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.
FAITH, LGBT PEOPLE, & THE MIDTERM ELECTIONS
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