A baker refuses to bake a wedding cake for a gay couple.

A county clerk refuses to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

A counselor learns his client is trans* and severs their work together.

Across the US, we are seeing a wave of “religious freedom” laws designed to protect this kind of behavior. All a perpetrator has to do is say that they are motivated by religious belief.

Opposition to these laws has come from the business sector; these laws are bad for business and harmful to the reputation of their states. People of good conscience oppose these bills, rightly seeing in them a license to discriminate.

My objection is more fundamental. As a priest, I can tell you: these behaviors aren’t Christian.

I mean a whole lot more than, “they aren’t nice.” It’s high time for those of us in the LGBTQ community to stop giving a pass to those who distort religion to justify bigotry.

How can you tell whether a belief or action is truly rooted in the Christian tradition? Here is a simple litmus test: authentic Christianity is and must be queer.