Under Construction Symbol RELIGIOUS GROUPS' ATTITUDE TOWARDS HOMOSEXUALS AND HOMOSEXUALITY

This page is currently under construction. Ultimately, we want to include the beliefs and policies of every faith group with more than 1% of the population of the population of the US or Canada, and some religious groups from other countries. We would also like to add some of the interesting smaller religions, denominations and new religious movements. This is going to take some time. Many religious groups (particularly conservative ones) do not respond to our questions

We expect this page to be continually under construction, until sexual orientation becomes a non-issue within religious groups and society.

Conflicts between Organized Religion and Society

The points of greatest tension between Christianity and secular society appear to be related to gender and human sexuality: Of these, perhaps only access to abortion is more divisive and intense than the debate over sexual orientation.

Sexual orientation relates to feelings. It defines who a person finds to be sexually attractive. Human sexuality researchers, professional organizations and liberal religious groups appear to have reached the consensus that:

Many conservative Christian churches have reached a different consensus, that: Main-line and liberal churches typically hold positions between these two extremes. The conflicts between medical science and conservative Christianity are obvious.

Internal Church Conflicts

There are some interesting theological questions relating to homosexuality and bisexuality:

Incidence of Homosexuality within Churches

Members and leaders of some conservative Christian churches believe that they have few or no members or staff who are homosexuals. Evangelicals Concerned, a group which believes that there is no conflict between Biblical faith and a committed, monogamous homosexual relationship, believe the opposite: that gays and lesbians are as common within conservative churches as within the general population.(1)

There is really no way to collect accurate statistics on the prevalence of homosexuality within churches. Both members and employees would be reluctant to reveal their orientation because they would fear being expelled if they came out of "the closet". One interesting statistic comes from Love & Action, an Evangelical agency which ministers to persons with AIDS. They went into about a dozen Christian colleges during 1990 and offered confidential counselling to those who were struggling with homosexual feelings. About 4% of students signed up. They estimate the total number of such students to be at least 8%, presumably because of fear of being exposed and a lack of trust in the agency. These data would indicate that the prevalence of homosexual orientation might be higher in Christian colleges than in the general population. (1)

Christian Churches' Policies on Homosexuality

Each Christian denomination, sect or new religious movement has policies which define their beliefs and treatment of homosexuals and bisexuals: Churches currently hold different views. Many denominations are gradually changing their positions to a more inclusive stance. We are unaware of any religious groups going in the opposite direction.

Information is available for those following denominations which are highlighted:

The essay on the United Church of Canada contains a "blow-by-blow" account of its decision to allow the ordination of homosexuals. This might be useful to members of denominations that are progressing along the same path.

Summary of Denominations' Policies

A summary of the current policies of various Christian faith groups is listed below: 

                   Groups' Policies Towards Homosexuals & Bisexuals
                        A.       B.       C.       D.        E. 
Name of the          allows   ordains  ordains   committ. anti-hate
Denomination         members  celibate active    ceremony program                 
 1 Anglican Church *   yes      yes      no         no      yes
 6 Church of Christ     no     unknown   no         no       no
 8 LDS (Mormon)         no     unknown   no         no       no

 9 Episcopal           yes      yes     yes         no      yes
10 Evangel. Lutheran   yes      yes      no         no       no
14 Metropolitan Comm.  yes      yes     yes        yes      yes

17 Presbyterian USA    yes      yes      no     no policy   yes
19 Roman Catholic       no       no      no         no       no
21 S. Baptist Conv      no       no      no         no       no

22 Unification          no       no      no         no       no
23 Unitarian-Univers.  yes      yes     yes        yes      yes
24 United Church       yes      yes     yes        yes      yes

25 United Church *     yes      yes     yes         no      yes
27 Unity Church        yes      yes     yes         no       no

* Indicates Canadian denomination; the remainder are US organizations.

We expect to fill out this chart in the future. It is interesting to note
that all of the changes over the past decade have been towards the "yes"
side.

What does the Future Hold within Christendom?

Many gays and lesbians remain partially or completely in the "closet". They often find the Church as the last place that they would want to "come out", because of the fear of rejection and homophobia. This is unfortunate, because the most effective way of changing a heterosexual's beliefs about homosexuality is for them to meet a homosexual. This is a Catch 22 situation.

If you are a heterosexual and know a gay male or lesbian, we suggest that you talk to them about their sexual orientation and the attitude of your church(es). If you do not know such a person, we recommend that you read a letter from a gay person to his church council. It might help you to empathize with the pain felt by devout Christian homosexuals.

We predict that over the next few decades, most Christian denominations will gradually accept the following beliefs:

Eventually, all churches are expected to follow the lead of the United Churches, Unitarian-Universalist Association, Neo-Pagan and some Native faiths. They will accept gays, lesbians and bisexuals as full members and as eligible for the clergy. The negative references to homosexual rape and temple homosexual prostitution in the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) will eventually be accepted as having no bearing on committed homosexual relationships. St. Paul's apparent condemnation of homosexuality in the Christian Scriptures (New Testament) will become regarded as a "cultural accretion" similar to his requirement that women not speak in churches; both will be rejected as in conflict with the basic principles of Christianity.

As with many previous issues of social change, from the abolition of slavery to birth control to women's rights, the liberal churches will lead; Fundamentalist churches will be the last to convert. Consider the stance that the Southern Baptist Convention has taken over the past 150 years on racial matters:

By this schedule, the SBC's attitudes towards gays and lesbians appears to be stuck in the 1960's. In another 35 years, they might well issue a formal apology to homosexuals for the insustices supported by their church and for continuing homophobia within the denomination.

Eventually, sexual orientation will become a non-issue in essentially all churches. Discrimination against minority sexual orientations will be perceived as institutional hatred, and totally incompatible with the Gospel message. Homosexuality and bisexuality will be recognized as a natural sexual orientation for a minority of people. Unfortunately, this process will take many decades to complete. In the meantime, much suffering and many suicides will be experienced by the gay, lesbian and bisexual community, and gay-bashing will remain at a high level.

Jewish Groups

Jewish groups tend to mirror Christian denominations, ranging from conservative to liberal:

Traditional Native American Groups

In many aboriginal traditional faiths, homosexuals are held in high regard as having received a special blessing. They often became the shaman (healer) of the community.

Asatru, Druidic, Wiccan and Other Neo-Pagan Groups

These religions are almost completely decentralized in organization, so no one person or organization speaks for an entire faith group. Many, perhaps most, Neo-Pagans are solitary practitioners. Others are organized into Churches, Covens, Groves, Kindreds, etc. Although Pagans celebrate female-male polarity, and many of their rituals are based on a balance of women and men, they generally accept homosexuality and bisexuality as natural and unchangeable orientations for a minority of adults. Most groups welcome people without regard to their sexual orientation. There are also exclusively gay and exclusively lesbian Neo-pagan groups.

Other Religions

Return to the "Homosexual" menu.
Return to the OCRT home page.

References

  1. The Evangelical Closet, Christianity Today, 1990-NOV-5