January 10, 2013 
Contact:  Jeff Walton <jwalton@TheIRD.org> 202-682-4131, 
202-413-5639 cell 
 
PRESS RELEASE 
 
Evangelical Pastor Out at Presidential Inauguration 
 
"Are all orthodox clergy now to be banished from civic life if they openly 
affirm their faith's teachings about marriage and sexual ethics?" 
-Mark Tooley, IRD President 
 
Washington, DC- An Evangelical pastor tapped earlier this week to give the 
benediction at the presidential inauguration is withdrawing after criticism 
of a sermon he gave addressing homosexuality, according to ABC News. 
 
The Rev. Louie Giglio, who serves as pastor at Georgia's Passion City 
Church, sermonized in the mid-1990s that Christians must "lovingly but 
firmly respond" to an "aggressive agenda" by some in the homosexual 
community. 
 
Giglio is perhaps best known for his involvement in the Passion Conferences, 
which annually attract tens of thousands of university students. The 
conferences have been heavily focused around opposition to human trafficking 
and slavery, with the most recent event drawing over 60,000 to Atlanta's 
Georgia Dome and raising millions of dollars towards combating trafficking. 
 
IRD President Mark Tooley commented: 
 
"Are all orthodox clergy now to be banished from civic life if they openly 
affirm their faith's teachings about marriage and sexual ethics? 
 
"Are only clergy from declining liberal denominations now acceptable 
according to hyper political correctness? Will the same standard also apply 
to Muslims and members of other faiths who don't subscribe to the views of 
western secular elites?"