Faith leaders: Silence on LGBTQ+ rights is no longer an option

There are moments in public life when a community must decide who it is—truly, unapologetically, without flinching. The release of Sacred Worth, Shared Freedom by the Lavender Interfaith Collective (LInC) is one of those moments. Sacred Worth, Shared Freedom is a bold, multi-faith statement and call to action affirming the inherent dignity of LGBTIQ+ people and urging communities, leaders, and institutions to defend human rights, expand democratic freedoms, and stand in courageous solidarity against all forms of anti-LGBTIQ+ violence and discrimination. It is not simply a statement; it is a line in the sand drawn by people of faith who refuse to let fear have the final word. I write as one of them.

For too long, religion has been used as a weapon against LGBTIQ+ people—especially transgender and nonbinary youth who are being targeted with a cruelty that should break every heart awake to the sacred. Many of us in faith leadership have watched this unfold with grief, anger, and a growing conviction that silence is no longer an option. Silence, after all, is not neutrality. Silence is complicity.

Sacred Worth, Shared Freedom rises from that conviction. It is rooted in the simple, ancient truth that every person carries an inherent dignity that no legislature, no pulpit, and no political agenda can erase. But it also names something deeper: our freedom is bound together. When one group is targeted, the whole community is diminished. When one group is protected, the whole community becomes more resilient.

This is not abstract theology. It is a lived reality. I have seen queer and trans youth walk into congregations unsure if they will be welcomed or wounded. I have watched parents tremble with fear for their children’s safety. I have listened to elders who survived earlier waves of hatred and now watch history trying to repeat itself. And I have witnessed the courage of communities who refuse to let that happen.

That courage is what Sacred Worth, Shared Freedom calls forth. It is a call to faith leaders to reclaim the moral center of our traditions—not the distorted versions used to justify exclusion, but the liberating core that insists every human being is beloved. It is a call to congregations to move beyond statements of welcome and into practices of protection, advocacy, and solidarity. And it is a call to the wider public to recognize that the struggle for LGBTIQ+ dignity is inseparable from the struggle for a healthy democracy.

Some will say faith leaders should stay out of public life. But history tells a different story. Faith communities have always shaped the moral imagination of this country. The question is never whether religion will influence public life—but how. Will we narrow the circle of belonging, or widen it? Will we bless fear, or bless courage that accompanies those who are marginalized?

Those who endorse Sacred Worth, Shared Freedom are choosing courage. We are choosing to stand with those whose lives are being legislated, debated, and threatened. We are choosing to say, with clarity and conviction, that LGBTIQ+ people are not problems to be solved but neighbors to be cherished. We are choosing to act.

And that is the heart of this moment: action. Not performative allyship. Not quite sympathy. Action that protects, uplifts, and transforms.

If you are a person of faith, a community leader, or simply someone who believes in human dignity, the invitation is clear. Read the statement. Share it. Sign it. Let it move you from conviction to courage, from belief to embodiment.

Because our shared worth and dignity are something human judgment cannot set aside, and our shared freedom is not a dream. It is a responsibility. And it is ours to claim—together.

Rev. Mike Schuenemeyer is the Coordinator of the Lavender Interfaith Collective and Co-Pastor of Northwest Community Church – United Church of Christ, Las Vegas, Nevada.

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