Vice President Mike Pence’s wife, Karen, has signed on to teach art two days a week at a private Christian school, Immanuel Christian School, in Springfield, VA. This is the admission criteria:

Immanuel Christian School will admit students of any race, color, national, or ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally made available to students at the school. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin in administration of admissions policies, educational programs, financial aid, athletic and other school-administered programs. Applications may be submitted online at any time. We always encourage parents to apply as they continue to gather information to make their final decision. Selection for available openings is based upon the student’s application date, compatibility with the school’s educational and spiritual objectives, and suitability for the class to which they seek entry. We require all students reside with a parent, stepparent or legal guardian. We do not have a program for international students and do not issue I-20 visas.

Had this school taught a bland, lifeless and, therefore, politically acceptable version of Christianity, then it wouldn’t have been remarked upon. This particular school seems to actually believe what they teach. This is from their employee code of conduct:

I will strive to live a personal life of moral purity that is separated from the world according to Scriptures, as defined by the Statement of Faith of Immanuel Bible Church and agreed upon by the Elders and Pastors of Immanuel Bible Church. I understand that the term “marriage” has only one meaning; the uniting of one man and one woman in a single, exclusive covenant union as delineated in Scripture and that God intends sexual intimacy to occur only between a man and a woman who are married to each other and that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity is engaged in outside of marriage between a man and a woman. Further, I will maintain a lifestyle based on biblical standards of moral conduct. Moral misconduct which violates the bona fide occupational qualifications for employees includes, but is not limited to, such behaviors as the following: heterosexual activity outside of marriage (e.g., premarital sex, cohabitation, extramarital sex), homosexual or lesbian sexual activity, polygamy, transgender identity, any other violation of the unique roles of male and female, sexual harassment, use or viewing of pornographic material or websites, and sexual abuse or improprieties toward minors as defined by Scripture and federal or state law. Further, I am not, nor have been in the past, engaged in inappropriate conduct toward minors, nor do I have inclinations toward such conduct. Persons so involved or who condone such behaviors cannot be employees of Immanuel Christian School.

This is superb. One of the problems confronting Catholic education, at pre-K through university, is that the people running the schools have totally lost sight of the fact that the schools are supposed to be religious schools. Catholic schools, with sad though monotonous regularity, hire persons in active homosexual relationships and who are cohabiting outside of marriage. This makes a mockery of the very religious doctrine the school is paid to impart to the students and commits the sin of Scandal by holding the faith up to ridicule and perhaps encouraging people to believe that homosexuality, transgenderism, and out of wedlock cohabitation are sanctioned by the Church.

The also have expectations of parents:

I understand the biblical role of Immanuel Christian School is to partner with families to encourage students to be imitators of Christ. This necessarily involves the school’s understanding and belief regarding biblical morality and standards of conduct. I understand that the school reserves the right, within its sole discretion, to refuse admission to an applicant or to discontinue enrollment of a student if the atmosphere or conduct within a particular home, the activities of a parent or guardian, or the activities of the student are counter to, or are in opposition to, the biblical lifestyle the school teaches. This includes, but is not limited to contumacious behavior, divisive conduct, and participating in, supporting, or condoning sexual immorality, homosexual activity or bi-sexual activity, promoting such practices, or being unable to support the moral principles of the school. (Lev. 20:13 and Romans 1:27.) I acknowledge the importance of a family culture based on biblical principles and embrace biblical family values such as a healthy marriage between one man and one woman. My role as spiritual mentor to my children will be taken seriously.

Again, this is critical. If parents don’t buy into the school’s philosophy, they are there for exactly one reason: they are there for a lawsuit. As much as little Jayden could benefit from a few hours of sanity each day, Greg and Jody are going to be a non-ending chancre on the ass of the school administration (hat tip to Alex for the great reference.)

Naturally, the left can’t have this:

Second lady Karen Pence will teach art part time at a Christian school in the Washington suburbs that does not allow gay students, parents or employees to be part of its community https://t.co/2oAaf874qG — POLITICO (@politico) January 16, 2019

The school that just hired Karen Pence requires applicants to disavow gay marriage and trans identity. It believes marriage can only be between a man and a woman.https://t.co/YfpuuJMDHq — Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) January 16, 2019

The Pences never seem to miss an opportunity to show their public service only extends to some. https://t.co/d7IqWzFRDg — Human Rights Campaign (@HRC) January 16, 2019

Karen Pence has just started working at a school that bans LGBT students and employees https://t.co/SST77rZhcE pic.twitter.com/jovACHVl0m — Newsweek (@Newsweek) January 16, 2019

Karen Pence will teach at school that bans gay students and parents https://t.co/nB4o7nxfOW pic.twitter.com/SMLdCAiar9 — CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) January 16, 2019

Karen Pence is a terrible human being. https://t.co/Nu5myssUst — Mark Harris (@MarkHarrisNYC) January 16, 2019

My wife and I looked at parochial school for our brood and decided that Catholic schools weren’t, in the main, particularly Catholic. And absent the Catholic part of the equation we weren’t interested in paying tens of thousands of dollars per year for fewer resources than public schools and all the sexual aberrations. I applaud parents who have found a school that adheres to a strict interpretation of their beliefs and are willing to devote the family resources necessary to pass those beliefs and values on to their children.

There are two threads to this. First, the media is focusing on the homosexual and transgender issues in order to obscure the larger picture which is that the school requires adherence to orthodox Christian sexual ethics from all faculty and parents. They are doing this in order to paint the school and, by extension, Karen Pence as bigots. The second part is that it demonstrates the extent to which Obama’s favorite construction of religious freedom, “the freedom of worship,” has infected the national conversation. If you see your faith as something you live, this is not remarkable. If you see faith as a dangerous cultural artifact that should only be practiced an hour or so a week, then this is a scandal.

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