As many of us have been predicting for years, America is now witnessing a major pushback against a radical cultural agenda that overplayed its hand. Nowhere is this clearer than in the current administration’s decision to ax Pride Month in June and to replace it with Title IX month. (Title IX prohibits sex-based discrimination in education programs and activities at institutions that receive federal funding, most notably applied to ensuring equal opportunities in school sports for women.)
A litany of headlines has been announcing this truly monumental development:
“Pride Month support is waning as national brands ditch DEI” (USA Today, May 6, 2025)
“Love loses out as corporate sponsors flee Pride in fear of the White House” (Monocle, May 30, 2025)
“Donald Trump Is Officially Spiting Pride Month” (Daily Beast, June 3, 2025)
“Trump admin rolls back LGBTQ+ gains during Pride Month” (Axios, June 4, 2025)
“All the Ways Trump Is Trying to Dismantle Pride Month” (The Cut, June 4, 2025)
“How Trump killed Pride month” (The Telegraph, June 4, 2025)
“No more Pride Month in U.S.? Trump has ‘no plans’ to issue Pride Month proclamation” (Wion, June 4, 2025)
“Trump declares June is now Title IX Month – not Pride Month” (Out, June 3, 2025)
To quote from the Department of Education’s government proclamation, “The U.S. Department of Education (the Department) today announced that it is recognizing June as ‘Title IX Month’ in honor of the 53rd anniversary of Title IX of the Educational Amendments (1972) being signed into law. June will now be dedicated to commemorating women and celebrating their struggle for, and achievement of, equal educational opportunity. Throughout the month, the Department will highlight actions taken to reverse the Biden Administration’s legacy of undermining Title IX and announce additional actions to protect women in line with the true purpose of Title IX.”
So, not only has Pride Month itself been rejected officially by the White House, but by designating June “Title IX Month,” the administration is declaring war on radical transgender activism.
All this is good and healthy and positive in terms of helping our nation regain some level of moral sanity, and all Americans are still entitled to equal protection under the law without the in-your-face celebration of everything LGBTQ+++ throughout the month of June (and beyond).
At the same time, as followers of Jesus, we make a grave mistake if we think that any president or the government as a whole can lead the way in moral and cultural reformation. That must come from the people of God, from those who recognize that His ways are best, from those who ground their moral values in the Scriptures.
Otherwise, as presidents and administrations come and go, the nation will likely swing from the left to the right and then back again, with one administration passing new laws that the next administration will revoke.
That’s why, even with the massive victory of the overturning of Roe v. Wade, there are reports that the number of abortions actually rose rather than declined since this landmark ruling.
It remains imperative that we continue to change hearts along with laws, that we do our best to educate the nation on the sanctity of life and that we look at our societal problems in a holistic way, using biblical wisdom and proven spiritual principles as our guiding light.
To be sure, in the well-known words of Andrew Breitbart, politics is downstream from culture, which is why many politicians change their viewpoints based on whichever way the polling winds happen to be blowing.
That is the case with the current political shift against radical transgender activism. Not only was this a common-sense issue, but it became an issue of outrage for the many parents whose daughters had to share locker rooms with and compete against boys. Now that it is becoming more politically correct to oppose this social madness, more and more politicians are speaking out against it and jumping on board.
But this was also an issue addressed powerfully by many people of faith for years, which helped expose the absurdity of the idea of transmen and transwomen. (As always, I write this with all respect to those who genuinely struggle with various forms of gender identity disorders, as I still believe that God’s best is to help people change from the inside out. And, for the record, the government can’t help people do that.)
In short, to the extent that we can understand what it means to be created in the image of God, to that extent we can cultivate a more humane society. And to the extent we can understand the divine purposes for male and female, as well as God’s plan and purpose for marriage, to that extent we can cultivate healthier individuals and stronger families. (For further thoughts on these principles, see here and here.)
That’s why it is imperative that, as the salt of the earth, we retain our saltiness, and as the light of the world, we shine brightly (see Matthew 5:13-16). Lasting societal change must begin with us.
And so, while politics is downstream from culture, in a country with strong Christian roots and multiplied tens of millions of professing Jesus-followers, culture is downstream from the church.
Unfortunately, for decades now, the world has been shaping the church rather than the church shaping the world. For the good of the nation, this must change.
May a healthy church arise!
