In a campaign orchestrated by South Korea’s powerful radical Christian lobby, anti-gay protesters have been working relentlessly to cancel a set of regional bylaws that protect schoolchildren and teenagers from discrimination on several grounds, including sexual orientation and gender identity.
Lectures on gender equality have been canceled, queer films stopped from screening, books on sex education purged from libraries and plans to outlaw hate speech abandoned.
High-profile pastors and strident groups like Anti-Homosexuality Christian Solidarity are loosely affiliated with church coalitions that have a direct line to politicians and pressure them to uphold a homophobic agenda.
Such prophecies appear to be part of an effort to stave off a larger crisis: South Korea’s waning interest in Christianity, which took off in the country after the Korean War — seen both as a beacon of hope that symbolized Western modernity and as an antidote to Communism.
The recent election results have sparked fresh concern among the Christian lobby that opposition lawmakers may push ahead with equality legislation, despite the fact that churches in which anti-gay preaching may occur are not included in the scope of any of the draft anti-discrimination bills.
An editorial in Christian Daily on April 15 warned politicians against touching the issue: “No matter how overwhelming the majority party is, they could face backlash if they recklessly push out legislation that causes social chaos.”
The original article contains 1,197 words, the summary contains 226 words. Saved 81%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
This is the best summary I could come up with:
In a campaign orchestrated by South Korea’s powerful radical Christian lobby, anti-gay protesters have been working relentlessly to cancel a set of regional bylaws that protect schoolchildren and teenagers from discrimination on several grounds, including sexual orientation and gender identity.
Lectures on gender equality have been canceled, queer films stopped from screening, books on sex education purged from libraries and plans to outlaw hate speech abandoned.
High-profile pastors and strident groups like Anti-Homosexuality Christian Solidarity are loosely affiliated with church coalitions that have a direct line to politicians and pressure them to uphold a homophobic agenda.
Such prophecies appear to be part of an effort to stave off a larger crisis: South Korea’s waning interest in Christianity, which took off in the country after the Korean War — seen both as a beacon of hope that symbolized Western modernity and as an antidote to Communism.
The recent election results have sparked fresh concern among the Christian lobby that opposition lawmakers may push ahead with equality legislation, despite the fact that churches in which anti-gay preaching may occur are not included in the scope of any of the draft anti-discrimination bills.
An editorial in Christian Daily on April 15 warned politicians against touching the issue: “No matter how overwhelming the majority party is, they could face backlash if they recklessly push out legislation that causes social chaos.”
The original article contains 1,197 words, the summary contains 226 words. Saved 81%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!