In a nation grappling with shifting cultural narratives, a powerful conversation is emerging — one that seeks to reconnect America with foundational, biblical truths. Is the culture finally stirring from its slumber?

At the heart of this conversation is Tony Perkins, president of Family Research Council, joined by Suzanne Bowdey, editorial director and senior writer for The Washington Stand, and Travis Weber, FRC’s vice president for Policy and Government Affairs. Their discussion on Thursday’s “Washington Watch,” in part inspired by the Southern Baptist Convention’s (SBC) resolutions in Dallas, Texas, revealed a growing movement to challenge the redefinition of marriage, gender, and human sexuality, and to anchor society in biblical truth.

The SBC’s resolutions, particularly their call to reverse the 2015 Obergefell decision that redefined marriage, signal a seismic shift, according to Perkins. “Are people finally starting to connect the dots with all of this gender craziness, this ideology that has our kindergarten kids wondering whether they’re male or female?” he asked. Bowdey, reflecting on the decade since Obergefell, described a “slippery slope” that has become undeniable. “We were told with ‘Don’t ask, don’t tell’ [that] ‘this won’t affect you.’ This is about two people who love each other,” she said.

However, Bowdey added, “suddenly, what we’re seeing … are drag queens in libraries. We’re seeing boys on girls’ sports teams in girls’ locker rooms. We’re seeing children cut off healthy body parts.” Citing a Gallup poll, she put the spotlight on the 6% drop in Americans — Republicans and Democrats alike — who view transgenderism as morally acceptable. Bowdey argued, “[W]e’re seeing America slowly awaken, not just in the church, but all around to the real consequences.”

Perkins noted that public support for these cultural shifts peaked years ago and is now “declining over the last few years quite significantly.” He attributed this to a realization that the agenda is far from the promise once touted. “It’s not a live and let live agenda that’s being pushed by the other side,” he stressed.

Weber zeroed in on the role of parents as a driving force in this awakening. “What we’ve seen is parents waking up to what’s happening to their kids when they’re not around, what their kids are being taught, what they’re being led into — deceit [and] deception outside of parental oversight and authority and knowledge,” he cautioned. From school counselors introducing gender ideology without consent to irreversible medical procedures with “long-term horrific consequences,” Weber argued that the gender issue has become a “parental authority issue” and a wake-up call. “The gender issue has been the entry point to wake up people to what’s happening to kids.”

As Perkins explained, the path forward requires a return to “transcendent, objective truth.” He argued that the cultural chaos stems from abandoning God’s design, particularly the biblical definition of marriage as the union of a man and a woman. “If we don’t go back to that understanding, that basic understanding of human sexuality, we might prevail in this moment over the whole radical transgender mutilat[ion] of our children, but it’s going to manifest itself someplace else,” he warned.

Weber agreed, emphasizing the inerrancy of Scripture as the foundation for this understanding. “We look at what Genesis says,” he noted, pointing to God’s creation of male and female as the blueprint for humanity. He highlighted stories like that of Walt Heyer, who found healing from a transgender lifestyle through faith, as evidence of a “powerful pathway of healing” rooted in biblical truth. “It’s ultimately … anchored in Genesis today. It was anchored in Genesis 10, 15 years ago,” Weber said.

Drawing a parallel to the pro-life movement’s victory with the overturn of Roe v. Wade, Perkins highlighted the decades-long battle grounded in the sanctity of life. “[F]inally,” he said, “a recognition of the sanctity of human life” led to the Dobbs decision. “I mean, it was a long time coming,” but the implication he noted is that a similar trajectory is possible for marriage and gender if advocates persist. “We’re simply lining up with truth when we advocate for these policies,” he added, quoting Jesus in Matthew 19: “Have you not read from the beginning God created them male and female.”

A striking source of hope emerged in the discussion: Generation Z. Despite a generational decline in religious affiliation — “about 10% with every subsequent generation,” Perkins noted — Gen Z is showing signs of returning to orthodox Christianity. “They’ve lived this, and they see the craziness of it,” Perkins said of young people navigating today’s cultural turmoil. “They see the uncertainty of it. They lack hope. They lack any sense of purpose. And all of a sudden, their friends, their peers are finding hope. They’re finding purpose in Christ.”

Bowdey added that Gen Z’s firsthand experience with these ideologies gives them unique credibility. “They’re the kids [who] are in the classroom experiencing this,” she said. This lived reality, combined with growing boldness in the public square, is fueling change. “Courage breeds courage,” Bowdey said, urging believers to pray for “spiritual boldness” and to elect leaders who champion truth.

Echoing this, Weber stressed that this battle extends beyond the church into policy and government. “So much of what government is doing is affecting our lives, and sometimes, we don’t realize it’s top level,” he emphasized. “It filters its way down to local impact and application.” From national legislation to local school boards, the stakes are high, and truth must be applied practically, the panel agreed. “The truth is not just for intellectual discussion,” Perkins said. “It is for application in the real world.”

As the conversation closed, Perkins, Bowdey, and Weber left no doubt: the cultural tide is turning, but it demands courage, conviction, and a steadfast commitment to God’s design. “God has come with a message of reconciliation through His own life, being sacrificed on the cross to come back to His design,” Weber said. For these leaders, this is more than a cultural debate — it’s a call to restore a broken world to the order God intended, starting with the family, the church, and the truth that anchors both and all things.