This assumes there is a universally agreed upon definition of "upward" and "forward". Religious people would argue things like abortion rights and pride celebrations are the opposite of upward and forward progress since they enable and encourage what they believe to be sin.
These are the same people who think the world is 6000 years old, the first man was made out of mud and the first woman was made from the rib of the first man. They're clearly insane so their view of forward should be thrown in the garbage.
