Young Life under pressure

Six years ago, Young Life told 24-year-old mountain guide Kent Thomas of Tacoma, Wash., that his homosexuality disqualified him from being a leader in the international Christian ministry to students.

On June 30, Thomas told his side of the story on social media using the #DoBetterYoungLife hashtag. He accused the ministry of excluding and mistreating LGBT individuals. Other homosexual former Young Lifers soon joined in, complaining of discrimination and saying they felt shamed and pressured to hide their sexuality. Unrelated complaints of racism and classism also surfaced. Many, like Thomas, no longer consider themselves Christians but are pressuring the evangelical organization to adjust its doctrine about sexuality.

Headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colo., Young Life runs gospel-oriented outreach to students from middle school through college. Anyone may participate. Roughly 80,000 Young Life staff members and volunteers work with hundreds of thousands of youth each week in more than 100 countries. Like other Christian organizations, Young Life has codes of conduct that require its staff and volunteers to follow Biblical teachings, including on sexual behavior. Its statement of faith does not mention sex but says the entire Bible is the “final and supreme authority in all matters of faith and conduct.”

Critics often describe such codes of conduct as forms of discrimination, but the law allows religious nonprofit groups, churches, and schools to require staff members to live according to the organization’s foundational beliefs.

“It’s not discriminatory if the reason for the rule is based on religious belief and if the rule is applied fairly,” said Kim Colby, the director of the Christian Legal Society’s Center for Law and Religious Freedom. It would undermine a religious group’s purpose if leaders taught one thing but lived another, she added.

When WORLD contacted Young Life for comment, the organization sent a written statement expressing sadness over individuals who left the ministry “feeling hurt or shamed.” The organization acknowledged a need to review how it trains its staff to interact with love toward LGBT youth and announced plans to listen to personal stories and identify any necessary reforms.

But the organization also defended its doctrine: “Young Life aligns with historical Christian theology in believing that sexuality is a gift from God and that God guides us in how to use this gift, including that intimate sexual activity should occur within a marriage covenant between a man and a woman.”

And that’s the crux of the disagreement.

Although the #DoBetterYoungLife movement’s online petition includes language about the treatment of all races and low-income youth, most of the demands relate to the ministry’s Biblical beliefs about sexuality. The petition asks Young Life to “immediately repeal” its sexual conduct policy, adopt “fully gay-affirming” theology, add LGBT representation to all levels of its leadership, and apologize to staff members it removed. The activists also want Young Life to train its staff to affirm gay youth by asking for pronoun preferences and support “queer relationships and queer sexuality.” The petition had almost 7,000 signatures by Friday.

At the very least, supporters of #DoBetterYoungLife wants the organization to be open about its beliefs, particularly regarding sexuality, so youth are informed before ending up on a path to leadership within the ministry.

On A Tiny Revolution podcast on July 16, Thomas said if Young Life didn’t make changes, “then it’s sledgehammer time. Or … step back and watch it burn on its own.” Near the end of the episode, Thomas admitted some part of him wants to “watch it burn.”

Whose restroom rights are protected?

A federal appeals court ruled Wednesday that a school board in Virginia discriminated against a female who identifies as a male by allowing students to use only single-stall restrooms or those designated for their biological sex. A panel of judges from the Richmond-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals voted 2-1 that the Gloucester County School Board violated the student’s constitutional rights.

The now-21-year-old student, who goes by the name Gavin Grimm, sued Gloucester High School in 2015. The ruling affirms the original complaint, saying Grimm “suffered from stigma” and other physiological effects from the school’s restroom policy.

The school board argued that while teachers referred to Grimm by a new name and preferred pronouns, it must consider the interests of other students and parents who should not have to share a restroom with someone of the opposite sex.

A separate federal appeals court ruled similarly on Aug. 7 against a Florida high school that prohibited a female student from using the boy’s restroom. —Mary Jackson

Beleaguered Boy Scouts

The Boy Scouts of America filed a motion on Tuesday to stop law firms from explicitly advertising to Scouts who were alleged victims of child abuse while they were a part of the organization.

The Boy Scouts filed for bankruptcy in February in the wake of thousands of abuse-related lawsuits. The organization is set to launch its own court-ordered outreach campaign on Monday to encourage creditors and abuse victims to come forward and file a claim before Nov. 16. It argues law firms are engaging in excessive advertising campaigns containing “false and misleading statements” that could confuse potential claimants.

But lawyers representing victims claim the organization is attempting to avoid responsibility. “I think the Boy Scouts thought they were going to get into this bankruptcy, get out quickly, and go on about their business,” said Christopher Hurley, an attorney with Hurley, McKenna, and Mertz, which represents 2,000 victims. “Now they are faced with thousands and thousands of victims. … The bill has come due for the Boy Scouts’ dereliction of duty which spanned decades.” —M.J.

Kentucky considers therapy ban

State lawmakers in Kentucky heard testimony Tuesday for proposed legislation to ban so-called “conversion therapy.” The term, which many critics view as misleading, covers any counseling aimed at helping minors embrace their biological sex or overcome same-sex attraction.

The proposal would bar licensed mental health professionals from offering such services to individuals under the age of 18 and adults deemed incapable of responsible decision-making. It also would block public funds from going to Kentucky agencies engaged in such therapy. The Kentucky legislature sidelined a similar measure earlier this year due to the coronavirus pandemic. During an interim legislative committee meeting, Republican state Sen. Alice Forgy Kerr and Democrat state Rep. Lisa Willner called conversion therapy a dangerous and discredited practice.

Critics of the legislation argue it violates free speech and religious rights, prevents parents from choosing how best to help their children, and stops people from obtaining counseling for unwanted same-sex attraction or gender dysphoria.

Earlier this year, Virginia became the 20th state, plus the District of Columbia, to enact a conversion therapy ban. —M.J.