A political science instructor at
Brigham Young University – Idaho said this week that she was
terminated over a pro-LGBT Facebook post.
According to Deseret News,
Ruthie Robertson, 22, came out in support of Pride Month in a June 5
Facebook post.
“I'm currently a member of the LDS
Church,” Robertson wrote. “This organization has openly and
forcefully opposed same-sex relationships and legalized same-sex
marriage.”
“This is my official announcement and
declaration that I believe heterosexuality and homosexuality are both
natural and neither is sinful. … Most Christian faiths label
homosexuality as a sin based on archaic writings. A few hateful
verses in the Old Testament have led to hundreds of years of
prejudice, hatred, violence and pain. If we're going to follow the
Old Testament, and use it to justify a hateful stance, there are
several other things we need to start condemning and punishing.”
“I will always and forever stand up
for the equality of the LGBT community. Sexuality and gender are not
binary, they are on a spectrum and that's how we were made. Stand up
for humanity, love people because of who they are … not despite who
they are,” she concluded.
The post was reported to the chair of
the political science department at BYU-Idaho, which is owned and
operated by the LDS church (the Mormons). After several meetings
with administrators, Robertson was told that she would be terminated
at the end of the spring term, which ended Tuesday.
According to Robertson, no other issues
were raised during those meetings.
“It was just this post,” she
told Deseret
News. “I know the woman who reported me to my department
head already had some issues with my feminist posts. There had never
been anything in my classroom that had been controversial. I kept
the church out of my classroom as much as possible because I didn't
want my personal views of doctrine and policy confused with fact.”