DISCRIMINATION: Extremist Christian group publishes hateful, anti-gay pamphlet…for kids

[14 September 2012] - An extremist Christian group called Mission:America...recently published a brief flyer called “Questions and Answers for Kids about Homosexuality” that teaches children how they should treat LGBT people.

The handout (which you can read in its entirety here) claims to represent the world’s stance on same-sex attraction throughout history: “From Asia to India to Africa to Latin America, most people now and throughout history agree that being homosexual or ‘gay’ is wrong.”

Kids are advised to inform their LGBT friends that they are sinful and need to fix themselves: “So tell your friends, in a nice way, that no one needs to be ‘gay’ or pretend to be the other gender. It’s not the right thing to do.”

Mission:America might claim to discourage bullying, but telling someone that they are wrong, sinful, broken or “pretending” is bullying in and of itself.

HRC offers several resources for talking with young people about sexuality, gender identity, and faith. Religion and Faith Director Sharon Groves suggests Our Whole Lives, which she describes as "a comprehensive sex education curriculum created by the United Church of Christ and the Unitarian Universalist Association. It does a beautiful job discussing sexuality in an honest way that gives young people the tools to make smart decisions about their sexuality without diminishing any of us." Other resources such as our A La Familia and For the Bible Tells Me So curricula offer helpful guidance surrounding conversations about attraction, love, identity, and belief.

 

Further Information:

pdf: http://www.hrc.org/blog/entry/extremist-christian-group-publishes-hatefu...

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