Black Community News News and Commentary for Christians
When the former governor of Virginia, Ralph Northam, signed the so-called Virginia Values Act into law in 2019, Christian individuals and organizations knew they’d have to fight to guarantee their religious liberty.
The law barred employers, including religious employers, from making hiring decisions on the basis of “gender identity” and sexual orientation. These organizations seek to hire individuals who share their beliefs on marriage and sexuality.
A coalition of Christian ministries — Calvary Road Baptist Church, Community Fellowship Church, Community Christian Academy, and Care Net (a pregnancy center) — filed a lawsuit in 2020 to stop enforcement.
Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) announced that the parties have settled.
These ministries may hire Christians who share their beliefs about marriage and sexuality, and the state will leave them alone. From ADF:
Further, Virginia officials agreed that commonwealth law protects the ministries from having to pay for or facilitate any gender dysphoria treatment that violates their religious teachings. Examples include puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, so-called “sex reassignment” surgeries, or any other “gender transition” procedures.
Under the settlement, Christian organizations will not have to use their money or facilities to mutilate anyone, especially peer-pressured children.
A court had ruled against the coalition in 2021, claiming that members of these non-profits didn’t have standing to sue until they were threatened with prosecution. The coalition asked the court to reconsider.
“Religious organizations are free to operate their ministries without fear of government punishment, and Virginia’s law protects that foundational right,” said ADF Senior Counsel Kevin Theriot. “Our clients are motivated by their faith to offer spiritual guidance, education, pregnancy support, and athletic opportunities to their communities. The commonwealth must respect their right—just like anyone else’s—to continue operating by their own internal policies and codes of conduct about life, marriage, and sexuality.”
Photo credit: Alliance Defending Freedom
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Gm 🌅 n Amen. PTL! You’d never see Islamic mosques hiring lgbtq or twice-born biblical Christians sooo… ✝️
Grateful for Constitutional Republic decisions even under the dark shadow of the Godless DC demoncRATic hireling regime.