People of Faith Must Speak out Against Chesterland Church Bombing [COMMENTARY]

In this moment when violence against the LGBTQIA+ community is on the rise across our country, it is imperative that people of faith stand up for dignity and equality. LOVEboldly, an LGBTQIA+ faith-based organization, categorically condemns the violence and vandalism directed at the Community Church of Chesterland last week ahead of a planned Ohio Drag Queen Story Hour that the church will be hosting.

Nowhere—particularly not communities of faith and places of worship—should be targeted for violence. The Bible calls for all people of faith to “speak up” (Proverbs 31:8), and we call on people of faith, LGBTQIA+ people, and all our allies to join us in lifting our voices and pushing back against this and other assaults—ideologically, theologically, spiritually, and physically.

The people who perpetrated this attack have embraced the warped logic that the best way to protect children is to threaten and violently disrupt spaces and events meant for children. Not only did this attack target the Drag Queen Story Hour, but it also had the potential to endanger the lives of children and the teacher at the church’s preschool (who fortunately were not in the building at the time).

Clearly, for these terrorists, this is not about protecting children but about promoting fear and hatred against the LGBTQIA+ community. The perpetrators join politicians both in Ohio and nationally who are determined to limit the rights of the LGBTQIA+ community—including children—while taking no meaningful action to address the leading cause of death among children: gun violence.

As LGBTQIA+ people know well—and conservatives seem to never understand—there is no link between drag queens and abuse of children. In fact, a brief scan of news reports show that over the past year, far more child abuse has occurred in churches than in LGBTQIA+ spaces.

To legitimize their violence, though, domestic terrorists—including Christian nationalists—have to paint drag performers as degenerates as well as “pedophiles and groomers.”  They draw on decades-old tropes to demonize the LGBTQIA+ community that have consistently been disproven, all the while remaining silent about the rampant abuse occurring in many conservative Christian churches.

From the pillaging of holy sites historically to the firebombing of the 16^th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, AL, in 1963, to the shootings at Mother Emmanuel in Charleston in 2015, to shooting at Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh in 2018, to the shootings at the Al Noor Mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand in 2019, and the school shooting at the Covenant School this week in Nashville, places of worship have never been immune to violence, but they should be.

Places of worship should be beacons of peace where anyone can find safety, not despite their identities, but because of the many ways their identities intersect and inform who they are and reflect the creativity of their God.

The people who perpetuated the attacks against the Community Church of Chesterland have demonstrated that their values are not rooted in their faith, but only in their fear and ignorance.

Until all people of faith shine the light of justice together, we will continue to allow this fear and violence to spread. 🔥