It’s 2020 and there are still people who can’t accept others for who they are. 

Over the last two decades, there has been a dramatic increase in public acceptance of homosexuality, as well as same-sex marriage, but a lot of churches don’t seem to budge. 

“Sexual orientation was not understood in biblical times. There are references in the Bible to same-gender sexual behavior, and all of them are undeniably negative,” said former Methodist church minister, Jimmy Creech.

Rather than accepting homosexuality, some churches provide help and counseling for those who feel attracted to the same sex. 

This is stated on the Evangelic Alliance’s website, “We welcome and support the work of those individuals and organizations who responsibly seek to help Christians who experience same-sex attraction as in conflict with their commitment to live in accordance with biblical teaching.”

“Religion isn’t really for LGBT. People use religion to hate on others. It categorizes things as either good or sinful and the world doesn’t really fit into those two categories,” said sophomore Jamie Sanchez. 

One major misconception is that most people in the LGBTQ+ community are not actively religious. 

“People presume if I’m actively LGBTQ+ and proud of it that my faith is not overly important to me. The assumption that you can’t be both is made by both communities. In reality, I really care about my relationship with God and my faith is important to me, and I know now that being who I am and being with who I love doesn’t invalidate that,” said Abbey Thorton in an interview for Independent

The religious gap between LGBTQ+ and straight adults narrows somewhat on the question of belief in God or a higher power. About three-quarters of LGBTQ+ adults (77%) say they believe in God, lower than the share of straight Americans who say this (89%) according to the Pew Research Center. 

“I don’t think church should be used to hurt people but to bring people together,” said sophomore Yarethsi Leal.

It’s hard to find a major denomination where all the adherents are accepting. The Old Testament was pretty unequivocal, and it’s only until recently that they have changed their interpretations. 

“Jesus’ knowledge is limited to what was knowable in the first century because—and this is a key point that I’m afraid too many Christians don’t think about nearly enough—Jesus is, in many senses, limited by the first century,” said Biblical Theology Professor Robin Scroggs on PBS Frontline. 

Catechist Hilario Cardoza at the Lady of Guadalupe Church has this to say on the matter.

“I don’t understand how some could use the word of God to hate on others. God made all of us and created us differently for reasons. We should treat each other with nothing but love and respect just like he taught us,” said Cardoza.