We have come to the end of LGBT History Month – four weeks bursting with events and discussions, all of which challenged prejudiced ideas. Our work continues beyond this time of year however, as we continue to break down barriers between people which sometimes seem impossible to break. The theme of LGBT History month this year was Religion, Philosophy and Belief.
TrueTube’s free teaching resources embrace a wide range of subjects, including Religious Education, PSHE and Citizenship. This encompasses LGBT equality and explores its relationship to different religious traditions. It is widely thought that the relationship between LGBT equality and religion is a generally negative one. If we look closer, we can see that there are a range of religious perspectives on this topic, not just the orthodox view. Religious texts can be seen as “written in stone”, but for many they are open to interpretation. People of faith often interpret religious texts by taking into account the time when they were written and the original audience. Many people interpret the texts in their own, personal way. There are countless groups of religious people who are proud of both their sexual orientation and their faith. They do not feel conflicted between the two aspects of their character because they are at peace with who they are. They have been met with acceptance, kindness and open minds –traits which can be easily forgotten or pushed aside, by louder, less understanding voices.
For LGBT Month 2016, we wanted to spread an important message. For the student in your classroom who may be struggling with the relationship between their faith and their sexual identity – we wanted them to be proud of who they truly are. We did this by producing a short documentary about a courageous young woman called Katie. Katie is a nurse on a children’s ward and a practising Christian in the Roman Catholic Church. She is also gay. She talks honestly and movingly about how she struggled to reconcile her faith, and about the welcome she eventually found in the church community. Part of my role with TrueTube is to go into schools across the UK and do workshops with the students based on the subjects we cover. During LGBT History Month, I did several workshops on ‘Katie’ which focussed on the relationship between Human Rights, LGBT equality, and religion. I was overwhelmed by the countless open minds I met in the classrooms, and the compassion each student showed. I want to say a big thank you to Whitefield School, Bullers Wood School and Finham Park School for being so welcoming. If we can all find the kindness shown by the students I met in these workshops, there would be no need for struggle at all.
TrueTube’s free teaching resources embrace a wide range of subjects, including Religious Education, PSHE and Citizenship. This encompasses LGBT equality and explores its relationship to different religious traditions. It is widely thought that the relationship between LGBT equality and religion is a generally negative one. If we look closer, we can see that there are a range of religious perspectives on this topic, not just the orthodox view. Religious texts can be seen as “written in stone”, but for many they are open to interpretation. People of faith often interpret religious texts by taking into account the time when they were written and the original audience. Many people interpret the texts in their own, personal way. There are countless groups of religious people who are proud of both their sexual orientation and their faith. They do not feel conflicted between the two aspects of their character because they are at peace with who they are. They have been met with acceptance, kindness and open minds –traits which can be easily forgotten or pushed aside, by louder, less understanding voices.
For LGBT Month 2016, we wanted to spread an important message. For the student in your classroom who may be struggling with the relationship between their faith and their sexual identity – we wanted them to be proud of who they truly are. We did this by producing a short documentary about a courageous young woman called Katie. Katie is a nurse on a children’s ward and a practising Christian in the Roman Catholic Church. She is also gay. She talks honestly and movingly about how she struggled to reconcile her faith, and about the welcome she eventually found in the church community. Part of my role with TrueTube is to go into schools across the UK and do workshops with the students based on the subjects we cover. During LGBT History Month, I did several workshops on ‘Katie’ which focussed on the relationship between Human Rights, LGBT equality, and religion. I was overwhelmed by the countless open minds I met in the classrooms, and the compassion each student showed. I want to say a big thank you to Whitefield School, Bullers Wood School and Finham Park School for being so welcoming. If we can all find the kindness shown by the students I met in these workshops, there would be no need for struggle at all.
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