Leaked Christian Academy assignment requires students to argue against homosexuality

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - A Louisville private middle school is receiving criticism online after an essay assignment leaks requiring students to argue against homosexuality.

The leaked photos, taken this week, come from a Christian Academy of Louisville Bible-elective course.

The assignment, titled “CW Letter to a Homosexual Friend,” is shown in screenshots within Christian Academy’s online course page.

According to the screenshot, the essay requires a student to write a hypothetical letter to a longtime friend “who is struggling with homosexuality.”

The instructions require students to talk to the friend “in a way that does not approve of any sin,” according to the photo.

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A list of requirements in the essay include showing the friend, “that God’s design for them is good,” “that homosexuality will not bring (them) satisfaction,” and “that you love them even though you don’t approve of their lifestyle.”

A picture of the grading scale was also leaked, requiring use of religious teachings to provide a logical argument in the essay.

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Local businessman J.P. Davis’ post with the screenshots received hundreds of comments and shares. He said he got these screenshots of the assignment from a close friend who has a child attending the school.

“My friend was shocked, actually, and I was shocked when she shared it with me,” Davis said. “Obviously, I had a reaction, because I identify as gay, and I stayed in the closet 23 years, because I was taught fear the same way this 7th grader is being taught today.”

That’s why he decided to do something.

Davis said he received more than 1,000 messages throughout the day.

“The fact that so many people have reached out to me to say ‘that can’t be real,’ or ‘my kid goes there, that can’t be real,’ or ‘I’m an alum of that school’ and they’re all very passionate about it,” Davis said.

WAVE News reached out to Christian Academy for a statement, which was provided by Superintendent Darin Long on Friday evening:

“We have been made aware that a student assignment from one of our middle school bible elective classes has been posted on social media. The assignment is part of a unit of study which discusses “What are humans and where is their identity”. This particular assignment, in context, was how a person could discuss homosexuality with a friend from a biblical perspective with compassion and love. This hypothetical friend conversation was for our students to review the class discussions and their perspectives on the subject. Moving forward, we will review this assignment to ensure there is clarity in its purpose and language.

Christian Academy of Louisville is a Christian-based private school system that partners with families that desire a Christ-centered educational environment. We teach all content with a biblical worldview which is defined in our Statement of Faith and Theological Documents which are provided at the time of student applications, during family interviews, and in our school and parent partnership agreements.

We believe that God created the marriage covenant to be between one man and one woman (Gen. 1:27, Gen. 2:24). We believe that sex is a good gift of God, to be celebrated within the confines of the marriage covenant, agreeing that all other sexual expressions go against God’s design. (1 Cor. 6:18, Gal. 5:19)

We believe that all individuals are created in the image of God and therefore should be treated with compassion, respect, dignity, and love at all times even in disagreement.”

WAVE News also met with an alumna of the school who was angry about the assignment. This was her reaction to the school’s statement.

“I don’t know how much closer of a look you need to take at that assignment, but if that’s what you’re doing, I’d think you’d want to take a closer look at your entire worldview and if the priority is spreading the love of Jesus or the priority is to point out other sins,” Kylee Marcy said.

Christian Academy of Louisville is a private school, and their handbook states that they believe marriage is between a man and a woman. Davis does not think that means this assignment was OK.

“They’re a private school they can do what they want,” Davis said. “They have a board, they create their own values. Parents decide where their kids go to school. I would only say is I didn’t feel like I had a voice in 7th grade either when I was being forced to attend schools that I didn’t have a say. These kids should have a voice.”

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