WORLD VISION U.S. REVERSES DECISION TO ACCEPT GAY-MARRIED EMPLOYEES AFTER ATTACKS BY RIGHT-WING CHRISTIANISTS

On March 24, the American branch of the World Vision evangelical Christian humanitarian aid, development, and advocacy organization announced that they would no longer forbid current or potential employees from being in committed same-sex marriages.

Then, after two days of lambasting by right-wing 'Christianists' like Franklin Graham, Matt Barber, Bryan Fischer, and Peter LaBarbera, World Vision U.S. reversed its decision, calling it "a mistake."

Before March 24, World Vision U.S. president Richard Stearns (pictured) said that the organization never asked job candidates about their sexual orientations but rather questioned them about their Christian faith and affirmation of the Apostles' Creed and World Vision's Trinitarian statement of faith.

 He said that this organization’s sexual conduct policy for employees only ever “required abstinence for all single employees, and fidelity for all married employees.”

But in an interview with Christianity Today, Stearns explained that the group’s policy change to accept same-sex marriage employees had nothing to do with receiving federal funding. In fact, World Vision opposed a 2012 USAID proposal that would have "strongly encouraged" faith-based organizations such as World Vision to follow government hiring guidelines requiring the employment of LGBT people.

And yet Stearns says that his group’s initial decision in favor of married gay employees reflected a growing acceptance of same-sex marriage within churches at large, and was not caused by any external pressure or lawsuits. Rejecting legally-married LGB candidates, he said, would create a fractious divide within his own organization:

World Vision now has staff from more than 50 denominations—a handful of which have sanctioned same-sex marriages or unions in recent years, including the United Church of Christ, The Episcopal Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and the Presbyterian Church (USA). Meanwhile, same-sex marriage is now legal in 17 states plus the District of Columbia, and federal judges have struck down bans in five other states (Utah, Texas, Oklahoma, Virginia, and—most recently—Michigan) as well as required Kentucky to recognize such marriages performed in other states.

"Same-sex marriage has only been a huge issue in the church in the last decade or so. There used to be much more unity among churches on this issue, and that's changed."