Thousands of Christians in Singapore dressed in white to stand for traditional marriage following the country's sixth annual "Pink Dot," an event which celebrates LGBT individuals and calls for an end to discrimination.
The "Wear White" campaign, which was held at Faith Community Baptist Church on June 29, was attended by over 6, 400 men, women and children, Channel News Asia reports.
FCBC Senior Pastor Lawrence Khong said that Pink Dot, which is attended by over 26,000 members of the LGBT community yearly, was indicative of a "decline of moral and family values." He encouraged those attending to "preserve purity in the home" by standing strong for traditional marriage.
"We are not pushing a religious issue on our nation; we are standing here on a social and moral issue," he said. "Today, we wear white not because we want to preach to people, but [because] we want to share with them that we stand on the same moral ground that is healthy for our nation."
Khong said that his beliefs concerning marriage reflected those of Singapore's government, and Pink Dot was "a value generally not acceptable in our land."
"We, as Singaporeans, have the right to decide what kind of Singapore we want it to be," he said, noting that he has many friends in the gay community.
According to a study conducted by the Institute of Policy Studies in 2014, nearly 80 percent of the country believed that sexual relations between two adults of the same sex was wrong, and 73 percent said they were against gay marriage.
The campaign also took off on social media, as hundreds of Christians around the world posted photos of themselves on Twitter and Instagram using the hashtag #WearWhite.
"Stand For Truth! Pink Dot is destroying true marriage #WearWhite" posted one user named Suzanne.
However, many participants in the campaign said they wore white to support the Biblical definition of marriage-not necessarily to oppose Pink Dot.
"Pink Dot is right to protest for greater freedom and equality. I respect their push for greater inclusion," said Faith Baptist Community Church member Teo Yee Name.
"But I feel they have to be mindful of society's stance on the traditional grounds of marriage."
Another attender, Maisy, agreed.
"We're just coming together to worship God, and wearing white to have the spirit of supporting family," she told Yahoo! Singapore.
"Pink Dot has their own position. We don't have anything against them ... after all, we're all Singaporeans."
