Christianity and homosexuality
Significant debate has arisen over the proper interpretation of the Levitical code; the narrative of Sodom and Gomorrah; and various Pauline passages, and whether these verses condemn same-sex sexual activities.
"[18] A 2011 report based on telephone surveys of self-identified American Catholics conducted by the Public Religion Research Institute found that 56% believe that sexual relations between two people of the same sex are not sinful.
[32][33] On 18 December 2023, non-liturgical blessings of same-sex couples in the document Fiducia supplicans were approved by Pope Francis and published by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.
"[58] In 2000, the Church's General Assembly further affirmed that "human sexual orientations, whether heterosexual or homosexual, are a gift from God and part of the marvelous diversity of creation.
[65] On 26 February 2019, a special session of the General Conference rejected the One Church Plan and voted to strengthen its official opposition to same-sex marriages and ordaining openly LGBT clergy.
[66] Since 1998, the Anglican Church has reassured people with same sex attraction they are loved by God and are welcomed as full members of the Body of Christ.
[70] Reflecting on resolution 1.10 in the lead up to Lambeth 2022, Angela Tilby recalled the intervention of Bishop Michael Bourke, who successfully proposed an amendment which said: "We commit ourselves to listen to the experience of homosexual persons".
[71] Tilby considered that while the amendment had appeared inconsequential at the time, it had indeed been significant: she said that the idea of "patient listening" underpinned the Church of England's process "Living in Love and Faith".
He offered caring ministry and words of solace to struggling people, while differentiating His love for sinners from His clear teaching about sinful practices.
[103] As an alternative to a school-sponsored Day of Silence opposing bullying of LGBT students, conservative Christians organized a Golden Rule Initiative, where they passed out cards saying "As a follower of Christ, I believe that all people are created in the image of God and therefore deserve love and respect.
"[104] Others created a Day of Dialogue to oppose what they believe is the silencing of Christian students who make public their opposition to homosexuality.
[105] It is in some fundamentalist conservative positions, that there are anti-LGBT activists on TV or radio who accuse homosexual people of a gay agenda and of being responsible for social problems, such as terrorism.
[114][115] This expression has its origin in the book Welcoming but Not Affirming: An Evangelical Response to Homosexuality published in 1998 by the American Baptist theologian Stanley Grenz.
[118] The French evangelical pastor Philippe Auzenet, a chaplain of the association Oser en parler, regularly intervenes on the subject in the media.
[133] Some Baptist associations in the United States do not have official beliefs about marriage in a confession of faith and invoke congregationalism to leave the choice to each church to decide.
"[145] The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said in 2015 that it officially welcomes its gay and lesbian members, if they choose sexual abstinence.
In the 20th century, theologians like Jürgen Moltmann, Hans Küng, John Robinson, Bishop David Jenkins, Don Cupitt, and Bishop Jack Spong challenged traditional theological positions and understandings of the Bible; following these developments some have suggested that passages have been mistranslated or that they do not refer to what is in the modern day understood as "homosexuality.
"[citation needed] Clay Witt, a minister in the Metropolitan Community Church, explains how theologians and commentators like John Shelby Spong, George Edwards and Michael England interpret injunctions against certain sexual acts as being originally intended as a means of distinguishing religious worship between Abrahamic and the surrounding pagan faiths, within which homosexual acts featured as part of idolatrous religious practices: "England argues that these prohibitions should be seen as being directed against sexual practices of fertility cult worship.
[147] In 1986, the Evangelical and Ecumenical Women's Caucus (EEWC), then known as the Evangelical Women's Caucus International, passed a resolution stating: "Whereas homosexual people are children of God, and because of the biblical mandate of Jesus Christ that we are all created equal in God's sight, and in recognition of the presence of the lesbian minority in EWCI, EWCI takes a firm stand in favor of civil rights protection for homosexual persons.
[150][151][152] They consider some verses such as those they say support slavery[150] or the inferior treatment of women[151] as not being valid today, and against the will of God present in the context of the Bible.
[153][155][156] His views have not found wide acceptance, and opponents have argued that this rite sanctified a platonic brotherly bond, not a homosexual union.
Desmond Tutu, the former Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town and a Nobel Peace Prize winner, described homophobia as a "crime against humanity" and "every bit as unjust" as apartheid:[159] "We struggled against apartheid in South Africa, supported by people the world over, because black people were being blamed and made to suffer for something we could do nothing about; our very skins.
"[160] Modern gay Christian leader Justin R. Cannon promotes what he calls "Inclusive Orthodoxy" ('orthodoxy' in this sense is not to be confused with the Eastern Orthodox Church).
He characterized some of his leading conclusions from the data as follows:[169] "People who portray gay adults as godless, hedonistic, Christian bashers are not working with the facts.
"[171] She argued that Barna had formulated his report with undue irony and skepticism, and that he had failed to take into account the reasons for the data which enkindled his "arrière pensée."
Equally, gays and lesbians do not see the Bible as unequivocally true because they are forced by its use against them to read it more closely and with less credulity, leading them to note its myriad contradictions.
[172][173] According to founder Justin Lee: We're just trying to get people together who experience attraction to the same sex, however they have handled that, and who love Jesus and say, OK, you are welcome here, and then let's pray together and figure out where God wants us to take it.
[195] In 1976, its members founded Exodus International, a Christian organization (more specifically Protestant and Evangelical) in the United States and in various countries of the world.
[199] Studies have found that LGBT individuals who experienced conversion therapy reported significantly higher rates of depression, suicide attempts, and substance abuse than their peers who did not.
[200][201][202] In 2005, Baptist Pastor Al Sharpton criticized megachurches for focusing on "bedroom morals", statements against same-sex marriage and abortion, by ignoring issues of social justice, such as the immorality of war and the erosion of affirmative action.
