Cancel the NSW Proud Schools program

Broadcast on 2CH Sydney, Sunday 27 Jan 2013.

The mainstream media have largely ignored it, and the Department of Education has fobbed off enquiries, but the NSW “Proud Schools” program appears to misrepresent the clear teaching of the Bible on homosexuality, accuses Christians of inciting “homophobia,” and represents a waste of taxpayer money which could be better spent on numeracy and literacy in economically disadvantaged communities.

Material associated with a similar program operating in over 70 schools in Victoria claims that Bible teaching about homosexual behaviour is a key cause of “homophobia,” and seeks to convince students that “modern” biblical interpretation considers homosexual acts as normal.

If NSW politicians and the Education Department receive too few complaints, the Proud Schools program is likely to be rolled out to every NSW state school, and it may not be long before such a program is incorporated in the compulsory national curriculum, with Christian schools also compelled to teach it.

I’m Rod Benson for the NSW Council of Churches.