Christians Banned as Fathers to the Fatherless

The recent movie, The Sound of Hope, tells the true story of 77 foster care children finding homes with 22 families from a small church community in Possum Trot, Texas. The movie depicts the struggles and abuse that many children in foster care experience, including mental health struggles, depression, self-harm and other coping mechanisms. Still, the 22 families in Possum Trot followed the Lord’s example of being “fathers to the fatherless,” as Psalm 68:5 says. Their story is a chapter in the long history of how Christians have, from the beginning of the Church, obeyed Christ’s words:  

For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.

Increasingly, Christians are being prevented from their good work, especially in adoption-related situations. In the past two years, two families in Vermont, who had both previously adopted, were refused additional children because of their religious beliefs. The state revoked the foster care licenses of Bryan and Rebecca Gantt and Brian and Katy Wuoti after new policies regarding sexual orientation, gender ideology, and gender expression were implemented. The Alliance Defending Freedom has filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court of Vermont on their behalf.  

Even worse, Vermont banned these two loving (and licensed) families, despite the growing number of children without a home in the state system. According to ADF, Vermont’s Department for Children and Families has placed children with unlicensed families, in hospitals, and in police stations to temporarily address the need.  

Other states, including Washington, Oregon, and Massachusetts have passed similar policies. And, as of July 1, federal agencies, including the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Administration for Children and Families, implemented new policies for all state-run foster care programs. Advocates claim these changes provide “safe and proper care” for children by ensuring their safety “from harassment, mistreatment, and abuse.” Specifically, the new rules require states to support a child’s “self-identified sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression,” and provide access to resources that support their health and wellbeing. This means that foster parents would be required to ensure access to “affirming” mental health providers and “gender-affirming care” such as puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and surgical procedures.  

Of course, this would squeeze Christians out of a system already in desperate need of willing families. According to a recent study from the Bipartisan Policy Center, 65% of foster care parents attend a weekly church service, compared to the national average of 40%. Families who hold religious convictions are 50% more likely to offer help in the child welfare system. Of course they do. They always have! 

In defense of the new federal requirements, Xavier Becerra, secretary of HHS said, “Every child deserves a safe and loving home. … By addressing the needs of LGBTQI+ children, this rule brings us one step closer to ensuring that all children have the opportunity to thrive.”  

His assumption is that a non-conforming Christian home would be dangerous and hateful. He’s wrong about that because he is wrong in his definition of what is “safe” and “loving.” Like so many others, he has rejected the truth of what love is for a slogan. 

This is another way in which the state is attempting to force Christians to choose between living out their faith and their deeply held convictions. During the Obama administration, the HHS attempted to require Christian hospitals to provide contraception, abortifacients, and surgical abortions. At the time, over 10% of the hospitals in America were Catholic hospitals, and there was an impending shortage of healthcare providers.  

The same is true in the case of foster care and adoption. If states or the federal government force Christians out of the system by forcing them to harm the children they are tasked to care for, the results would be catastrophic. They may not want to admit it, but this is another area where it is true to say they will miss us when we’re gone.