Pew Research recently released a report on an accelerating trend in the U.S. — adults who were raised in Christian homes and who formerly described themselves as Christian leaving the Christian faith and joining the growing number of religious “nones.” According to Pew, nearly a third of those raised Christian describe themselves as “nothing in particular” as adults. This trend is expected to continue in the next few decades. Combined with a decrease in “transference” — that is, children who were raised in Christian homes becoming Christians themselves — Pew’s research team predicts that between 2050 and 2070, the majority of Americans will not describe themselves as Christians.
This trend is sobering because it shows that a growing number of people are living their lives without the hope of the gospel. While some of the decline in Christianity in the U.S. is likely due to a shift in cultural attitudes toward Christianity leading to fewer people describing themselves as Christians without holding strong convictions, the rise of “deconstruction” has seen a not insignificant numberof young people who once expressed zeal for their faith now rejecting Christianity.
Pew’s prediction is that this shift won’t see its full effectuntil 30 to 50 years from now. However, their research and research from other groups show that America’s teens and young adults are already experiencing this shift. Atheism is more widespreadamong Generation Z than any previous generation in the U.S. Just over half of America’s teenagers are Christians, and a little less than half of adults in their 20s.
Under state law, Minnesota’s social study standards are updated every ten years, going through a process of drafting, public comment, and review before being implemented in schools. The first draft of proposed updates to Minnesota’s social studies standards was released in late 2020 and immediately drew public response for its glaring omissions of key moments in U.S., Minnesota, and world history. Subsequent drafts have shown slight improvement in standards for history — for instance, including the Holocaust, which was completely omitted from the first draft — but have continued to add benchmarks that introduce critical race theory to Minnesota’s classrooms through the addition of “Ethnic studies” requirements.
These standards are part of a broader effort from the Walz administration to push critical theory on Minnesota’s students. Earlier this year, the administration attemptedto mandate ethnic studies in all schools, including private schools and home schools.
Currently the Minnesota Department of Education is reviewing public comments on the proposed final version of the social studies standards and is drafting a Statement of Need and Reasonableness (SONAR) which will be made available to the public. At that point there will be opportunity for public comment before the standards are reviewed and adopted.
“Whatever you do, do it well.” “That's how you glorify God in all things.”
These are the words of encouragement that Carl and Angel Larsen, two of our chapel speakers at LEAD 2022 shared with our students last month. The Larsens talked about tangible ways to become well-rounded adults who develop a variety of skills and explained how they pursue excellence as Christian film makers.They also talked about their stand for religious freedom here in Minnesota when they challenged a law that would have compelled Christian creative professionals to create messages that violate their beliefs.
I love seeing students immediately put what they learn into action, and that’s what I saw them do for the rest of the week as they pursued excellence while working on their bills. So much so that at the end of the week, the Chief Clerk of the House dropped by during our final debates and commented on how much he appreciates the LEAD program because the simulation is accurate enough that it’s a valuable training experience for his staff.
A study released earlier this year 43% of adults between the ages of 20 and 65 say that children and teens with gender dysphoria should not be subjected to puberty-blockers, cross-sex hormones, and so-called “sex reassignment” surgery. However, a more recent study asked a slightly different question. This study asked if people believed that transgenderism is a healthy condition and whether they were willing to say so publicly. 64% said that it was not a healthy condition, but only 30% were willing to say so publicly. 78% were opposed to children being encouraged to undergo gender transition. Similarly, 63% of American adults were opposed to redefining sex to include “gender identity.”
The majority of children who struggle with gender dysphoria become comfortable with their bodies by the time they reach adulthood if they do not undergo social or medical “transition.” “Transitioning” a child signs him up for a lifetime of invasive medical interventions that come with serious, lifelong consequences. Because God’s Word accurately describes his world, we know that the biblical view of gender and sexuality is the truthand that our bodies follow that design.
U.S. Senate Considers Abortion Extremism, Senator Tina Smith Praises Planned Parenthood
On Monday of this week, the U.S. Senate voted on the most radical abortion bill in history.The “Women’s Health Protection Act” would have established a “right” to abortion in federal law and removed state-level protections for the unborn, allowing abortion up until birth in all 50 states. The bill would also have preventedthe government from holding abortion facilities to certain medical standards and would have removed limits on mail-order abortions. In a vote that fell almost entirely along party lines, it did not receive the 60 votes it needed to pass. Both of Minnesota’s Senators, Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith, voting in favor of abortion extremism.
This week a House committee considered a group of bills known as the “Equal Rights Amendment.” Far from upholding rights as the name suggests, these bills would discriminate against women. In a statement to the State Government Finance and Elections Committee, Minnesota Family Council’s Rebecca Delahunt wrote, “The bills’ discrimination of women is one among many concerns regarding the ERA. These bills seek to create a gender-neutral culture and erase women from participation in society.”
Earlier in the session, Minnesota Family Council’s Policy Director, Veronica Missling submitted the following testimony regarding this group of bills:
Minnesota supports equality before the law for all Americans, but that’s not what the Equal Rights Amendment actually does. Men and women already have equal protections under the 5th and 14th Amendments, and numerous Minnesota laws already prohibit sex discrimination in employment, education, housing, and many other areas.
Our modern culture takes pride in twisting the meaning of words. Abortion is now “maternal healthcare,” and physician-assisted suicide is now “death with dignity.” Unfortunately, this disturbing change in semantics has real life impacts, subtly changing our culture’s views on these issues and normalizing the devaluation of human life. As activists attempt to pitch physician-assisted suicide to the world, it has devastating consequences for our society.
A report from the Journal of Ethics in Mental Health found that when assisted suicides are present in a society, the number of non-assisted suicides increases dramatically. It should be obvious to many that when ending one’s own life in a hospital is seen as a solution to suffering, non-assisted suicide will become accepted as well. This is the sad truth of the situation, and it cannot be covered up with weak attempts to change the semantics.
The state of Oregon has long been a proponent of physician-assisted suicide. Death with Dignity, an organization devoted to the subject since 1989, “believe[s] individuals with terminal illness have a right to die with the same autonomy and agency in which they lived their lives.” Sadly, as Oregon has embraced a culture of death, they have seen a spike of youth suicides in recent years. In 2018, suicide was the leading cause of death for youths across the state.
This week True North Legal General Counsel Renee Carlson and Minnesota Family Council’s Assistant Policy Director Rebecca Delahunt submitted written testimony forthe House Preventive Health Policy Division’s hearing on HF 2516, a so-called “conversion therapy ban” that would threaten First Amendment rights and would infringe on the client-counselor relationship by limiting what licensed therapists and counselors can sayto clients who are struggling with unwanted same-sex attraction or gender dysphoria. You can read Minnesota Family Council’s testimony below and True North Legal’s testimony here.
Minnesota Family Council represents tens of thousands of families across the state, and we urge you to oppose HF 2156.
The proposed “conversion therapy” ban is in fact a threat to the ability of all Minnesotans to set their own therapeutic goals and to receive the counseling they believe is right for them. It interferes directly in the relationship between mental health professionals and patients, and it would limit the rights of parents and children to seek appropriate care.
This week True North Legal General Counsel Renee Carlson and Minnesota Family Council’s Assistant Policy Director Rebecca Delahunt submitted written testimony forthe House Preventive Health Policy Division’s hearing on HF 2516, a so-called “conversion therapy ban” that would threaten First Amendment rights and would infringe on the client-counselor relationship by limiting what licensed therapists and counselors can sayto clients who are struggling with unwanted same-sex attraction or gender dysphoria. You can read True North Legal’s testimony below and Minnesota Family Council’s testimony here.
True North Legal is a non-profit legal organization that advocates for life, family, and religious freedom on behalf of all Minnesotans. We offer the following high-level analysis regarding significant legal and policy concerns relating to HF 2156.
“Conversion Therapy Ban” proposals prohibiting licensed mental health professionals in the state from practicing so- called conversion therapy raise significant legal and policy concerns relating to medical access for all Minnesotans. These bans are unnecessary, unconstitutional, and cause more harm than the good these bills propose to remedy.
This week Minnesota Family Council’s Assistant Director of Public Policy submitted the following testimony to the House Education Policy Committee urging them to oppose HF 3434, a bill that would bring critical race theory into Minnesota’s classrooms.
Minnesota Family Council represents tens of thousands of families across the state, and we urge you to oppose HF 3434.
The history of ethnic minorities within the state of Minnesota and the United States at large should be taught, including the lived experiences of racism and discrimination. However, this lived history is not “ethnic studies” as defined by HF 3434. As defined in the bill, ethnic studies “means the critical and interdisciplinary study of race, ethnicity, and indigeneity with a focus on the experiences and perspectives of people of color within and beyond the United States.”1 In other words, the study of history would be through the lens of critical theory, also referred to as critical race theory.
Critical race theory (CRT) is a subject area derived from critical theory which claims that the United States was founded upon racism, white supremacy, and patriarchy. The theory states that racism was a foundational ideal of the nation and still directs every relationship of civil society. According to CRT advocates, the solution to this society supposedly founded upon racism and discrimination can be found in various pursuits of so-called racial equity.
Sarah Stoesz, CEO of Planned Parenthood in Minnesota for the past twenty years, will be stepping down later this year. Stoesz has led Planned Parenthood in creating more clinics, expanding its reach to other states, and impacting local politics. A replacement will be selected this fall. Her roots in Minnesota go deep, especially with the Democratic party.
Liberal leaders from across the state have been quick to commend her. Senator Tina Smith, a former Planned Parenthood executive who worked with Stoesz, praised her for influencing how health care professionals treat abortion. Sadly, instead of putting effort towards building Minnesota up, Stoesz and her team attempt to carefully pull apart what holds our state together — the family.
While Stoesz may be leaving Planned Parenthood permanently, her impact on the abortion landscape in our state will remain. Under Stoesz, Planned Parenthood has been preparing for the overturn of Roe v. Wade and the eventual abolition of abortion in neighboring states. She says when Roe v. Wade is overturned “we will be welcoming people from other states to Minnesota.” The ugly truth is that Minnesota will become a haven for so-called “health care access” that only leads to the death of the unborn.
We are so excited to announce that Ryan Bomberger of the Radiance Foundation will be speaking at LEAD 2022! Ryan is an Emmy Award-winning creative professional, international public speaker, columnist, and author of Not Equal: Civil Rights Gone Wrong. He is also the co-founder of RadianceFoundation.org, a life-affirming organization that illuminates that every human life has purpose. As one of ten children who were adopted and loved in a family of 15 and a father of four, he enjoys illuminating the intrinsic worth we all possess.
Ryan has done incredible work in the pro-life movement, from Congressional briefings on Capitol Hill to speaking at the March for Life in Washington D.C. to billboard and multimedia campaigns, including TooManyAborted.com, an ad campaign addressing the hugely disproportionate impact of abortion in the black community.
Parents’ rights to direct the education of their children does not end when their child goes to school. But are Minnesota schools allowing parents to exercise that right? History is telling. Over the last decade local state agencies, educational organizations, lobbyists, school boards, and administrators have created policies that undermine parental rights. Consider these few examples:
· Minnesota State High School League’s (MSHSL) decision to allow males to play on female sports teams despite significant parent testimony opposing the board’s changes;
· The Minnesota Department of Education’s (MDE) implementation of the Transgender Toolkit over the objections and concerns of many parents;
· The Public Educator Licensing Standards Board’s (PELSB) lack of transparency with regard to changing teacher licensing standards and cultural competency as statutorily defined.
Practically, these changes opened the door to school policies that: Circumvent parental notice in matters relating to students’ physical and emotional health, discipline students for acting consistent with various religious and moral upbringings, teach students about sexuality and how to obtain contraceptives without parental knowledge, and allow teachers to use curriculum that would be considered pornographic in almost any other context outside of diverse literary content.
Nearly 100 years ago the U.S. Supreme Court recognized the constitutional right and responsibility of parents over their minor children, especially in matters relating to their child’s education and upbringing, holding “a child is not the mere creature of the State; those who nurture him and direct his destiny have the right, coupled with the high duty, to recognize and prepare him for additional obligations…” After all, as the Court later affirmed, “parents possess what a child lacks in maturity, experience, and capacity for judgment.”
The Biden administration is continuing its push for “universal” Pre-K, arguing that “the earlier our children begin to learn in school, the better.” President Biden’s spending bill even devotes $200 billion to expanding access to pre-schooling. While universal pre-k sounds beneficial, leading many voters to support the idea, a newly released study shows these programsactually worsen student outcomes.
Researchers at Vanderbilt University recently released a study on Tennessee’s Voluntary Pre-K (TN-VPK) program and its effect on children’s academic success through 6th grade. The long-term study followed 2,990 low-income children and randomly assigned some of them to attend Pre-K.
Students who participated in the TN-VPK program performed worse overall than students who did not. Specifically, from third through sixth grade, students in TN-VPK received lower scores on state assessments than those who were not part of the program. Researchers also noted that TN-VPK participants had lower attendance rates and a higher frequency of expulsions and suspensions. The authors of the study claimed that these findings “are not at odds with findings from other studies of children who experience group care in childhood.”
Ecclesiastes tells us that a cord of three strands is not easily broken, and as we celebrate National Marriage Week, that could not be truer than in the lives of Vic and Mary Anna Eaton, who celebrated their 66th wedding anniversary in December. Marriages like Vic and Mary Anna’s are a reminder of the beauty of marriage and its vital role in shaping flourishing families and communities. After four years at the same college, the two of them met during the final week of their senior year at the University of Missouri. Throughout the summer and fall their relationship grew through letter correspondence. “I must have been a really good letter-writer,” laughed Vic. “God was leading us and took care of us.”
With just 1% of marriages making it past 60 years, 66 years is an incredible milestone! What makes the Eatons’ story even more incredible is that almost 28 years ago, Mary Anna was told that she had only 6–9 months left to live after being diagnosed with metastatic melanoma that rapidly spread to her brain. At the time, the aggressive form of cancer had only a 1% survival rate. Vic quit his job to spend time with her and care for her during her treatment at the Mayo, living out the commitment they had made to one another to love, honor, and cherish one another in sickness and in health. Against all odds, Mary Anna won her cancer battle, leading her oncologist to ask the couple, “Do you have a lot of people praying for you?” She has been cancer-free ever since and years later at an annual follow-up her oncologist attributed her healing to the prayers of the people around her.
A recent study from Care Net and Lifeway Research found that nearly 4 in 10 men whose partners have had an abortion said that, of the people their partners spoke to before having an abortion, they had the most influence on her decision. This is consistent with past research from Care Netfinding that the same percentage of post-abortive women said that their baby’s father was the most influential in their decision to abort. Despite the enormous influence that men play in abortion decisions, the abortion movement continues to insist that this is solely a women’s issue and that pro-life men must be silent on the matter. Men’s influence on abortion decisions also shows why it is so important for men to stand up for the lives and rights of the unborn. Pro-life men make a difference, and the abortion industry knows it.
The supposedly “male feminist” talking point from men whoclaim that their support for abortion is pro-woman falls apart considering the reality that 38% of post-abortive fathers and the same number of post-abortive mothers acknowledge that the baby’s father played the most significant role in the decision to abort.
A recent Gallup survey found that just 29% of Americans believe it is very important for a couple who has children together to be married, down from 49% in 2006. The survey also found that only38% of Americans said that it is very important for a couple that plans to stay together for the rest of their lives to be married — a disparity that indicates a shift in how Americans think about marriage and family, with fewer Americans seeing the two as going hand in hand.
Severalcommentators have pointed out that while marriage rates have been dropping for some time, and our culture increasingly minimizes the importance of marriage in forming stable families, Gallup’s research shows a significant and alarming decline in support for marriageamong groups that have traditionally been pro-marriage and family, including conservatives, Americans over the age of 55, and people who attend church weekly.While 67% of weekly church attendees said that it is very important for a couple who plans to stay together for the rest of their lives to be married, only 45% of weekly church attendees said that it is very important for a couple who has children together to be married. Even in the church, a shrinking number of people recognize how important it is for couples who have children together to be married.
Amid growinginternationalpushback on the transgender movement’s so-called “gender affirmative” approach to gender dysphoria and the rush to give minors experimental treatments including puberty-blockers, cross-sex hormones, and irreversible surgeries, the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) has released new draft guidelines recommending a less radical approach than they have held to in the past. Rather than immediately rushing adolescents into a lifetime of hormone “treatments” and surgeries, the draft guidelines recommend mental health evaluation and several years of monitoring for adolescents with gender dysphoria, although they continue to encourage harmful and irreversible procedures after that.
WPATH, an international organization headquartered in Minnesota, plays an extremely influential role in the use of so-called “treatments” such as cross-sex hormones and “gender transition” surgery. Throughout the rest of the draft guidelines, WPATH continues to recommend so-called “gender affirmative treatments” that have caused permanent harm to young people and adults, yet the proposed draft offers slightly more protection to adolescents struggling with gender dysphoria than recommendations from major medical associations in the U.S. WPATH’s shift, slight though it is, also shows that on an international level, the transgender movement is recognizing that they may be held accountable for the damage they have caused.
WPATH’s draft guidelines added a chapter on adolescents requiring a full mental health evaluation and several years of monitoring before receiving cross-sex hormones or surgery. The guidelines continue to recommend irreversible surgeries for minors, including mastectomies for girls as young as 15 and “bottom surgery” for 17-year-old girls, although they do not recommend similar surgery for boys under 18. The guidelines also removed requirements that adults receive mental health evaluation, despite the fact that many adults who have detransitioned have spoken up about how the mental health struggles that were driving their gender dysphoria were not adequately addressed when they sought help.
The Supreme Court blocked the Biden administration’s vaccine mandate for businesses on Thursday. The vaccine mandate for healthcare workers at federally funded facilities has been left to go into effect.
In striking down the OSHA mandate for businesses, the Supreme Court recognized that the mandate was an instance of government overreach. In a statement, Renee Carlson, General Counsel of Minnesota Family Council’s True North Legal initiative said,
The Court correctly decided that OSHA engaged in significant government overreach, with an unprecedented broad general public health regulation, to the detriment of millions of Americans. Indeed, the Court correctly opined there is a “crucial distinction” between “occupational risk” and general risk we all face in our daily lives. And it is not for OSHA to assert itself beyond its authority as it did in this mandate.
Earlier this year the New York Times reported that 27% of American adults are currently estranged from at least one family member. 12% of parents over the age of 65 are estranged from at least one adult child. In parent-child estrangement, the adult child is usually the one who has cut off contact. Value-based disagreements play a significant role in these estrangements, especially when the rift is between a parent and an adult child. Family therapists have pointed out that rising political tensions in the past half-decade have coincided with increased family rifts.
John Stonestreet has described the consequences of the “thinning out” of society — family breakdown and increased isolation leave people looking for a source of meaning and belonging, so they turn to politics and ideology. “To put it bluntly, our politics cannot handle the amount of weight we currently expect of it,” he writes.
Politics can never replace the family, but as the rise in family estrangement shows, far too many adults, especially younger adults, are attempting to do just that, to the point that they are willing to cut ties with family members with whom they have political and ideological disagreements. No family is perfect, but every family is valuable, and the ease with which young adults have begun cutting off family members over political and ideological disagreements is truly heartbreaking. Family is the bedrock of society, and family relationships are worth fighting for.
