- Feb 5, 2002
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For six years, I served on the Board of Directors for a Catholic-founded non-denominational Christian charity that serves adults with intellectual and physical disabilities. The organization provides homes, support, and a truly good life for these individuals, and I was made a better person by forming mutual relationships with the community. I also gained much out of the professional experience of serving on the Board.
Recently, however, I made the decision – ultimately, not a hard one – to quit this organization. Not just to leave the Board but to end all volunteer activity and financial contributions immediately.
What caused this sudden change? The organization’s slow but complete embrace of diversity, equality, and inclusion (DEI) ideology was at deep conflict with my own Christian values.
I wrote: “I prefer [organization] to recruit Board members based on the gifts and talents they bring, rather than skin tone.”
In a normal time, this preference would be considered a normal desire. In essence, I was asking if we can judge people based on their character and abilities rather than the color of their skin. You know, Martin Luther King, Jr. type of stuff.
Naively, believing the organization’s widely broadcasted goal of inclusion was sincere, I believed such a comment would spark conversation and reflection. Boy, was I wrong.
On the next Board call, when the anonymous survey responses were reviewed, I was in for a shock. The response? As the executive director told us, “This comment made a lot of people uncomfortable.” There was much head-shaking and sighs over my apparently problematic comment.
Continued below.
catholicstand.com
Recently, however, I made the decision – ultimately, not a hard one – to quit this organization. Not just to leave the Board but to end all volunteer activity and financial contributions immediately.
What caused this sudden change? The organization’s slow but complete embrace of diversity, equality, and inclusion (DEI) ideology was at deep conflict with my own Christian values.
How it ended
At some point this past fall, Board members had been asked to take an anonymous self-assessment on items like our understanding of the financials, responsiveness of the staff, and other items of good nonprofit governance. One question stood out to me: Is the Board diverse enough? The implication, of course, was not diversity based on professional experience, geography, age, or some other metric. It was a purely racial question, asking if the Board was too white.I wrote: “I prefer [organization] to recruit Board members based on the gifts and talents they bring, rather than skin tone.”
In a normal time, this preference would be considered a normal desire. In essence, I was asking if we can judge people based on their character and abilities rather than the color of their skin. You know, Martin Luther King, Jr. type of stuff.
Naively, believing the organization’s widely broadcasted goal of inclusion was sincere, I believed such a comment would spark conversation and reflection. Boy, was I wrong.
On the next Board call, when the anonymous survey responses were reviewed, I was in for a shock. The response? As the executive director told us, “This comment made a lot of people uncomfortable.” There was much head-shaking and sighs over my apparently problematic comment.
Continued below.
Why I Quit a Christian Organization Over DEI - Catholic Stand
The conflict of DEI with Christian values is over the color of a person's skin rather than their true identity.
catholicstand.com
