Faith and Sexuality Forum: A Lame Excuse for Blatant Hate

By: Benny Schorie

Illustrated by: Carla Cieza Espinoza

On Mar. 14 and 15, 2022, the Cultural Enterprise at George Fox University (GFU) invited three speakers for a forum titled “Faith and Sexuality.” Each speaker brought a different perspective on what being queer and Christian does, or should, look like.

This event requires all campus members to consider what hosting a forum of this nature says about GFU’s message to its LGBTQIA+ community. The answer is simple yet antagonistic: queer people will only be tolerated if they abide by a narrow set of rules and expectations.

Two of the speakers, Wesley Hill and Eve Tushnet, are both active Christians (Hill being an Episcopal priest and Tushnet a devout Catholic) and members of the LGBTQIA+ community. While it is positive that GFU has invited actual queer Christians to speak on the topic, it is not helpful to bring two similar perspectives on what being one means. Both have taken a vow of celibacy and do not support gay marriage. Queer Christians are like the denominations of the Christian faith: all have unique theological perspectives and opinions on whether queer Christians should practice celibacy. It is incredibly harmful to limit this discussion to one point of view when many exist, especially on a campus dominated by cisgender, straight people.

The invitation of these speakers created a safety net for GFU and the Cultural Enterprise as their main goal was to bring Nancy Pearcey, a problematic anti-trans figure. Pearcey has a Master’s in Biblical Studies. Somehow, she became a staunch anti-trans, homophobic activist making claims that being queer is a choice and transness is the result of loathing one’s body. She has no background in psychology, and her opinions are easily discreditable by medical research and logical scrutiny. Pearcey was invited to speak in March 2020, but the event was canceled due to COVID-19. The announcement of her originally planned event caused backlash from the student body, many of whom planned to protest in response.

While the recent event was not purposefully designed to inspire hate against LGBTQIA+ people, it does accomplish this by indirectly encouraging students to judge the lives of their peers. Pushing one perspective in the form of two people plus a transphobic Twitter warrior creates a false narrative for students, some of whom have little experience interacting with LGBTQIA+ folks.

The choice by the Cultural Enterprise to reinvite this horrifying character to campus came as a shock to GFU’s queer community since the original invitation was widely despised. However shocking this might be, it is not surprising. GFU as an institution has made minimal attempts to reconcile its relationship with the community, and, as a minority group grows in strength and voice, backlash from the powers-at-be is as inevitable as the coming of spring.

It is the reality of any queer person in a conservative, Christian community that living proud will come with consequences, but, as we look those consequences in the face, we remain prouder than ever because we have each other. Queer Christians exist not only around the world but live on GFU’s campus, attend classes, eat at the Bon, worship in Chapel services, date around campus, and do all normal student activities. So, GFU can deny any accusation that it is working against the existence of the LGBTQIA+ community, but queer people and allies see what they are doing and are disgusted by this attempt to invalidate the lives of millions of people.

No matter what those in positions of power on campus decide to do or say about the LGBTQIA+ community, there will always be a community on campus for those who need it. Persecuting others does not follow the Christian message GFU claims to uphold. If they want an open discussion or to understand the queer community, they will have more success in looking around campus and conversing with queer students and faculty, rather than using academia as a lame excuse for blatant hate.

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