Christian Organizations Back LGBT Legislation in Exchange for Religious Liberty Protections

In the last few months, two major Christian organizations endorsed principles that would make sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) protected classes under federal anti-discrimination laws. The Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU) and the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) both passed motions affirming the need for SOGI legislation and argued that this is the only way to ensure the preservation of religious liberty. 

WORLD reported that Shirley Mullen, who is President at Houghton College and sits on the boards of both organizations, wrote in a position paper for NAE board members that, “As Christian higher educators, we are increasingly persuaded that the most viable political strategy is for comprehensive religious freedom protections to be combined with explicit support for basic human rights for members of the LGBT community.”

The NAE’s motion called for federal legislation in keeping with three principles. First, they say that “We believe that God created human beings in his image as male or female and that sexual relations be reserved for the marriage of one man and one woman.” Second, they say they support, “long-standing civil rights laws and First Amendment guarantees that protect free religious exercise. Finally, they argued that “No one should face violence, harassment, or unjust…