The Narrow Way

69 - Cultural Change

The Modern Church| Culture| Homosexuality

October 23, 2026•5 min read

There has been a growing trend across the US in the past two years, with pro-LGBTQ+ organizations scaling back their operations.

In Tulsa, the “Diversity Center of Oklahoma” closed its physical location, moving to providing support online and hosting weekly “gender diverse meetings at a local coffee shop.[1] Tucson Pride in Arizona recently announced that it has not only cancelled the group’s upcoming Pride Festival but also is dissolving the entire organization amid financial challenges.[2] Tampa also cancelled its Pride Festival and Parade in 2025 and 2026,[3] and Fort Myers, Florida, cancelled their event in 2025.[4]

The “Orlando Gay Days” was cancelled for this year due to loss of sponsorship, but the decision was soon reversed.[5] This event began in 1991, when those attending Disney World in Orlando were asked to wear red for their support of homosexuality. (This was in part a response to the HIV/AIDS crisis, where men in this population were particularly susceptible to this disease.) Last year’s “World Pride” event distanced itself from the Kennedy Center in a reaction to the current presidential administration’s ties to that location.[6]

In a Feb. article shared by the Christian Post, Suzanne Bowdey describes how a significant number of corporations are pulling back from sponsoring LGBTQ+ organizations and their events.[7] The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) began its Corporate Index in 2002, ranking various companies according to how well they accommodated and promoted sexual orientation, gender, and queer ideologies and identities. Those not achieving a 100% score were often publicly called to task, and boardrooms across the country responded to their demands. (Ie – ‘Nice company you have there – would be a shame if something happened to it.’) But their leverage is shrinking, as Bowdey reports:

This year, in a sign of HRC’s growing irrelevance, the 2026 index lost a whopping 65% of its Fortune 500 participants, dropping from 377 companies in 2025 to just 131. The rankings, which started back in 2002, have been the best indicator of a business’s political leanings for two decades. These days, to get within striking distance of a perfect score, employers have to agree to wild concessions like covering the cost of gender-transition procedures for staff and their families, publicly advocating for pro-LGBT legislation, forcing employees to undergo multiple ideological trainings, opening restrooms to both sexes, introducing a pronoun sharing guide, recruiting employees based on sexual orientation and gender identity (not merit and experience), and more.[8]

Companies no longer participating in the index include: Ford, Molson Coors, Tractor Supply Co., John Deere, Lowe’s, Harley-Davidson, and Brown-Forman. The HRC is still scoring them on their index, but docked them points as a result of their no longer participating.[9]

Returning to the HRC, readers of R4R may recall the 2021 series reviewing Douglas Murray’s brilliant book, The Madness of Crowds. There he wrote about the gay-rights movement in the late 2010’s, spearheaded by organizations such as the HRC, using the illustration of a locomotive:

…just as the train appeared to be reaching its desired destination it suddenly picked up steam and went crashing off down the tracks and into the distance. What had been barely disputed until yesterday became a cause to destroy someone’s life today. Whole careers were scattered and strewn as the train careered across its path. (Kindle edition)[10]

The HRC’s Corporate Index reached beyond personal cancel culture into the corporate world. Yet now they are losing steam, according to Bowdey:

Just last February, at the height of the public pushback, HRC was forced to lay off 20% of its staff. This “restructuring,” as they called it, is almost certainly the result of public pressure and dwindling support.[11]

A separate list of companies no longer sponsoring “Pride Month” parades and events includes Lowe’s in addition to the following: Anheuser-Busch, Booz Allen Hamilton, Citi, Comcast, Diageo, Garnier, Mastercard , Nissan, PepsiCo, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Skyy Vodka, Target, and Walmart.[12]

So, what does this mean? The corporate world is mainly interested in its financial bottom line, and it seems putting weight behind LGBTQ+ events and policies is no longer a way to boost profits. I’m thankful that there is less funding going into supporting these activities, both for those who work at these businesses who disagree with pro-LGBTQ+ activism, and for the culture at large.

As I was growing up, homosexuality was widely held to be an unwelcome behavior, and no one was celebrated for identifying themselves with it. Within a short time, the pressure to not only accept the behavior but also redefine what it means to be human based on this one temptation was immense. As Douglas Murray put it:

A decade ago almost nobody was supportive of gay marriage. Even gay rights groups like Stonewall weren’t in favour of it. A few years down the road and it has been made into a foundational value of modern liberalism. To fail the gay marriage issue – only years after almost everybody failed it (including gay rights groups) – was to put yourself beyond the pale. People may agree with that rights claim, or disagree, but to shift mores so fast needs to be done with extraordinary sensitivity and some deep thought. Yet we seem content to steam past, engaging in neither. (Kindle edition)[13]

We can hope that people are beginning to give these claims to a “right to marry”[14] and even self-identity based on sexual attractions or gender confusion/insecurity more thought.[15] Some who have invested their lives in pro-LGBTQ+ organizations are going to be upset, disappointed, and perhaps unnerved by these cultural shifts. Through this newsletter, I pray that you’ve found resources to help you articulate the beauty of the gospel as it sheds light on who we are, made in the image of God, as male or female, and how the Lord has directed us to best love one another. Let us pray that those around us will have ears to hear more about Jesus and His love.

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdjJf9aXTiM

, https://www.diversitycenterofoklahoma.org/calendar.html

[2] https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2026/01/totally-heartbreaking-major-pride-organization-abruptly-announces-closure/, https://gayarizona.com/tucson-pride-reschedules-2025-parade-and-festival-to-february-21-2026/

[3] https://www.wesh.com/article/tampa-pride-2026-canceled/67991821

https://www.advocate.com/politics/tampa-pride-cancels-pride-2025

[4] https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-news/least-two-florida-cities-will-not-hold-annual-lgbtq-pride-events-rcna233482

[5] https://www.christianpost.com/news/gay-days-says-annual-lgbt-gathering-in-orlando-not-canceled.html

[6] https://apnews.com/article/world-pride-kennedy-center-trump-lgbtq-69fbf0ca20c2f9c36f49f8311f8bf1b6

[7] https://www.christianpost.com/voices/human-rights-campaigns-corporate-influence-collapses.html

[8] Ibid.

[9] https://www.hrc.org/press-releases/hrc-foundation-announces-record-participation-in-upcoming-2025-corporate-equality-index-docks-scores-of-seven-companies-in-current-ranking-following-their-pullback-from-workplace-inclusion

[10] https://resources4redemption.substack.com/p/clarity-and-sanity-amid-the-madness?utm_source=publication-search