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<\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>(RNS) \u2014 Bethany Christian Services, long described as the country\u2019s largest Protestant adoption and foster care agency, will no longer allow LGBTQ couples to foster or adopt, according to a statement to RNS.<\/p>\n<p>In a <a href=\"https:\/\/bethany.org\/news-room\/bethany-christian-services-reinforces-its-christian-identity-and-faith-commitments\">press release<\/a> posted Wednesday (June 10), the Michigan-based agency announced that its board voted to \u201cclarify and reinforce\u201d its Christian faith commitments. Those changes require staff and board members to \u201cpersonally agree and adhere to\u201d a <a href=\"https:\/\/bethany.org\/media\/about-us\/Statement%20of%20faith%20and%20belief%20June%202027.pdf\">belief statement<\/a> that includes the Apostle\u2019s Creed, recognizes the authority of the Christian Bible and affirms the image of God in every person. The belief statement also defines God\u2019s design for marriage as \u201ca covenant between one man and one woman.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In an email to RNS, a spokesperson confirmed that these changes will also impact the selection of foster and adoptive parents.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBeginning June 2027, Bethany will only license and re-license foster families whose Christian faith and beliefs align with our Statement of Faith and Belief,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n<p>The spokesperson added that senior leaders on staff and others who have \u201ccertain roles\u201d with \u201c<span data-olk-copy-source=\"MessageBody\">significant responsibility and oversight\u201d <\/span>were expected to agree with the belief statement by June 1; all other staff must align by next year, June 1, 2027. Bethany declined to share specific staff impact numbers.<\/p>\n<p>When asked if these changes were due to concerns about funding or based on input from donors, a spokesperson said the decisions were not due to external pressure but \u201creflect a decision to reinforce our Christian identity by our Board and Executive Leadership following prayer and discernment.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_3905478\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"width: 750px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-3905478\" src=\"https:\/\/religionnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/webRNS-Bethany-Refugees4-060721.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"750\" height=\"563\" srcset=\"https:\/\/religionnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/webRNS-Bethany-Refugees4-060721.jpg 1600w, https:\/\/religionnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/webRNS-Bethany-Refugees4-060721-427x320.jpg 427w, https:\/\/religionnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/webRNS-Bethany-Refugees4-060721-807x605.jpg 807w, https:\/\/religionnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/webRNS-Bethany-Refugees4-060721-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/religionnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/webRNS-Bethany-Refugees4-060721-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/religionnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/webRNS-Bethany-Refugees4-060721-624x468.jpg 624w, https:\/\/religionnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/webRNS-Bethany-Refugees4-060721-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/religionnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/webRNS-Bethany-Refugees4-060721-600x450.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\"\/> <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text edd-enabled\"><span class=\"caption\">Bethany Christian Services headquarters in Grand Rapids, Mich. (Photo courtesy of Bethany Christian Services)<\/span><span class=\"credit\"\/><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>The policy change does not appear to prevent the group from serving LGBTQ children or vulnerable LGBTQ-affirming families. \u201cThe organization will continue to serve all children and families who seek its help, regardless of their individual circumstances, beliefs, or background,\u201d the press release said.<\/p>\n<p>Given Bethany\u2019s size \u2014 the faith-based nonprofit serves in over 25 states and has more than 1,000 staff members worldwide \u2014 the changes will be far-reaching.<\/p>\n<p>This reversal comes five years after the agency announced it would allow LGBTQ couples to foster and adopt. That March 2021 change came as civil liberties groups pushed for state and federal LGBTQ nondiscrimination policies and argued that groups receiving government funding shouldn\u2019t exclude anyone.<\/p>\n<p>Bethany was directly impacted by those debates. In 2018, the city of Philadelphia suspended its contracts with Bethany, until the agency opted to serve LGBTQ couples in Philadelphia.<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<hr\/>\n<p>Bethany\u2019s new changes come amid broader political shifts. Under the Trump administration, key federal LGBTQ nondiscrimination protections in healthcare, education and housing have been significantly rolled back, decisions that conservative Christians have celebrated. But Bethany\u2019s policies haven\u2019t always been in sync with the Trump administration\u2019s priorities. The nonprofit has been critical of the administration\u2019s severe restrictions on refugee resettlement, a key element of the nonprofit\u2019s programming.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cThe temporary suspension of refugee resettlement efforts will cause significant impact to vulnerable men, women and children legally seeking safety and hope in our nation,\u201d Bethany said in January 2025.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Even before Trump\u2019s second term, Bethany Christian adopted more restrictive hiring policies. In 2024, local Michigan news outlet <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=VoJi1xl3-70\">WOOD TV8 reported<\/a> that Bethany\u2019s CEO, Keith Cureton, who was hired in July 2023, enforced a policy requiring all hires to be Christian.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThese actions continue the work already underway to ensure alignment across our organization,\u201d a spokesperson told RNS.\u00a0<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<hr\/>\n<p><!-- CONTENT END 1 -->\n <\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/religionnews.com\/2026\/06\/10\/the-countrys-largest-protestant-adoption-agency-is-dropping-lgbtq-couples-again\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>(RNS) \u2014 Bethany Christian Services, long described as the country\u2019s largest Protestant adoption and foster care agency, will no longer allow LGBTQ couples to foster or adopt, according to a statement to RNS. In a press release posted Wednesday (June 10), the Michigan-based agency announced that its board voted to \u201cclarify and reinforce\u201d its Christian […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":19776,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19775","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19775","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19775"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19775\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19776"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19775"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19775"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19775"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}