Several teachers at a Seattle-area
interdenominational Christian school have resigned over its anti-gay
policy.
According to The
Seattle Times, at least five teachers at King's High School
in Shoreline did not return to the classroom this fall over a policy
that requires them to reject gay and lesbian relationships within the
school and their personal lives.
The teachers also objected to language
from Jacinta Tegman, who leads CRISTA Ministries, the parent
organization of King's.
Tegman, who has a record opposing LGBT
rights, including same-sex marriage, became CRISTA's president and
CEO in January. During a speech in June, Tegman reiterated the
group's belief that “sexual intimacy is confined within the
marriage of one man and one woman.”
Tegman's comments were included in a
July email to families, sparking questions from faculty and staff at
King's.
“You can continue to work at King’s
if you are a Christian, confirm understanding and alignment with our
doctrinal statement and willingly conduct your personal life and
professional role of educating our students in a manner that is not
in disunity with King’s theological beliefs,” Eric Rasmussen,
head of King's schools, said in an email in August.
One teacher who quit, Megan Troutman,
said that she could not “in good faith or conscience, teach in a
place that creates policies that negatively impact an entire section
of the student population.”
At least two students unenrolled over
the policy.