Subject: IWG Teaching Tolerance Letter
From: Interfaith Working Group <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 1 Oct 1997 22:54:46 -0400 (EDT)

The following went out on IWG letterhead listing 10 congregations and religious
organizations and 49 clergy from 14 faiths and denominations. If you are in 
the general Philadelphia area and represent a congregation or religious 
organization or are clergy, let us know if you want to be added - all faiths 
are welcome. We will also be happy to help start similar organizations in 
other areas.

October 1, 1997

Editor
Teaching Tolerance
400 Washington Ave.
Montgomery, AL 36104

Dear Editor:

	We were as usual very pleased with the latest
issue of the magazine, especially with the inclusion of
an article on Gay-Straight Alliances.  However, the
article glossed over the amount of controversy that a
Gay-Straight Alliance can generate.  The state
legislature of Utah, for instance, met in an illegal,
closed-door, emergency session when they learned that
such a club had been proposed at a Utah high school,
resulting in the decision to ban all non-curricular
clubs rather than allow that one club.  Instead, the
Alliance was formed as an outside organization.  

	While we certainly encourage organizations that
help sexual minority youth, teachers contemplating the
creation of an Alliance need to be prepared for the
religiously-based emotional debate that can ensue.  To
that end, they may find our web page, with material on
sexual orientation issues from a wide variety of
religious sources, to be a useful addition to the
resource list you published with the story.  The URL is
http://www.libertynet.org/~iwg/. 

	Perhaps in the future you might consider articles
on teaching religious tolerance as well.  

Sincerely,
Barbara Purdom     Christopher Purdom
Interfaith Working Group Coordinators

-- 

Interfaith Working Group                Religious organizations, congregations
[email-masked]                      and clergy supporting gay rights,
http://www.libertynet.org/~iwg/         reproductive freedom, and the 
215-235-3050                            separation of church and state.