A Catholic couple’s fight with Indiana Child Services to raise their “transgender” son according to their faith provides a shot across the bow to all Christian parents — if a child’s gender preference is not accepted, Child Protective Services (CPS) will take the child away.

Fox News reported Indiana CPS removed a child from his Catholic parents because they wouldn’t use his chosen name or pronouns that reflected his chosen gender orientation. CPS relocated the male child, who identifies as female, to a “gender-affirming” foster home after the child reported his parents to the authorities.

Their crime was simple: they continued to teach their son that sex as an unchanging characteristic created by God. Indiana CPS continued to keep the child in “gender-affirming” foster care even though an investigation revealed there was no evidence of abuse or mistreatment. The parents are appealing to the Supreme Court, asking them to hold the state accountable for taking their child from their home because they raised and loved their child according to their faith.

Indiana joins other states such as Illinois, California, Colorado, and Oregon that value the affirmation of a child’s transgender identity over a parent’s faith-based love of their children. Christians must be careful not to treat this shocking decision as an isolated accident.

An Early Example of a Trend We Can’t Ignore

It’s an early example of a cultural trend that’s been at work for over a decade as progressives have slowly adapted state and local laws that create LGBTQ protections that are designed to punish Christians for living according to God’s Word. The Indiana case reveals what many Christian cultural watchdogs have warned for years as progressives quietly transformed local and state laws to advance their agenda. Christian parents, pastors, and legislators must understand what has happened to anticipate how to protect families in the future.

This is part of a significant movement that removes Christian influences on sex and gender to establish an alternative theory of social conditioning, and the transgender ideology demonstrates how successful their strategy can be. Progressives want a society that relies on values and beliefs that are decidedly anti-Christian. Still, it is almost impossible to overturn a concept like binary gender, male or female, which has been the norm in our society. They realized they could pass state and local laws that amended the procedures and criteria to define how we engaged with those who embraced alternative lifestyles. These laws force Christians into compliance with their ideology and provide severe penalties if they don’t. The Indiana Child Services decision reveals how far their strategy has progressed.

This is the price Christians are paying for disengaging from the culture war. Progressives have taken advantage of that complacency and have faced little opposition over the last decade. They have slowly advanced a well-crafted agenda through our major institutions, seeking to remove Christian viewpoints on sex and gender and replace them with the transgender ideology as the definitive paradigm in our culture. Their strategy puts Christian parents, pastors, and citizens in the crosshairs of laws that are designed to normalize LGBTQ and transgender inclusion, penalizing anyone who does not comply.

Here are the laws every Christian should be aware of.

Preferred Pronoun Usage Laws

The Biden Administration Equal Employment and Opportunity and Health and Human Services Commission, along with states like California and New York, promote policies and regulations that can require people to use a transgender person’s preferred pronouns, regardless of the religious or other beliefs of the people who refuse to say them. Preferred pronouns are novel words that affirm transgender and non-binary persons’ gender identity, and refusing to use them is called “misgendering,” which the LGBTQ community defines as an act of harm and violence. Penalties include fines that can become significant after multiple refusals to use preferred pronouns, and jail time can result if people refuse to pay fines.

Religious Protection Exemptions

While the LGBTQ community deserves human rights protections against discrimination for employment, churches and other faith-based organizations were granted exemptions if they chose not to hire clergy and staff who identified as part of the LGBTQ community. The City of Austin, Texas, recently passed LGBTQ protections without religious exemptions, which means any church board or faith-based organization that refuses to hire gay and transgender persons can face legal and criminal action because they violated a person’s fundamental human right to employment.

Biden Administration’s Title IX Executive Order

This executive order bans the restriction of transgender athletes from participating in sports based on their gender orientation. As more schools and leagues want to require participation based on biological sex at birth, the Title IX executive order essentially outlaws discriminating against persons based upon their preferred gender. Schools face the initial penalties as they stand to lose federal education funding if they choose to require athletic participation based on biological sex.

LGBTQ Affirming Criteria for Parent Fitness

Over the last decade, Progressives have adapted the criteria Child Protective Services uses to evaluate parent fitness and child welfare to prioritize LGBTQ affirmation and support while diminishing or eliminating parents’ faith when assessing a household’s appropriate health and wellness. The Indiana case highlights how much significance a “gender-affirming” household can carry as they chose to keep a child in “gender-affirming” foster care even though Indiana Child Services concluded the biological parents did not abuse or neglect their son. The latest move is to expand LGTBTQ affirmation as a criterion for determining parental fitness for evaluating custody. California’s Governor Newsom recently vetoed a bill that would prioritize LGBTQ-affirming parents when determining custody arrangements for LGBTQ-identifying children. While the bill was vetoed, it’s critical to recognize that the California legislature passed it. The fact that Gavin Newsom was the voice of reason in this case shows the momentum this is gaining.

Conversion Therapy Laws

Conversion therapy seeks to explore the factors influencing a person’s sexual orientation and gender identity to seek change whenever possible. Many Christian parents consider this therapy when their children identify with LGBTQ lifestyles. Most are unaware that even local municipalities have passed laws that make it illegal for Christian parents to seek out a professional to explore the factors that influence their child’s lifestyle choices and help guide them in their walk with God. These laws are often quickly passed in public forums because Christians and Conservatives have little time for local government, and Progressives recognize these as easy victories.

The Progressive agenda is shaping a post-Christian society that relies on anti-Christian beliefs, principles, and worldviews to create a culture that affirms values and lifestyles antithetical to the Gospel. It is only going to get worse as more people disconnect from Christianity and Christians disengage from the culture war.

Chuck Mason (MDiv) is a seminary graduate, podcast host, and author of the book, “How Do I Talk to My Kids about Social Justice?” He is an accomplished public speaker presenting forums on critical race theory, LGBTQ, and cancel culture to federal and state legislators, pastors, churches, and parents. His podcast, Battleground Ideas, discusses the impact of Marxism on faith, culture, and politics. Visit battlegroundideas.com for more information.