JACKSON, Tenn. — Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti approaches his role with a deep conviction in objective truth, a belief that has guided him through many high-profile legal challenges and keeps him grounded as he faces scrutiny as attorney general.

“Our system is predicated on a very Christian idea, which is that everybody is equal before the law,” he said. “That comes from the idea that everybody is made in the image of God, and everybody has fallen short of the glory of God. And we are similarly situated in that respect.”

Skrmetti visited Union University on April 28 for a discussion about his life, faith and the recent Supreme Court case bearing his name. The event was a partnership between Union and the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC).

Interviewed by ERLC President Brent Leatherwood, Skrmetti discussed his start as a lawyer in Connecticut, his move to Memphis where he came to a transformative faith in Christ and met his wife and his eventual appointment as Tennessee attorney general.

Skrmetti said he often finds inspiration from the apostle Paul’s visit to the Areopagus.

“He showed that you can evangelize by engaging in debate with people, by articulating your positions clearly,” Skrmetti said. “He was able to win over some hearts when he did that. And he was able to bring people to the Lord, but he was also able to set an example.”

He described how Paul was thoughtful, patient and persistent and modeled Christ with clarity, humility and love even in the face of great opposition.

“I aspire to engage in that way.” Skrmetti said.

Most recently, Skrmetti is listed as a defendant in the Supreme Court case U.S. v. Skrmetti, in which his team is defending Tennessee’s authority, under law, to protect children.

SB1/HB1 was the first bill introduced into both houses of the Tennessee General Assembly in 2023. The General Assembly considered the bill, which prohibits doctors from providing hormone treatments, puberty blockers or surgeries for the purpose of gender transition for minors. After hearing evidence, it passed the bill with bipartisan support. It was signed into law in March.

In April 2023, Lambda Legal, in collaboration with the American Civil Liberties Union and other groups, filed a lawsuit against the State of Tennessee challenging the law. After a series of legal challenges, the plaintiffs asked the Supreme Court to hear the case, and on Dec. 4, 2024, both sides presented their oral arguments to the court. A decision is expected by June of this year.

Although the law is challenged as a violation of the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment, Skrmetti believes the case is about more than that.

“It goes to a fundamental question about humanity and reality,” he said. “The gender ideology we’re dealing with is basically a modern form of Gnosticism. It’s the idea that the self and the subjective view of the world controls everything. It is rabidly hostile toward any contravention from an objective reality.”

Skrmetti believes that gender identity ideology goes beyond a cultural issue.

“It’s a philosophical issue. It’s a theological issue,” he said. “But right now, the point of the spear and confrontation with this ideology is the courtroom.”

Winning the court is the way to winning the culture, he added, indicating that the nation is at a “pivotal moment” when it comes to gender ideology.

Union President Samuel W. “Dub” Oliver thanked Skrmetti for coming to campus and sharing a small glimpse into the cultural battles shaping Tennessee and the nation.

“What we understand is that questions about what it means to be human are the questions that our culture is going to grapple with for the next 15 to 20 years,” Oliver said. “And we want Union to be a place where those conversations are grounded in a biblical framework.”