The United Nations has now announced plans to release a report this summer concerning some “perceived contradictions” between the “right to freedom of religion or belief” and “sexual orientation and gender identity.” The purpose of this report? To push governments around the world to comply with international human rights law that is designed to allegedly “protect and empower” the participation of LGBT+ folks in religious communities.
Apparently, the folks over at the U.N. have never heard of the concept of sovereignty. They seem to be under the false belief that they have some kind of legal authority over the U.S. government — among many others around the globe — to try and demand we comply with the policies they have adopted. Hate to break it to them, but they can’t make us do anything. They have no legal authority over our country. Perhaps someone forgot to send out the memo?
According to TheBlaze, “The U.N. requested calls for input from all interested governments, religious leaders, academics, activists, and human rights organizations regarding ‘perceived points of tension’ between FoRB and SOGI,”
The respondents were asked to provide information on policies or laws that they say protects discriminatory religious practices.
One of the questions asked, “What are the key trends or significant instances of discriminatory or abusive practices by individual providers of goods or services in the public sphere against LGBT+ and gender-diverse persons that rely on religious narratives?”
The findings of the report are due to be shared during the 53rd session of the U.N. Human Rights Council in June. The report is also set to include “recommendations to States and other relevant stakeholders to fully comply with their obligations under international human rights law to protect and empower LGBT+ persons to pursue happiness, exercise and enjoy all their human rights, and choose how to contribute to society on an equal footing with everyone, including through effective participation in religious, cultural, social, and public life.”
“In charge of the report is Victor Madrigal-Borloz, an independent expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, who has been a longtime LGBT+ advocate,” TheBlaze reported.
The announcement put out by the U.N. makes the case that religion has “historically been used to promote, enable, and condone institutional and personal violence and discrimination against individuals based on sexual orientation or gender identity (real or presumed); repress sexual and gender diversity; and promote cis-gendered and heteronormative norms of sexual orientation and gender identity.”
The U.N. is essentially making a play against religion, especially those that make the claim that homosexuality or any other non-hetero-normative sexuality is sin, wanting desperately to weaken the church because if the left can remove the faithful from their ranks, it will make pushing their progressive agenda on the population much, much easier. The Bible teaches that a family consists of one male, one female, and then children. The left wants to destroy this idea because it can replace parents with itself and have absolute control over every area of a person’s life.
Here’s more from TheBlaze:
According to the U.N., such practices cannot be “justified” under human rights law. The upcoming report aims to “introduce voices from LGBT-inclusive belief systems” to “better recognize and protect LGBT+ persons’ access to faith and spirituality.”
Grace Melton, senior associate in the Richard and Helen DeVos Center for Life, Religion, and Family at Heritage, told the DCNF that the report could result in the “politicization” of religious freedom.
“My biggest concern is the premise of the report which seems to suggest that freedom of religion and rights based on sexual orientation are the same,” Melton explained. “But certainly as a function of international law, they are not the same. Freedom of religion or belief, or freedom of conscience, is an internationally protected human right. It’s codified in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which is a legally binding treaty.”
“Andrea Picciotti-Bayer, a fellow for the Institute for Human Ecology at the Catholic University of America, told the DCNF that the U.N.’s report is a ‘bold attack’ against religious freedom,” the report said.
“Despite saying that we shouldn’t have these rights pitted against one another, but when you keep reading on you see that the author of the report really does see [rights and religion] as being in conflict,”Picciotti-Bayer remarked. “This narrative is not only harmful because it could make people doubt the importance of religion in their own lives and their communities, but it’s also harmful because it will undermine really important social protection. Religion and religious freedom is a stabilizing presence, and for the cases where religion is being misused to oppress, the answer isn’t to shut down religion entirely.”
Religious freedom is a cornerstone of any free republic. The moment that falls, it’s difficult to recover. We must take action to stand boldly against these attacks and unite together in order to not just survive them, but give a little push back ourselves. .
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