Candi Cushman is the education analyst for Focus on the Family and is a leading national expert on education issues affecting public and private education. Cushman is also the facilitator for Focus on the Family’s student-led Day of Dialogue, an annual event that provides Christian students with the opportunity to share their faith-based viewpoints with peers about sexuality and marriage in a loving and respectful way.
1) How has the swift changes in the culture's view of sexuality affected the environment for Christians in public schools?
These sweeping changes have made it more likely that youth will find themselves in an educational environment where “tolerance” is heavily promoted, especially when it comes to sexuality and marriage discussions. But all too often, it’s a one-sided form of tolerance, where Christian viewpoints are deemed “too religious” or not “politically correct.” Christian youth on public school campuses are made to feel like they have to hide the fact that they follow the Bible for guidance on sexuality and marriage, and they see their Christian perspective being marginalized or even openly ridiculed.
2) How are you encouraging parents and church leaders to equip Christian students?
Considering key cultural developments like the Supreme Court decision on same-sex marriage coming in just a couple of months (which will have a direct impact on schools), it’s so important to equip the next generation with confidence in their own ability to articulate a biblical viewpoint, as well as the power of God’s love and truth to speak into even the most sensitive social issues. Many of these students are going to be our nation’s leaders in just a few years, so we need to empower them now to express their Christian perspective in a grace-filled manner—even when they are speaking with people who may not agree with them. This initiative serves as excellent training to prepare future leaders for encounters in the culture after they leave school.
With that in mind, in addition to resources for teens, DayofDialogue.com makes a free guide for parents and pastors that includes downloadable Bible studies and “dialogue practicum” activities. The guide gives parents and youth leaders an easy-to-use way to present the concept of Day of Dialogue, as well as a fun way to engage with students and help them think through their faith and articulate it in a loving and Christ-centered way.
Christian youth on public school campuses are made to feel like they have to hide the fact that they follow the Bible for guidance on sexuality and marriage, and they see their Christian perspective being marginalized or even openly ridiculed.
3) Abstinence education and the so-called "purity culture" has been widely mocked by the culture and even by some evangelicals. Has this changed the way you equip young people today for the pressures to conform to a new sexual ethic?
This is an excellent question, especially when you consider the college students who’ve had the courage to launch counter-culture abstinence clubs in the midst of overwhelming societal pressure to embrace sexual promiscuity. We need to think seriously about the consequences of living in a culture that has lost a basic understanding of religious freedom—and the tangible impact that will have on student clubs, when “tolerance” becomes a tool for silencing viewpoints deemed unpopular or unwelcome. This trend won’t stop with current marriage and sexuality issues. It will extend to broader Christian-ethics issues, including abstinence and teen-led purity movements.
In light of where we’re at in this culture, Day of Dialogue equips students to start conversations from the context of a bigger picture, from a more foundational starting place. Students can engage peers by inviting them to think first about whether there is a God. If there is a God, does that God actually care about the details of our lives—including our souls, our relationships and our sexuality? And if that’s true, how might that impact our lives at a personal level?
The bigger questions behind these cultural debates have to do with what it ultimately means to be human, whether we have eternal significance that goes beyond the here and now, and how that impacts our everyday actions.
4) How important is it for Christian parents to be actively involved in the discussions around sexuality that impact their children?
Proactive is the key word, especially when it comes to having a conversation with your teens about the sexuality topics they’re likely to encounter in our culture—whether it’s from conversations with their friends, music, television, movies, or a classroom diversity lesson. Don’t wait until your teens are in the middle of a confusing situation where they are challenged to defend their faith.
That’s why Day of Dialogue has resources that make it easy to discuss these issues with teens beforehand – so they have already though through their biblical worldview. The website and student guides include teen-friendly articles with conversation-starter questions that address these topics, such as a Christian response to bullying or what the Bible has to say about male and female genders.
Don’t wait until your teens are in the middle of a confusing situation where they are challenged to defend their faith.
5) If you had one objective in mind for Day of Dialogue, what would that be?
One of the theme scriptures for this initiative is 1 Tim 4:12, which talks about how youth can take the lead and set an example through their speech, their lives and their faith. In the Bible, there are powerful examples of youth leading a redemptive revolution for the rest of the culture. By understanding their free-speech rights and religious freedoms and knowing how to put them into practice, Day of Dialogue equips young people to do just that.
Daniel Darling is vice-president of communications for the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission. He is the author of several books, including his latest, Activist Faith.
