Christian Academy of Louisville, a private Christian school in Kentucky, has come under fire for a controversial assignment wherein students are asked to write a letter to a hypothetical friend “struggling with homosexuality” to “persuade them of the goodness of God’s design.”
The assignment was leaked to Facebook by JP Davis, a Louisville resident and openly gay man whose friend has a child attending the school. The friend shared the assignment with Davis after feeling troubled by it.
“This is deplorable,” Davis wrote on Facebook. “Christian Academy of Louisville teaching kids to write letters to their homosexual friends explaining it’s wrong. Middle school. It’s not about me anymore but the trauma is real. My heart breaks for this age of kids. This is not my Christianity. The time is now to stop this type of abuse.”
In the essay prompt, seventh grade students are asked to “write a letter to a friend of your same gender who is struggling with homosexuality. Assume that you have known this friend since Kindergarten, that you go to the same church, and that you have been pretty good friends over the years until now. This friend is your same age.”
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“The aim of your letter should be to lovingly and compassionately speak truth to the person you’re talking to in a way that does not approve of any sin,” the prompt continues. “Instead, TRY TO PERSUADE THEM OF THE GOODNESS OF GOD’S DESIGN for them.”
In an essay of at least eight sentences, students are asked to show their friend from the Bible, reason, and their personal relationship with them “that God’s design for them is good,” “that homosexuality will not bring them satisfaction,” and “that you love them even though you don’t approve of their lifestyle.”
Davis told Courier Journal, “The statistics speak for themselves on suicide among LGBTQ+ people, and these are seventh-graders that are being subjected to hate and division, and it’s not necessary. I know it’s a Christian school, but that’s not my Christianity.”
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In a statement responding to backlash regarding the assignment, Christian Academy superintendent Darin Long said, “We have been made aware that a student assignment from one of our middle school bible elective classes has been posted on social media. The assignment is part of a unit of study which discusses ‘What are humans and where is their identity.’”
