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(LifeSiteNews) — According to multiple news sources, Houghton University, a Christian institution in upstate New York, recently fired two residence hall directors who chose to include their “pronouns” in their work email signatures. The two employees, Raegan Zelaya and Shua Wilmot, asserted that this move “demonstrated inclusivity”; the university, which adheres to the theology of the Methodist Church, asked the employees to remove the pronouns. Both refused, and both were terminated.

While a university spokesman has stated that employment was not terminated “solely” over the pronoun issue, Wilmot disagreed. “I think it boils down to: they want to be trans-exclusive and they want to communicate that to potential students and the parents of potential students,” Wilmot stated. Some alumni have signed a petition protesting the decision, with some current students also expressing their dissatisfaction. Houghton previously declined to recognize an LGBT club on campus.

In my view, Houghton acted correctly. This is precisely how activist employees and students effectively transform once-Christian institutions – by making small changes that have big consequences. The issue of pronouns is a perfect example. What do we actually cede if we play along with “preferred pronouns”? We are conceding that the person demanding that he be called a “she” actually is a woman. Once that is established, what grounds do we have for keeping him out of the female bathroom, or off the girls’ swim team, or out of a rape crisis center for women traumatized by men? The simple answer is that there are none. He has demanded that we call him a woman, and we have agreed to do so to be courteous. That courtesy will then be used as a bludgeon.

And by citing our pronouns in email signatures or name tags, we essentially validate the paradigm the transgender activists are attempting – with much success – to herd us all into. Including pronouns is an implicit recognition that the transgender movement’s view of gender is the correct one. A Christian institution simply cannot make this compromise.

READ: Target removes some LGBT merchandise linked to ‘transgender’ satanist designer after backlash

In an ironic self-own, Fox News released a clip of Tucker Carlson noting, off-air, that the issue of pronouns was a significant one. “If you’ve got pronouns in your Twitter bio, you shouldn’t work here,” he stated. “Because we can’t trust you, because you’re on the other side.” He’s right – and Fox News has proven it since his firing. A recent investigation by The Daily Signal, which obtained a copy of the company handbook from January 2021, revealed that usage of “preferred pronouns” is policy at Fox, and employees can use whatever bathroom they feel matches their gender identity. Fox also offers a “Workplace Transition Plan” to help employees going through a “sex change.”

This is not surprising considering that Fox News consistently refers to Dylan Mulvaney as a “she”; has hired Caitlyn Jenner as a contributor; and aired a segment last summer praising a child’s “sex change” journey. One source told The Daily Signal that after Carlson’s termination, hosts were told not to bash Mulvaney. Fox has a perfect score from the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index, something insiders say the higher-ups are proud of. “Fox News devotes hours of programming to attacking ‘woke companies,’ but ironically Fox is as woke as the rest of them,” one former Fox employee told The Daily Signal.

READ: Christians urged to celebrate ‘Humility Month’ during June instead of LGBT ‘pride’

Houghton University and Fox News may have chosen differently, but every organization will face a fork in the road in the coming years. The LGBT movement’s agenda is totalizing, and no institution, organization, or church, for that matter, will escape the activist-led crusade to force them into participating in the moral revolution. Houghton University recognized that to make even a small compromise would be to take the first step towards total surrender. Tucker Carlson recognized that, as well. Fox News, unfortunately, has not – and many other allegedly “conservative” outlets have failed the “pronouns” test as well.

“Live not by lies,” Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn once warned the West. He meant the little ones, too – because it never stops there.

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Jonathon Van Maren is a public speaker, writer, and pro-life activist. His commentary has been translated into more than eight languages and published widely online as well as print newspapers such as the Jewish Independent, the National Post, the Hamilton Spectator and others. He has received an award for combating anti-Semitism in print from the Jewish organization B’nai Brith. His commentary has been featured on CTV Primetime, Global News, EWTN, and the CBC as well as dozens of radio stations and news outlets in Canada and the United States.

He speaks on a wide variety of cultural topics across North America at universities, high schools, churches, and other functions. Some of these topics include abortion, pornography, the Sexual Revolution, and euthanasia. Jonathon holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in history from Simon Fraser University, and is the communications director for the Canadian Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform.

Jonathon’s first book, The Culture War, was released in 2016.

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