and organized the effort to pass the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance. Even respected evangelical Bible scholars like Dr. James Brownson and Dr. David Gushee have been encouraging evangelicals to rethink their readings of Scripture on LGBT issues while Catholics for Marriage Equality refuse to abandon their LGBT sons and daughters and the faith they love. These pro-equality voices of faith matter, and they aren’t getting the media attention they deserve.

Taken together, these two factors make one thing clear: it’s simply not enough for reporters to treat a non-answer based on an appeal to faith or scripture as the end of the conversation. In fact, an appeal to faith should be just the beginning.

Interviewers may be uncomfortable asking questions about religion that are at all controversial or could be considered confrontational. Asking tough questions of religious leaders is not anti-religion, but gets at the heart of whatever the issue is, for LGBT people and people of faith. Enormous emotional, economic, and physical harm is caused to LGBT people each year by schoolmates, parents, religious leaders and political candidates more concerned with getting elected than their well-being. This document was prepared to help you better get to the truth.

While the 2014 election cycle goes into full swing, this guide is meant as a helpful place to begin, and the organizational contacts at the end of this guide are at your service to further the conversation.

NEW APPROACHES TO FAITH INTERVIEWS When asking candidates about LGBT issues, reporters may use three distinct approaches to generate new and informative answers from faith-affiliated interviewees. These approaches are:

appealing to basic humanity knowing the issue in question knowing the religious landscape

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Appeal to basic humanity

The quotes at the beginning of this guide demonstrate a dismissiveness about the harm of an exclusive biblical interpretation, so don’t be afraid to turn the conversation in a more personal direction. When an interviewee says, “I oppose this legislation because it goes against the teachings of the Bible, consider asking:

GOOD TREES BEAR GOOD FRUIT.

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In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught that “good trees bear good fruit.”

Christianity, in this way, is inherently a nurturing pursuit. That’s why it is dissonant and cruel when a person of faith’s rejection of LGBT people is so explicit, so casual, and so deeply harmful. According to the Family Acceptance Project, LGBT youth who experience family rejection are 8.4 times more likely to attempt suicide, 5.9 times more likely to experience depression, and 3.4 times more likely to use illegal drugs than LGBT youth with supportive families. Those negative outcomes are likely to cause many Christians to reconsider whether their interpretation of LGBT people is bearing good fruit, once they are aware of the negative impact.

• “Forty percent of homeless youth identify as LGBT and many of them come from religious

families, despite only being 3-5% of the youth population? Do you worry that you may be sending a message that alienates youth from their parents? How do you think your faith can help to address that issue?”

• “How does your church benefit from the presence of LGBT people who worship there?”

• “What are you doing to ensure that LGBT children and youth in your church have a safe environment to ask questions about their identities?”

• “Do you have any LGBT close friends who have taught you something over the years? How have these friendships influenced your personal thinking about how the church should treat LGBT people?”

• “Even if your scriptural views haven’t changed, how have LGBT people influenced your church?”

• “If a young person in your church was questioning their sexual orientation or gender identity, do you think they would feel safe opening up to you or others in your church?”

• “Do you think that LGBT people should be single or celibate for life? Is that a reasonable demand to make? Would it be reasonable to ask of straight people?”

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Know the issue in question Local, state, and national reporters will often interview faith leaders around an ongoing municipal or statewide legislative issue. Virtually always, the legislation in question will include meaningful religious exemptions—on par with what’s included in the 1964 Civil Rights Act—and will have a scope that is strictly limited to civil institutions and public accommodations.

So, when an interviewee says: “I oppose this legislation because it goes against the teachings of the Bible,” consider asking:

• On non-discrimination laws: ◊◊ “The law is about preventing people from being fired from their job. Do you preach and teach that LGBT people should not be employed?”

• On marriage: ◊◊ “This law is about civil marriage, not religious marriage. Do you think the government should be using certain religions principles to restrict the lives of others?” ◊◊ “Would you want your marriage governed by another religion?” ◊◊ “Would you attend the same-sex wedding of a family member?” ◊◊ “Many people of faith support marriage equality because of their faith, not in spite of it; is it fair to discriminate against their religious beliefs?”

• On adoption: ◊◊ “Do you think children are better off in an orphanage or foster care than with a loving and committed same-sex couple?” ◊◊ “Do you personally know any same-sex couples who have children?”

Know the religious landscape It’s never easy to confront an expert on his or her subject matter, but it is also a journalistic responsibility.

Asking faith leaders tough questions is not being anti-religion, and a well-prepared journalist should come to the table with a reasonable knowledge of the ongoing scriptural conversation on LGBT issues. You don’t have to be an expert in religion or scripture, but you can come with some basic arguments from the pro-equality side of the scriptural debate.

When an interviewee says: “I oppose this legislation because it goes against the teachings of the Bible,” consider asking:

• “What do you think of the argument—advanced by evangelicals like Matthew Vines—which states

that the New Testament merely condemns adultery and lust, not committed and loving relationships, whether gay or straight?”

• “Do you think denominations like the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the Presbyterian Church (USA) are wrong to welcome LGBT people and their families into the church?”

• “Many faith leaders have advocated for the law that you are opposing on religious grounds. How do you reconcile your insistence of religious freedom when it directly curtails the religious freedom of others?”

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FAITH, LGBT PEOPLE, & THE MIDTERM ELECTIONS

STORY IDEAS LGBT Youth Homelessness Forty percent of homeless youth identify as LGBT. While not all LGBT homeless youth were kicked out of religious households, often religious messages get used to justify parents rejecting their families.

There are two ways that this story can be covered.

1. Examine what within religious teaching is prompting parents to kick their kids out of their home, or otherwise make it unsafe enough that the child has to leave.

2. Cover the work that religious communities are doing to address the LGBT youth homelessness

issue. Good resources to cover this topic are the Family Acceptance Project, as well as homeless youth shelters, including those sponsored by houses of worship.

Non-Discrimination While many of the leaders opposing non-discrimination ordinances come from religious communities, religious communities have long been behind non-discrimination efforts. Over one hundred religious leaders from Christian, Jewish, Muslim, and interfaith organizations signed a letter to President Obama, asking that he not include broad religious exemptions in an executive order barring hiring discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity by federal contractors. Additionally, faith leaders have also led efforts to enact state and local non-discrimination policies and laws.

LGBT Youth Ministry Several churches and religious groups are establishing youth ministries to address the needs of LGBT youth. Prominent programs include The Naming Project, Wonderfully Made Camp, and the Spiritual Pride Project. These programs have worked with youth to reconcile their faith, sexual orientation, and gender identity.

Firing of LGBT People from Catholic Institutions Since 2008, at least 44 parish employees, parochial school teachers and administrators, and others who have been employed or volunteer with Roman Catholic institutions have been fired from their jobs. In many cases, the immediate parish knew that the individual was LGBT or an ally, but once it came to the attention of the diocese (through something like a newspaper article or even an obituary), then the individual was fired. New Ways Ministry has been keeping a list of the known firings since 2008.

Youth Evangelicals Study the Bible, Find Support for LGBT people In 2012, Matthew Vines made a splash with his YouTube video, “The Gay Debate: The Bible and Homosexuality,� in which he presents a careful and nuanced look at scripture, only to find that common anti-LGBT interpretations are not supported in scripture. Since then, Matthew has published God and the Gay Christian: The Biblical Case in Support of Same-Sex Relationships and founded The Reformation Project, which works to educate LGBT-affirming Christians on pro-LGBT arguments.

November 6-8, one week after the Southern Baptist Convention hosts an anti-gay conference in Nashville, The Reformation Project will bring together hundreds of Christians and dozens of faith leaders in Washington, D.C., for a Bible-based training conference to advance LGBT inclusion in conservative churches.

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RESOURCES FOR REPORTERS Contemporary discourse on scripture and LGBT issues: • “The Gay Debate: The Bible and Homosexuality” on YouTube by Matthew Vines: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezQjNJUSraY • “God and the Gay Christian: The Biblical Case in Support of SameSex Relationships: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmp6lLct-fQ” • God and the Gay Christian: The Biblical Case in Support of SameSex Relationships by Matthew Vines • “Gay Christian Answers” by the Gay Christian Network: https:// www.gaychristian.net/video/answers.php • Be Bulletproof: How to Defend Your Faith, Love Your Enemies, and Finally Make Peace with the Bible by Candace Chellew-Hodge • God vs Gay: The Religious Case for Equality by Jay Michaelson • Torah Queeries: Weekly Commentaries on the Hebrew Bible • Ed by Gregg Drinkwater, Joshua Lesser, and David Shneer • Homosexuality in Islam: Critical Reflections on Gay, Lesbian and Transgender Muslims by Scott Kugle

LGBT RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS AFFIRMATION MORMONS www.affirmation.org Supports LGBTQ and Same-Sex Attracted Mormons and their families, friends and Church leaders.

Affirmation United Methodists www.umaffirm.org Challenges The United Methodist Church to be inclusive and radically speaks out against injustice for LGBTQ people around the world.

Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists www.awab.org Builds the Welcoming and Affirming movement within the Baptist traditions.

Axios www.axios.com Includes Eastern Orthodox, Byzantine Rite, and Eastern Catholic LGBT Christians.

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Believe Out Loud www.believeoutloud.com Empowers Christians to work for LGBT equality.

Brethren Mennonite Council for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Interest www.bmclgbt.org Cultivates an inclusive church and caring for the Mennonite and Brethren LGBT/allied community.

Call to Action www.cta-usa.org Educates, inspires and activates Catholics to act for justice and build inclusive communities through a lens of anti-racism and anti-oppression principles.

Covenant Network of Presbyterians www.covnetpres.org Includes Presbyterian clergy and lay leaders working towards a fully inclusive church.

FAITH, LGBT PEOPLE, & THE MIDTERM ELECTIONS

DignityUSA www.dignityusa.org Works for respect and justice for all people—especially LGBT persons—in the Catholic Church.

Integrity USA www.integrityusa.org Includes LGBT Episcopalians and their allies, families, and friends.

Emergence International www.emergence-international.org Includes Christian Scientists, their families and friends who provide spiritual and educational support for LGBT people.

Interweave www.uua.org/lgbtq Includes LGBTQ Unitarian Universalists and their allies, families and friends.

Equally Blessed www.equally-blessed.org Includes Faithful Catholics committed to full equality for LGBT people in the church and civil society.

Many Voices www.manyvoices.org Includes Black church movement for gay and transgender justice.

The Evangelical Network www.t-e-n.org Includes LGBT & Straight affirming evangelical ministries and individuals.

Metropolitan Community Churches www.mccchurch.org Proclaims God’s inclusive love for all people & proudly bears witness to the holy integration of spirituality & sexuality.

The Fellowship www.radicallyinclusive.com Includes Christian Churches committed to radical inclusive ministry.

Fortunate Families www.fortunatefamilies.com Includes resource and networking ministry with Catholic parents of LGBT children.

Friends of LGBT Concerns flgbtqc.quaker.org Includes Quaker faith community within the Religious Society of Friends that deeply honors, affirms, and upholds that of God in all people.

Gay Christian Network www.gaychristian.net Includes Christian ministry building bridges and offering support for those caught in the crossfire of one of today’s most divisive culture wars.

GLAD Alliance, Inc. www.gladalliance.org Transforms the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) into a just and inclusive church.

More Light Presbyterians www.mlp.org Works for LGBT Presbyterians and their allies, families, and friends.

New Ways Ministry www.newwaysministry.org Advocates for justice for LGBT Catholics, and reconciliation within the larger Christian and civil communities.

Pink Menno Campaign www.pinkmenno.org Works towards the inclusion and welcome of LGBTQ individuals and their supporters in the Mennonite Church.

Reconciling Pentecostals International www.rpifellowship.com Includes Pentecostal ministers, churches, and ministries working towards an affirming and inclusive church.

ReconcilingWorks: Lutherans for Full Participation www.reconcilingworks.org Advocates for the full inclusion of LGBT Lutherans in all aspects of the life of their Church and congregations.

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Room for All www.roomforall.com Includes Christ-followers in the Reformed Church in America, committed to welcome and affirm LGBT people and their allies.

Seventh-Day Adventist Kinship International www.sdakinship.org Provides a safe spiritual and social community for LGBTI current and former Seventh-day Adventists around the world.

UCC LGBT Ministries www.ucc.org/lgbt Supports and sanctuary to LGBT people, and their families and friends.

Unity Fellowship of Christ Church www.unityfellowshipchurch.org Includes African-American LGBT spiritual organization.

LGBT RELIGIOUS ADVOCACY PROGRAMS Faith in America www.faithinamerica.org

The Reformation Project

Works to end the harm to LGBT youth and families from misguided religious teaching.

GLAAD Religion, Faith and Values Program www.glaad.org/programs/faith Amplifies the voices of LGBT-affirming communities of faith and LGBT people of faith.

Soulforce www.soulforce.org Works to end spiritual violence perpetuated by religious policies and teachings against LGBT people.

www.transfaithonline.org

www.hrc.org/religion Shapes a world where no one has to choose between who they are, whom they love and what they believe.

Institute for Welcoming Resources - National Gay & Lesbian Task Force

Focuses on issues of faith and spirituality, led by transgender people.

Transgender Faith and Action Network Freedom Center for Social Justice www.tfaan.org

www.welcomingresources.org Works to achieve full acceptance of LGBTQ people in

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Training Christians to support LGBT people

Transfaith

HRC Religion and Faith Program

the life of the Church.

http://www.reformationproject.org/

Offers trans people of faith and allies to vision, build, grow, heal and shift culture within faith communities and the world.

FAITH, LGBT PEOPLE, & THE MIDTERM ELECTIONS

www.glaad.org www.hrc.org

InFocus: Faith, LGBT People, & the Midterm Elections is a joint publication of GLAAD and the Human Rights Campaign Foundation.

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