2026 Rainbow Map delivers mixed picture on LGBTQ+ rights
The 2026 Rainbow Map shows the normalization and institutionalization of LGBTQ+ rights across Europe, with Spain leading, while activists warn of a growing backlash—reflecting the biblical pattern of societies that abandon God's design for sexuality and gender.
Romans 1:28-32
Direct Principle“And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God's righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.”
Why this passage
In Romans 1, Paul describes the downward spiral of humanity that rejects the Creator's order. The climax is not merely the practice of sin but the active approval of it—a society that celebrates and institutionalizes what God has forbidden.
The passage is a universal principle about God's judgment on cultures that suppress the truth.
The 2026 Rainbow Map is a precise example of this principle: nations ranking and celebrating the legal enshrinement of LGBTQ+ rights, with Spain taking the top spot. The article notes that activists warn of a 'growing backlash,' but the dominant trend is the normalization and approval of what Scripture calls 'contrary to nature' (Romans 1:26).
Behold, the nations of Europe continue to enshrine what Scripture calls abomination, celebrating the very patterns that the Apostle Paul warned would mark a society given over to a reprobate mind. Romans 1:32 declares that such people 'not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.'
As Spain takes the top spot on this rainbow map, we are reminded that the world's approval is not the measure of righteousness. The growing backlash is not a sign of revival but of the deepening conflict between the kingdom of light and the kingdom of darkness.
Stand firm, for the Lord has not left His people without witness.
Today's Prayer
Pray for the church in Europe to be a bold and loving witness for biblical truth on sexuality and marriage, and for those caught in the LGBTQ+ movement to encounter the transforming power of the Gospel.
Further Scripture
Additional passages that illuminate this event, each grounded in a distinct interpretive lens.
“Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!”
Why this passage
Isaiah pronounces a woe—a divine judgment—on those who invert moral categories. The verse is a timeless principle: when a society systematically redefines evil as good, it invites God's judgment.
The context is Israel's moral corruption, but the principle applies to any nation that abandons God's standards.
The Rainbow Map is a literal ranking system that calls 'good' what Scripture calls sin. Spain's top ranking is a celebration of moral inversion.
The article's framing of 'rights' and 'progress' is precisely the language of calling evil good.
How it applies
The 2026 Rainbow Map is a vivid illustration of this woe. Nations compete to be the most advanced in calling evil good.
Christians must not be deceived by the world's approval; they must hold fast to the biblical distinction between light and darkness, even when the whole culture insists on the opposite.
“But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.”
Why this passage
Paul's list of characteristics of the last days includes 'not loving good' and being 'lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.' The phrase 'not loving good' (Greek: aphilagathoi) means actively hostile to what is genuinely good according to God's standard. The passage describes a culture that has rejected divine moral order.
The Rainbow Map's celebration of LGBTQ+ rights fits this pattern: a society that calls itself progressive and inclusive but has rejected God's definition of good. The 'growing backlash' mentioned in the article is not a return to godliness but a conflict between two forms of worldliness.
How it applies
This ranking is a sign of the 'times of difficulty' Paul warned about. The church must not be surprised when the world celebrates what God forbids.
Instead, believers are called to 'avoid such people' in the sense of not participating in their value system, while still reaching out with the Gospel.
Related by Scripture
Other events we've interpreted through the same passage or hermeneutical lens.
Russia disrupts mobile internet as Kremlin scales back Victory Day parade
Technology & SurveillanceShares Isaiah 5:20How child soldiers in Sudan become influencers on TikTok
Moral DeclineShares Isaiah 5:20North Korea ramps up executions over foreign media, says NGO
Persecution of ChristiansShares Isaiah 5:20US condemns Iran’s leadership role at UN nuclear conference as ‘beyond shameful’
One World Government / EconomyShares Isaiah 5:20Vatican warns of political promotion of abortion as an instrument of population control
Moral DeclineShares Isaiah 5:20
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Source: dw— we link to the original for full context.