Christian Leaders Divided over Repeal of Transgender Bathroom Directive

Veronica Neffinger | iBelieve Contributor | Updated: Feb 23, 2017

Christian Leaders Divided over Repeal of Transgender Bathroom Directive

On Wednesday night (Feb. 22), the Trump administration announced that it was rescinding the Obama administration’s transgender bathroom directive for public schools. In the wake of that decision, Christian leaders had varying responses.

A statement from the White House on the issue read: "As President Trump has clearly stated, he believes policy regarding transgender bathrooms should be decided at the state level.” The statement added that this decision “paves the way for an open and inclusive process to take place at the local level with input from parents, students, teachers and administrators."

Some Christian leaders, such as Dr. Russell Moore, president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, praised the administration’s decision.

“I'm very glad to see the Trump Administration revoke these guidelines,” Moore said in a statement. “This move is good for parents and good for families. Children are not pawns of the state to be used to advance the latest fashionable ‘right side of history’ cause. Christians must continue to insist that the worldview of the sexual revolution harms men and women and advocate for the inherent dignity of all.”

Another Christian leader, Jesuit priest James Martin, voiced his disapproval of the administration’s decision.

Martin wrote a series of tweets explaining his opposition to the repeal of the directive:

'”#Trans‪ students endure so many indignities already. They should be able to use whatever bathrooms they choose. Its doesn't hurt anybody,” he wrote. “For Jesus, there is no ‘other.’ There is no ‘them.’ There is only ‘us.’ So we must be about openness, acceptance and inclusion.”

 

Photo courtesy: Thinkstockphotos.com

Publication date: February 23, 2017



Christian Leaders Divided over Repeal of Transgender Bathroom Directive