The U.S. Supreme Court recently announced its decision not to address Jeremy and Mary Cox’s petition against the state of Indiana for having ruled them “unfit” parents. The Coxes had refused to go along with the LGBTQ+ grooming and transgender experimentation being taught in school to their son, who had declared a female gender identity.

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This decision should shock all parents — Christian, non-Christian, or anything else — who will act to protect their children from any LGBTQ+ grooming or trans experimentation in schools or social-services agencies.

Public discourse, federal policy, and youth culture have all seen gender-affirming rhetoric become a driving force in contemporary decision making, especially with regards to my age demographic, Generation Z. A recent article from Faithwire details the results of a Gallup study confirming these trends. According to Faithwire: “More than one-in-five members of Generation Z now identify as LGBT, with close to 30% of generational women falling into that category, according to new data released this week by Gallup. Roughly 22% of young adults ages 18 to 26 self-identified as LGBT, a higher percentage than the nearly one-in-10 Millennials — ages 27 to 42 years old — who identified as such, and even greater than the 5% of Generation X, 2% of Baby Boomers, and 1% of the Silent Generation who claimed such identities.” (The article is available here.)

The Faithwire article goes on to clarify how the far left and some federal institutions have had a hand in this radical trend among youth. A constant push for LGBT-affirming policies through federal and educational policies have enabled the promotion of this rhetoric into many public administrations and school systems. The U.S. Health Department and the CDC have published materials typical of the sorts of DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) promotion methods many school systems are pressured to adopt. School administrators are then pushed to engulf their students in LGBT causes. This of course leads inevitably to battles with families not wishing to subscribe to this ideology.

The Coxes had petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to hold Indiana accountable for removing their gender-confused son from home because of their biblical beliefs about sexuality and gender. According to CBN News, the parents filed a petition for writ of certiorari last month asking the court to review the legality of the state’s actions depriving them of their parental rights. Though their son claimed to identify as a transgender girl, the Coxes refused to use female names and pronouns when addressing or referring to him. The Indiana Department of Child Services launched an investigation in June 2021 into the Christian parents. In pressing for the son’s removal from the home, Child Services said:

“We just feel that at this point in time, this child needs to be in a home that’s not going to teach her that trans, like everything about transgender [is wrong or] … tell her how she should think and how she should feel. However, she should be in a home where she is [accepted] for who she is.”

Disturbingly, situations like this have become increasingly common. Obviously, these problems are issues of the mind and heart, but if this agenda is going to be stopped, the American public will need to demand a change of ideologies. “If this can happen in Indiana, it can happen anywhere,” said Lori Windham, a vice president and senior counsel at Becket, the law firm representing the Coxes. “Tearing a child away from loving parents because of their religious beliefs, which are shared by millions of Americans, is an outrage to the law, parental rights, and basic human decency.”

What might the Supreme Court’s decision forebode about the future of Judeo-Christian religious freedoms in this country, and about this government’s plans for children and families?

We do well to think deeply and at length about all this. And to pray accordingly.

Our God, by the force of Your holy and almighty name we defy the dark powers behind this encroaching evil. Let all who deal treacherously without cause be put to shame. In the blessed name of King Jesus Christ, amen.

These injustices against families and religious freedom must stop. Share your prayers below.

(Photo Credit: daniel james on Unsplash)