Faith-based organizations across the country showed their spirit by going purple for #SpiritDay this year, supporting LGBTQ youth and taking a stand against bullying. By going purple in public ways, these faith groups have come together to send a message of pride, acceptance, and encouragement for LGBTQ youth in the U.S. and abroad.
The United Church of Christ, the Religious Exemption Accountability Project, Beth Chayim Chadashim, Q Christian Fellowship, Azariah Southworth, and Keshet went purple on their social media accounts by reposting GLAAD graphics. Here are some of the other amazing groups that have gone purple for LGBTQ youth:
Reggie Aqui, an ABC7 news anchor in the Bay Area, showed up to work in an elegant, eggplant purple tie. He posted a video of the sky looking purple the morning of Spirit Day. He says it proves, “God loves the gays.”
‘God does love the Gays.’ #SpiritDay #LGBTQYouth @glaad pic.twitter.com/F2jcNwhR8V
— Reggie Aqui He/Him (@reggieaqui) October 20, 2022
The United Church of Christ accepts, loves, and seeks justice for all. They call on faith organizations to support and stand with the LGBTQ community.
We are Christians against bullying
It’s more important than ever for people of faith to take a stand in support of LGBTQ youth.
Take the pledge against bullying and GO PURPLE for Spirit Day!@GLAAD @TrevorProject @GLSEN #SpiritDay #SpiritDay2022https://t.co/HfuMmhd7Uu
— United Church of Christ (@UnitedChurch) October 20, 2022
Queer public figure Matthew Motley is loud and proud about his love for his boyfriend, Austyn, and his Christian love for Jesus, too. For Spirit Day he posted a picture of himself on his Instagram story.
Sex and the Gay Christian (@SexGayChristian on Instagram) posted in advance of Spirit Day to let people know they should wear purple on Thursday.
Another organization that joined in Spirit Day is Outreach Faith: A Catholic Resource. They posted a wonderful article on their website, calling out churches for staying silent when they see bullying occur and encouraging them to do more. Then, Father Jim Martin posted a video highlighting the statisitcs surrounding LGBTQ students who are bullied in school and related that injustice to quotes from the Bible.
Today is #SpiritDay when we stand up for LGBTQ youth and against the bullying and harassment of LGBTQ youth. It’s the Christian thing to do. Here’s why. #spiritday2022 @glaad pic.twitter.com/cDmNSZXCGD
— Outreach (@OutrchCatholic) October 20, 2022
Tanenbaum, an organization combating religious prejudice, confronting hate, and building respect for religious difference, went purple on all of their social media sites today.
The Naming Project is a Christian ministry providing a safe place for LGBTQ and allied youth to grow, explore faith, who they are and how they relate to God. Their Spirit Day message describes bullying in a clear, no nonsense type of way.
Bullying #LGBTQ youth is sin.#SpiritDay pic.twitter.com/HLVtz89LoI
— The Naming Project (@namingproject) October 20, 2022
Beloved Arise, which is sponsored by GLAAD, aims to celebrate and empower LGBTQ youths of any faith. They have Mormon, Christian, Jewish, and Muslim youth ambassadors + site representatives to help youth find community where they belong. Beloved Arise wants youths to feel encouraged to embrace their queerness and their faiths this Spirit Day!
Non-Christian faiths went purple for Spirit Day, too! Keshet is a Jewish organization working for full LGBTQ inclusion and equality in Jewish life.
Another Jewish organization that went purple is Beth Chayim Chadashim, an affirming, nurturing, and brave Jewish space for LGBTQ people and their allies.
Take a stand against bullying, celebrate positive LGBTQ images in media, and support #LGBTQ youth by going purple for #SpiritDay on October 20th: https://t.co/Wap9NINdRi @glaad pic.twitter.com/qtFEalDNUD
— Beth Chayim Chadashim (@BCC1972) October 20, 2022
The Metropolitan New York Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America posted a photo of a smiling bishop at a pride event. The caption includes a chilling statistic from the Trevor Project. The Synod wants to show LGBTQ youth that they are not alone and they are all deserving of God’s love.
Yass, Jesus! podcast provides an inclusive Sunday service for LGBTQ listeners. On Twitter, they posted an electric GIF to showcase their support for LGBTQ youth.
Happy #SpiritDay! Today, we are wearing purple to stand with LGBTQ youth and against bullying. You know, the Spirit shows up a lot in the bible, and we believe it’s the same Spirit flowing through each of you. You are beloved! pic.twitter.com/1TJ1iHMTIE
— Yass, Jesus! (@YassJesusPod) October 20, 2022
The Unitarian Church of Edmonton posted a short video that explains Spirit Day’s mission and honors victims of suicide.
Spirit Day is an annual LGBTQ awareness day observed on the 3rd Thursday in October to honor 2SLGBTQIA victims of suicide.
Please try to wear purple today.
#LGBTQHistoryMonth #SpiritDay #SayNoToBullying #UUtwitter pic.twitter.com/1iKyCeu0MN— Unitarian Church of Edmonton UCE (@UnitarianUCE) October 20, 2022
Milligan for All, a campaign to make Milligan University more welcoming and inclusie to LGBTQ students, faculty, and staff, made a statement calling for the end of religious discriminiation. They hope their work will create a more just community.
Reconciling Works, a Lutheran organization, advocates for the full inclusion of LGBTQ congregation members in the church. Their Spirit Day post includes geometric purple shapes and a message about life-saving visibility for queer people.
About Spirit Day:
America is going purple for GLAAD’s Spirit Day in support of LGBTQ youth and taking a stand against bullying. GLAAD organizes hundreds of celebrities, media outlets, brands, landmarks, sports leagues, tech leaders, influencers, faith groups, school districts, organizations, colleges and universities in what has become the most visible anti-LGBTQ bullying campaign in the world. Purple symbolizes spirit on the rainbow flag.
The annual tradition was started in 2010 by high school student Brittany McMillan, in memory of the LGBTQ youth who lost their lives to suicide. McMillian encouraged her friends to wear purple on a day in October — a day that came to be known as Spirit Day.
Presenting sponsors Kellogg’s, Sally Hansen and Visible with Community Sponsors NFL, Amazon Corporate Security, Kirkland & Ellis and L’Oreal/ Victor & Rolf will all participate in Spirit Day. Today, LGBTQ youth, and especially our trans and nonbinary youth, are experiencing a level of scrutiny in schools we have never seen, leading to an environment rife with stressors beyond the peer-to-peer bullying of the past. From book bans to sports teams bans, to bathroom restrictions and teachers barred from using preferred pronouns, the means by which a student can express themselves and see others like them are increasingly being challenged.
Cyberbullying is at an all time high as well. GLAAD’s 2022 Social Media Safety Index found severe harassment for LGBTQ users when compared to 2021. This anti-LGBTQ rhetoric then translates to real-life harm and has been cited as drivers of many of the nearly 250 anti-LGBTQ bills introduced in states around the country this year alone, many of which target our LGBTQ youth.
This year, Spirit Day is on October 20, 2022 and offers LGBTQ youth and their families a means of representation and existence only made possible by providing life-saving visibility for those who need it more than ever. Take the Spirit Day pledge to show LGBTQ youth you’ve got their backs at glaad.org/spiritday. Follow @GLAAD on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok to keep up to date with #SpiritDay news.