1 September 2025

Twenty-five years ago this month, The Center for LGBTQ and Gender Studies in Religion (CLGS) at Pacific School of Religion was founded on a simple yet revolutionary premise: that faith and LGBTQ+ identity are not only compatible, but that religious leaders have a moral imperative to stand against hatred and discrimination. Today, as we celebrate our silver anniversary, this mission has never been more urgent or more necessary.

In 2025, we find ourselves at a crossroads. One out of every five hate crimes in recent years has been motivated by anti-LGBTQ+ bias. Trans and gender non-conforming people—particularly trans Black women—face unprecedented levels of violence. State legislatures continue to propose and pass discriminatory bills at record rates, targeting our most vulnerable community members with restrictions on healthcare, education, and basic human dignity.

What makes this assault particularly insidious is that the loudest voices promoting these harmful policies consistently wrap their bigotry in a cloak of religious language. They claim divine authority for their discrimination, using sacred texts as weapons against LGBTQ+ people, our families, and our faith communities. This weaponization of faith has deadly consequences. To take but one example: studies consistently show that LGBTQ+ youth living in states with discriminatory laws are significantly more likely to attempt suicide than those in inclusive environments.

This is precisely why CLGS exists. Since 2000, we have served as a beacon of hope in a landscape often dominated by religious hostility and hatred. CLGS is a faith-based and faith-focused organization that supports the identities, the lives, the loves, and liberties of LGBTQ+ people, our families, and our faith communities. We provide an alternative narrative—one that affirms the sacred worth of every LGBTQ+ person and challenges the false choice between faith and authentic identity.

And our work extends well beyond the classroom. We engage in advocacy that leads to change in laws and policies. We support communities that sustain and nurture LGBTQ+ people of faith. We conduct research that documents both the harm caused by religious discrimination and the healing power of affirming faith communities. Most importantly, we educate religious leaders, congregations, and people preparing for ministerial leadership, expanding the circle of those who understand that love—not hatred—lies at the heart of authentic religious practice.

The current political moment demands that progressive religious voices speak louder than ever before. As federal and state protections for LGBTQ+ Americans face new threats, and as conservative religious groups mobilize to roll back decades of hard-won rights, organizations like CLGS serve as essential counterweights. We remind the world that millions of people of faith stand with LGBTQ+ communities, not against them.

The work that we do literally saves lives. When a young person discovers that they don’t have to choose between their faith and their identity, when a parent learns to reconcile their religious beliefs with their child’s truth, when a congregation becomes a sanctuary and an oasis for those fleeing religious trauma—these moments of transformation ripple outward, creating waves of acceptance and love that counter the weaker forces of hatred and exclusion.

As we look toward the future, CLGS remains committed to our foundational vision: a world where LGBTQ+ people can thrive in communities of faith, where religious institutions champion justice rather than oppression, and where the transformative power of inclusive theologies creates lasting change.

Our first 25 years have taught us that faith, at its best, is about radical inclusion. It is not about building walls—it’s about tearing them down. And it is not about condemning LGBTQ+ people—it’s about celebrating the beautiful diversity of God’s creation.

The fight for equality continues, and CLGS will be here, proclaiming that love wins, faith liberates, and that every person deserves dignity, respect, and love.

Bernard Schlager, PhD, CLGS Executive Director