ARIZONA – A new coalition including GetEQUAL has called on the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) to apologize for the harm its teachings are causing the LGBT community. A petition has been launched and is available to sign on getequal.org.
Pointing to current teachings and ministries of the SBC, the coalition sheds light on harmful teachings and actions that individual congregations, pastors and SBC leadership have embraced, targeting the LGBT community, particularly LGBT youth. These words and actions include everything from counseling parents to kick gay youth out of their homes to the horrifying practices of its “ex-gay” program. In fact, the Southern Baptist Convention is one of the nation’s leading promoters of the so-called “ex-gay” industry, currently being profiled by CNN as part of a three-part series called The Sissy Boy Experiment.
“We call on the Southern Baptist Convention to stop misusing the Bible to promote religion-based bigotry and start recognizing the enormous pain and suffering caused by its mistreatment of LGBT people, particularly vulnerable youth,” said Dr. Jack McKinney, a former Southern Baptist minister and spokesperson for Faith in America. “History has not been kind to the Southern Baptist Convention’s record on minorities, and it is making the same awful mistake today by perpetuating abuse against gay people.”
“The anti-gay teachings of the Southern Baptist church nearly led me to suicide,” said Dr. Jerry Stephenson, a former Southern Baptist minister and board member for Truth Wins Out. “I entered an ‘ex-gay’ ministry that falsely claimed I could change my sexual orientation and this led to a deep depression. Only after I accepted my true self was I able to reconcile my faith and sexual orientation. The Southern Baptist Convention needs to apologize because its policies are hurting real people.”
The petition drive is being organized by the Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists, Believe OutLoud, Faith in America, GetEQUAL, Soulforce and Truth Wins Out.
