A Christian school in Brisbane, Australia, has received complaints due to enrolment contracts sent on January 28 that openly criticize homosexuality and impose conservative religious views.
Citipointe Christian College, Queensland's largest independent school, is under scrutiny over their compulsory "Statement of Faith." The school requires students' parents to sign a statement that lists immoral acts such as incest, bestiality, and pedophilia. The declaration also includes homosexual and bisexual acts as “sins offensive to God.”
The enrollment contract also warns parents that students will be accepted based on “their gender corresponding to their biological sex.” Students whose parents will not sign in support of the 'fundamental doctrinal precepts" will be declined admission.
Parents and advocacy groups were quick to counter the school's religious mandates. An online petition was set up to show Citipointe that the people will not "stand for such blatant transphobia and homophobia." As of the writing of this article, the petition has received 141,592 signers out of the 150,00 signature target.
Pastor Brian Mulheran, principal of Citipointe Christian College, responded to the mounting criticism the school is receiving in an email sent to the parents. Mulheran told parents that the enrollment contract is to "ensure that we retain our Christian ethos, which is the foundation of what has made the college what it is today." Mulheran also framed the school's intention to allow parents to make "informed decisions, whether they can support and embrace our approach to Christian education."
A teacher at Citipointe and a parent to one of the students said she was "saddened that students who are struggling or going through their journey of finding out who they are were going to be encased in more vocabulary of them being 'other' and not accepted.”
A group of parents decided to take their complaints to the Human Rights Commission. The “Concerned Parents of Citipointe” stated that “the school has unilaterally redefined the Christian faith in a way that makes it impossible for many Christians to remain associated with the school.”
