How to be called a bigot in one easy step

I feel vulnerable every time I research and write something that brushes up against the issue of same-sex union, or anything that might be perceived to be any thing less than tolerant and loving of the LGBT community.

I feel vulnerable every time I research and write something that brushes up against the issue of same-sex union, or anything that might be perceived to be any thing less than tolerant and loving of the LGBT community.

I feel nervous for two reasons: 1. I am a scaredy-cat who likes to be liked and I used to be cool (I think). 2. It is so incredibly difficult – maybe impossible – to be heard in today’s Canada as anything less than a bigoted homophobic crazy person on a rant.

That is one of the things that interested me about Bob Kuhn, president of embattled Trinity Western University, and why I was intrigued to speak to him for the May/June Faith Today Interview. In today’s Canada, how do you gird your loins sufficiently to lead a battle to have a law school at a Christian university that requires students to sign a community covenant pledging to keep sex in marriage between a man and a woman?

“Admittedly, sometimes it feels a bit lonely,” Kuhn shared, in what I guess is an understatement.

This clash of the titans of religious freedom and sexuality is crashing its way across Canada. In the same issue of Faith Today, Justin Cooper of Christian Higher Education Canada writes about why this issue should matter to all religious institution in the country, including churches.

I am reminded of another interview I did recently. This one with Ambassador Andrew Bennett of Canada’s Office of Religious Freedom: “Each human being possesses an inherent dignity and that is at the core of our discussion about all rights. That understanding does not exist in countries that don’t have freedom of religion.” It would be ironic if, in this particular clash of rights, something that protects us all – each and every one of us – is lost.

– Karen Stiller is a senior editor at Faith Today.