Citipointe Christian College in Brisbane, Australia, is under fire for having students and their families sign a contract that calls for abstaining from “any form of sexual immorality”—meaning sexual acts outside the bonds of Biblical marriage. News of the contract went viral and has prompted protest from the left.
Calling it “open discrimination,” a recently established Change.org petition has garnered almost 130,000 signatures to try and force the school to change its policy.
Serving students and families through their primary and secondary education, Citipointe’s core values are focused on honoring Jesus Christ through uncompromisingly Christian values, a high-quality education, an academically rigorous curriculum, a sense of college spirit (that honors Christ) and a caring environment.
To that end, the school recently released a new parent contract that it hoped could help families understand that Christ should remain central in all of their teaching and activities, regardless of the cultural pressure to compromise when it comes to Biblical values like sexuality and the sanctity of human life.
According to reports, part of the contract reads: “We believe that any form of sexual immorality, (including but not limited to: adultery, fornication, homosexual acts, bisexual acts, bestiality, incest, pedophilia and pornography) is sinful and offensive to God and is destructive to human relationships and society.”
The school will also only enroll a student based on the “gender that corresponds to their biological sex” and has made pro-life statements against abortion and euthanasia.
In an official response to the outrage, Principal and Pastor Brian Mulheran said, “We have always held these Christian beliefs and we have tried to be fair and transparent to everyone in our community by making them clear in the enrollment contract.”
“We are seeking to maintain our Christian ethos and to give parents and students the right to make an informed choice about whether they can support and embrace our approach to Christian education.”
“Citipointe does not judge students on their sexuality or gender identity and we would not make a decision about their enrollment in the College simply on that basis.”
“We believe each individual is created in the image of God, with dignity and worth equal to every other person. We unequivocally love and respect all people regardless of their lifestyle and choices, even if those choices are different to our beliefs and practice.”
So far, one English teacher at the school has quit and removed her son from classes.
Bethany Lau, the woman who created the Change.org petition, told The Courier Mail that she started the petition to stand up for “queer and trans children” who might feel “less than human” because of the contract.
Despite the pressure, and a potential review by Queensland’s Education Ministry, Citipointe continues to take a strong stand for Biblical values.
Mulheran, in a private video shared with families and later uploaded to social media by supporters of the Change.org petition, expressed the school’s views that “religious freedom is not discrimination.”
“As a college established for religious purposes, we have the freedom to maintain our Christian ethos and provide families an education based on our shared beliefs. It is often misunderstood, but it’s an established international principle, that legitimate exercise of religious freedom is not discrimination, it is the feature of an open society. We aim to give parents and students the right to make informed choices about whether they can support our approach to Christian education and participate in our community.”
