How Religion Is Killing Our Most Vulnerable Youth

Bishop Gene Robinson has a great piece at Huffington Post that mirrors some of the thoughts I and others have also expressed in terms of the responsibility of the Religious Right for gay teen suicides. He also calls out progressive denominations and pastors for failing to do more to counter the toxic and deadly message that is a daily drum beat coming from the Mormon Church, Catholic Church, Southern Baptist Convention and similar anti-gay denominations and faith traditions. While the United Church of Christ, Unitarians, Metropolitan Community Church, ELCA and Episcopal Churches have all taken real steps to accept LGBT individuals and clergy, more is needed to counter the hate flowing from falsely named "family values" organizations and the parasites of the professional Christian set who specialize in hate and intolerance. Readers should read the full column. Here are some highlights:

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An increasingly popular bumper sticker reads, "Guns Don't Kill People -- RELIGION Kills People!" In light of recent events I would add religion kills young people: gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender young people. Perhaps not directly, though. And religion is certainly not the only source of anti-gay sentiment in the culture. But it's hard to deny that religious voices denouncing LGBT people contribute to the atmosphere in which violence against LGBT people and bullying of LGBT youth can flourish.

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[W]hy this rash of bullying, paired with self-loathing, ending in suicide? With humility and heartfelt repentance I assert that religion -- and its general rejection of homosexuality -- plays a crucial role in this crisis.

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On the one hand, Religious Right hatemongers and crazies are spewing all sorts of venom and condemnation, all in the name of a loving God. The second-highest-ranking Mormon leader, Boyd K. Packer, recently called same-sex attraction "impure and unnatural" in an act of unspeakable insensitivity at the height of this rash of teen suicides. He declared that it can be cured, and that same-sex unions are morally repugnant and "against God's law and nature." Just as many gay kids grow up in these conservative denominations as any other.

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They are told day in and day out that they are an abomination before God. Just consider the sheer numbers of LGBT kids growing up right now in Roman Catholic, Mormon, and other conservative religious households. The pain and self-loathing caused by such a distortion of God's will is undeniable and tragic, causing scars and indescribable self-alienation in these young victims. You don't have to grow up in a religious household, though, to absorb these religious messages.

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[W]hat's the role of more mainline, more progressive denominations such as mainstream Christianity, Judaism, and Islam in these recent tragedies? Mostly silence. And just like in the days of the AIDS organization Act Up, "silence equals death."

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It is not enough for good people -- religious or otherwise -- to simply be feeling more positive toward gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people. Tolerance and a live-and-let-live attitude beats discrimination and abuse by a mile. But it's not enough. Tolerant people, especially tolerant religious people, need to get over their squeamishness about being vocal advocates and unapologetic supporters of LGBT people. It really is a matter of life and death, as we've seen.

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Ministers who remain in comfortable silence on sexuality must speak out. Churches that have silently embraced gay and lesbian members for years must publicly hang the welcome banner. How long will we continue to limit and qualify our messages of acceptance, inclusion and embrace for the most vulnerable in order to maintain the comfort of those in our communities of faith who are well served by the status quo?

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These bullying behaviors would not exist without the undergirding and the patina of respect provided by religious fervor against LGBT people. It's time for "tolerant" religious people to acknowledge the straight line between the official anti-gay theologies of their denominations and the deaths of these young people. Nothing short of changing our theology of human sexuality will save these young and precious lives.

Hampton Pride and Diversity Event - Update

Some time ago I put up a post about a Pride and Diversity Event to take place in Millpoint Park on June 19, 2010. There have been some organizational changes, but the event is still on for that date and place. Taking the helm of organizing the event are St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Hampton and Unitarian Universalist congregation in Williamsburg. These non-profit, gay supportive organizations will be giving all net proceeds derived from the event to local charities. In addition to food, wine, beer and vendors, organizations and businesses that want to promote themselves can secure a booth for $50.00. For more information contact St. Marks at (757) 826-3515 0r go to the church's website: http:stmarkshampton.org. As I said previously, this event will be the kick off for a week long Pride theme that will culminate with HP Pride's "Out in the Park" on June 27, 2010 at Chesapeake City Park off of Greenbrier Parkway in Chesapeake.

Virginia Marriage Amendment: Two Years Later

Today's Virginian Pilot has an article looking at the impact of the anti-gay "Marriage Amendment" passed in Virginia in 2006 and the practice of same sex couples still continuing to get married or hold commitment ceremonies even though the state will not recognize their unions. The piece also has disingenuous quotes from gay-hater extraordinaire, Victoria "Ice Maiden" Cobb (in my opinion, having sex with her would out one at risk of frost bite and amputation) of The Family Foundation, the Virginia affiliate of Daddy Dobson's homophobic Focus on the Family. The moral of the article is that gays WILL persevere with dignity even if those who hate us try to denigrate our relationships. Here are some highlights:

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Buddy Rau says two things nudged him into tying the knot earlier this year: his 40th nniversary with gay partner Kila Chong and the 2006 state constitutional amendment banning gay arriage.
Two years after Virginians passed the amendment, the measure hasn't stopped some same-sex couples from celebrating extra legal holy union or commitment ceremonies at liberal churches.

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Meanwhile, faith-based advocates of the amendment contend the measure helped preserve Virginia law prohibiting gay marriage and fended off legalization of same-sex unions popping up elsewhere.

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It was a harsh, severe slap in the face," said Glen Coats, who grew up in Chesapeake. "It's filled with vitriolic hate for a certain segment of the population in the way it was worded." Coats, a research analyst, said he and his 16-year partner had a holy union ceremony years ago and had no marriage plans. What they fear, instead, is wording in the amendment they think could allow outsiders to meddle in their wills and affect their ability to inherit property from one another.

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Coats, 54, is so concerned about the potential consequence of that text, he said, that he and his partner might leave Virginia when they retire. "It doesn't feel like home anymore," he said. Same-sex couples who stay can at least have a symbolic, religious union ceremony at churches such as New Life Metropolitan Community Church, The Great Awakening United Church of Christ, Norfolk's Unitarian Church and the Williamsburg Unitarian Universalists congregation. All offered union ceremonies before the amendment.

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"Whenever two adults come forward and say, 'We want to do this with the witness of our community and our notion of God,' then of course I want to say, 'Yes, yes, yes, let's do that. Who cares what the state is doing?' " said the Rev. Jennifer Ryu of the Williamsburg church.

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"We decided that a church that welcomes you, no matter who you are, is a good one to get married in," Chong said. . . . It absolutely meant something to me," Chong said. "I thought that we look to a God who's all-loving." It meant something else as well. "It helped us tell the God-fearing people who voted for the amendment: the heck with you," Chong said. "You don't want us, but we want each other, and our friends want us."

Killer Targeted Unitarian Church for Liberal Views

UPDATE: Apparently Fox New's talking heads likewise have some indirect responsibility for Adkisson'ss actions. According to the Knowville News Sentinel, here's what was found in his home: Still seized three books from Adkisson's home, including "The O'Reilly Factor," by television commentator Bill O'Reilly; "Liberalism is a Mental Disorder," by radio personality Michael Savage; and "Let Freedom Ring," by political pundit Sean Hannity.

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I did not get a chance to do a post about this sad situation that occurred at the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church yesterday, but in my mind, it illustrates the fruits of the constant message of hate and intolerance disseminated daily by false Christians like James Dobson, Tony Perkins, and Don Wildmon, et al. Other than themselves, is there anyone they don't hate? Yes, gays and immigrants [think Hispanics] are especially despised, but when examined closely, these demagogues truly hate everyone who isn't a straight, white, evangelical. They make the Biblical Pharisees look rather loving at times. And eventually, the steady stream of intolerance convinces some that murder and violence against those who are different is acceptable, if not required. It is most telling that the shooter said "he hated the liberal movement" and was upset with "liberals in general as well as gays." Here are some highlights from MSNBC:

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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - An out-of-work truck driver accused of opening fire at a Unitarian church, killing two people, left behind a note suggesting that he targeted the congregation out of hatred for its liberal policies, including its acceptance of gays, authorities said Monday.
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A four-page letter found in Jim D. Adkisson's small SUV indicated he intentionally targeted the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church because, the police chief said, "he hated the liberal movement" and was upset with "liberals in general as well as gays."

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Adkisson was a loner who hates "blacks, gays and anyone different from him," longtime acquaintance Carol Smallwood of Alice, Texas, told the Knoxville News Sentinel. Authorities said Adkisson's criminal record consisted of two drunken driving citations. But court records reviewed by The Associated Press show that his former wife obtained an order of protection in March 2000 while the two were still married and living in the Knoxville suburb of Powell.

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Adkisson "stated that he had targeted the church because of its liberal teachings and his belief that all liberals should be killed because they were ruining the country, and that he felt that the Democrats had tied his country's hands in the war on terror and they had ruined every institution in America with the aid of the major media outlets," investigator Steve Still wrote.

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These last anti-liberal statements, unfortunately, sound like they could be lifted directly from materials from Focus on the Family, Family Research Council, the American Family Association or Concerned Women for America. Hate speech DOES have consequences and the activities of these organizations are not for the greater good of the country.