Would Jesus Discriminate?


The Advocate and a number of other online sources have been posting news about a publicity campaign aimed at targeting Judeo-Christian faith-based homophobia.  The campaign was launched by MCC (Metropolitan Community Churches) around the country.  The group have launched a website, www.wouldjesusdiscriminate.com, and begun an aggressive media campaign that includes billboards, posters, print advertising and lawn signs that ask a simple question:  "Would Jesus Discriminate?"

So far, according to the campaign's official website, the campaign has been launched in the USA, Australia and the UK.  In the United States alone, over 35 communities nationwide have launched the campaign---including a number of states where one might not expect to see such a campaign.  For instance, a 20-mile stretch of Interstate 30 that cuts through the Dallas–Fort Worth metropolitan area recently became home to four billboards that ask passing motorists "Would Jesus Discriminate?" 

The campaign is a play on the "What Would Jesus Do?" bracelet phenomenon, embraced by many evangelical Christians earlier in the decade.  The creators of the campaign hope to engage Christian communities in dialogue about embracing LGBT people of faith and in dispelling long-held beliefs in some faith communities that homophobia, stigma and discrimination against LGBT people is taught by the Bible.  "Our viewpoint is that discrimination was not a part of Jesus' message, nor is it part of the best of any Christian church's ministry," says the MCC website WhyWouldWe.org. "This campaign seeks to educate people through active dialogue and friendly discussion."