June is pride month, a time to recognize and celebrate the LGBTQ+ community. However, let’s not ignore the fact that LGBTQ+ rights are under attack from all angles. From the numerous sports bans on trans athletes in High Schools to the Tennessee “no-bathroom bill” that requires businesses and government facilities to post a sign if they let transgender people use multi-person bathrooms, to a multitude of bills prohibiting healthcare for trans teens. The bills that really boggle my mind are those that seek religious exemptions for organizations that seek to restrict or deny services to members of the LGBTQ+ community. These bills cite religious freedom and conscience.

I say that’s total garbage. It’s not about the Christian faith, it’s about oppression and control.

I grew up in a religious household. My father is a noted theologian, pastor, and has authored numerous books, articles, and papers regarding the Christian faith. My older brother is also a pastor. Growing up I was taught that Christian principles were based on empathy, compassion, and grace, not hatred, bigotry, or greed. I was taught that acceptance, understanding, and selflessness were attributes of a Christian and that the old saying “judge not” applied to everyone. I am disappointed in those self-proclaimed Christians who claim that LGBTQ+ persons are “sinful,” or “abnormal,” and that they should not have the same rights as others. What an un-Christian notion. I recall from our nightly Bible readings that Jesus hung out with hookers, thieves, lepers, and those considered “low-lives” at that time; he wasn’t hanging out with priests, politicians, or corporations.

Now, rich, hardline, so-called Christians are pumping millions of dollars to block legal protections for LGBTQ+ persons. The National Christian Foundation (NCF) is perhaps the biggest contributor. As the sixth-largest charity in America, the NCF has led the attack on the Equality Act, the civil rights bill that passed the House in February and would impose a federal ban on many types of discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation.

The NCF has accepted millions in donations from wealthy members of the Christina right, including the Anschutz family, former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, and Chick-fil-A among others. Over the last 30 years, the NCF has donated 0ver $11 billion to Christian right-wing organizations. And it’s not just LGBTQ+ persons who are under attack from the Christian right, donors have backed anti-muslim groups as well. Shockingly, the NCF has also donated funds to Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), a conservative Christian group that has advocated for the criminalization of homosexuality and the required sterilization of transgender people.

Legislators and citizens who advocate restricting the rights of American citizens based on gender or non-gender affiliation, or sexual orientation are not Christians. They are not acting in empathy, compassion, or understanding, they are acting out of hate and bigotry. The Christian right and their millionaire donors seek to strip away not only the rights of LGBTQ+ citizens but also their dignity and worth.

Doesn’t sound very Christian to me.

With all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love.

Ephesians 4:2