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(LifeSiteNews) — Members of the Christian Reformed Church of North America (CRC) are concerned about the future of the denomination as a growing number of congregations abandon Biblical teaching on sexuality and adopt woke policies.

Founded by Dutch immigrants in the mid-1800s, the West Michigan-based CRC boasts a number of prominent followers, including former U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos. The community has more than 200,000 adherents throughout the world.

Debates over homosexual “marriage,” LGBT rights, and other social justice issues took center stage at the group’s 2022 synod of elders in Grand Rapids, Michigan last June on the campus of Calvin College, the religion’s flagship institution of higher learning.

Despite intense, even contentious discussions — with one member suggesting “we would probably be better off if we each went our separate way” — the gathering upheld the Biblical approach to sexuality, reiterating its support for a 2021 document it published on the matter. At the same time, members pledged to advance so-called “racial justice” within the denomination.

According to adherents of the CRC, over the last eight months “a growing number” of congregations have essentially been “doing their own thing” apart from the synod’s decision. Various classis’ (the equivalent of Catholic dioceses) have looked the other way, in other words, and have started introducing LGBT-friendly policies.

Although it takes conservative positions on a number of issues, including abortion, the CRC has also launched what followers claim are new initiatives that mirror the policy goals of the political left — a “pathway to citizenship” for illegal immigrants, “climate justice,” and a bevy of other programs.

“The direction the denomination is heading is, let’s say, not good,” one devout member told LifeSite. “They are even supporting organizations that want to de-bank their political opponents. It makes the CRC look like a Democratic front group. In my view, this is as bad or worse than when the Salvation Army released their ‘systemic racism’ handbook during the COVID-19 plandemic.”

While the future of the CRC remains uncertain, the more conservative members are cautiously optimistic that the community will remain united in its support for Biblically rooted values, no matter how many individuals may end up leaving.

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