Brisbane Christian College sparks outrage with new contract banning LGBTQIA+ students

One student at a Christian school was left distraught by an anti-LGBTQ contract parents are being compelled to sign.

A student at a Brisbane Christian college has been left inconsolable after the school requested parents sign a contract – on behalf of their child – agreeing that homosexuality is a sin, abortion is wrong, and gender identity is a myth.

Citipointe Christian College, in Carindale, has given parents one week to return the signed “declaration of faith” if they want their child to continue attending the school.

The heartbreaking toll of the contract, which has been met with fierce opposition and a petition calling on it to be scrapped, has reportedly left students shaken.

In one crushing example, a student was filmed by their parent crying over what the contract would mean for friends at the school who belonged to the LGBTQIA+ community.

“I’ve been there for so long,” they said through tears.

This child was left completey distraught by the contract.

Their parent comforted them, saying: “I know baby, we’ll think about what we can do, okay?”

“And leave all my friends behind?” the child responded.

Asked what they thought of the new rules, the student labelled them “absolutely stupid”.

“I’m not gay, I’m not transgender, I don’t plan to be, but for those who are, it’s terrible,” they said.

The short clip was shared on Monday to the TikTok account of Brisbane comedian Christian Hull, who has been vocal in his opposition to the school’s controversial move.

In a subsequent video, Hull detailed how problematic introducing such a concerning rule was, given the limitless implications it would have beyond students’ graduation.

“This has very real-world implications that affect both you and I,” he said, arguing cisgendered straight children who went to the school would come to understand members of the LGBTQIA+ community as “second class citizens”.

When they entered the workforce and moved into positions of power, it was likely they would pass their beliefs down the line, Hull said, and would not employ “certain people” as a result.

“Then these people get into positions of power politically, for example the current prime minister Scott Morrison is deeply religious.

“Do you know what he’s just done? He’s instigated the religious discrimination bill, which makes it perfectly legal for the Citipointe Christian College to come out with these beliefs and discriminate against the LGBTQIA+ community.

A Brisbane Christian college has told parents to sign a contract agreeing that homosexuality is a sin, abortion is wrong, and gender identity is a myth. Picture: TikTok/christianmhull

“It’s also worth noting that these groups don’t believe mental health issues are real – depression doesn’t exist.”

An e-mail sent by principal Pastor Brian Mulheran on Friday told parents the contract was designed to “ensure that we retain our Christian ethos, which is the foundation of what has made the College what it is today”.

Part of the contract stated the school would “only enrol the student on the basis of the gender that corresponds to their biological sex”, to remain consistent with its “Christian Ethos Requirements”.

Following backlash, Mr Mulheran told ABC News the school had sought legal advice for the contract, and had “certain freedoms under international law and under Commonwealth and state legislation”.

“We have always held these Christian beliefs and we have tried to be fair and transparent to everyone in our community by making them clear in the enrolment contract,” part of his statement read.

One parent, who opted not to be named, said she was “extremely angry” about the contract, in particular at the fact it had been distributed just days before the beginning of the term.

She, among many other parents, refused to agree to the terms and was now confronted with the eleventh-hour challenge of enrolling her child in a different school.

Writing for news.com.au yesterday, Carolyn Tate - the proud parent of a transgender teenager - detailed how much more difficult her son’s life would have been if he’d been a student at Citipointe.

“No doubt he would have felt the pressure to keep his feelings to himself, if not at home, then certainly at school,” she wrote.

“He would have been faced with the messaging every day that who he thought he might be was inherently wrong, and that he would be ostracised from his community if he dared to be himself.”

Needless to say, that’s a lot of pressure to put on a 12-year-old child.

You can read Carolyn’s full story here.