(By Phillip Bethancourt, The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission). When it comes to religious liberty, America is in need of a Fixer Upper. The erupting controversy over Chip and Joanna Gaines reveals that religious freedom is as polarizing as ever.
Recently, both Buzzfeed and Cosmopolitan published articles highlighting comments on homosexuality made by Jimmy Seibert, the pastor of Antioch Community Church, which Chip and Joanna attend. Seibert and the church he pastors affirm traditional Christian beliefs about marriage and sexuality. Shocked that these beloved celebrities would belong to a church with such beliefs, both authors began an inquisition. The articles demanded Chip and Joanna speak out about their beliefs on homosexuality. And this ignited a firestorm. Since Tuesday, the Gainses have been further criticized in articles and on social media while others have criticized both the articles and these attacks.
This particular religious liberty flap is personal to many people, including me. I was born and raised in Texas. I have friends who grew up in Waco who cannot fathom how the show Fixer Upper has turned this quaint central Texas city into a tourist destination. I even know a number of friends who take longer routes to travel across Texas, just so they can visit the Magnolia Market and see the silos.
Even though I would not consider myself an enthusiast for shows like Fixer Upper, I have seen the playbook the left is using to malign this couple before. Those who expect the culture to affirm the redefinition of marriage went after Brendan Eich until it cost him his job as CEO of a major tech company. Chick-fil-A spent months under siege for comments made by its CFO affirming a traditional view of marriage. Hobby Lobby faced years of scrutiny for their refusal to surrender to the sexual revolution by offering abortifacient contraceptives that violated its owner’s consciences. Countless other examples proving the left’s culture war aggression could be offered.
This situation with Fixer Upper reveals several common threads about religious liberty that every Christian must understand.
First, religious liberty controversies often emerge in a battle between religious freedom and sexual freedom. The reason that sexuality is often pitted against religious liberty is that, for many, sexual freedom is itself like a religion.
Listen to Carmen’s comments on the controversy during Thursday’s podcast of The Reconnect with Carmen. The segment on Chip and Joanna Gaines begins at the 26:30 mark.