Students in a Christian middle school in Kentucky, USA, were assigned a writing project where they contacted a hypothetical gay friend and tried to persuade them to stop being gay.

Modern day education assignment at Christian Academy of Louisville. Middle school. Write a letter to your homosexual friend explaining why it’s wrong. Shameful. #stopthehate pic.twitter.com/UdgXv3FEBA

— JP Davis (@kyjpdavis) May 13, 2022

The syllabus reads: “Essay: Write a letter to a friend of your same gender who is struggling with homosexuality.” The instructions are to “assume that you have known this friend since Kindergarten, that you go to the same church, and that you have been pretty good friends over the years until now.”

The assignment’s stated objectives are to persuade them that God’s design for them is good, that homosexuality will not bring them satisfaction, and that you love them even though you don’t approve of their lifestyle.

A parent of one of the students given this assignment took a screenshot and sent it to JP Davis, an LGBTQ+ activist, where he shared it on Twitter. “Their child is in this class at CAL (Christian Academy of Louisville), and I’m one of the few out gay men that she knows, and so understandably so, she calls me and says, what do I do, I don’t agree with this,” Davis told WLKY. “It’s just disappointing because I don’t think we should tolerate those kinds of teachings. I know it’s a private school. I know it’s a Christian school.”

CAL Superintendent Darin A Long said that the assignment was taken out of context in a statement. “This particular assignment, in context, was how a person could discuss homosexuality with a friend from a biblical perspective with compassion and love,” according to the statement. “This hypothetical friend conversation was for our students to review the class discussions and their perspectives on the subject. Moving forward, we will review this assignment to ensure there is clarity in its purpose and language.”