Gay Liberation in the Church
“Gay and lesbian people are not thought of as people with faith, but this myth is shattered by the truth that the largest grassroots organizations in our communities are religious. But few mainstream denominations welcome or recognize this devotion” (Vaid, 1995). Homosexuality has been around since the history of humanity; never discussed and always kept hidden in the closet, for fear of retribution by those suffering from homophobia. To put it in the words of the Catholic church, “the Vatican condemns homosexuality as ‘intrinsically evil’ (Gay Today). The Gay Liberation Movement that began 60 years ago has made progress in our churches’ by accepting some homosexuals into their congregations today. However, I feel strongly that our churches will never resolve the moral issue of homosexuality since most of society still considers it an immoral act. This so called immoral act continues to go against church teachings, at least according to scripture. This perspective is from a very simplistic point of view, my own and I won’t argue church politics because I am not a scholar nor theologian. If God is supposed to be love and live within us, as love, then how can love between two people (despite sex) be wrong if it
came from God? Are we saying God is NOT love then? I will compare the theories of two gay movements within the Church, DignityUSA and the Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement from Europe. Both religious groups share the same ideology or belief that their sexual orientations are gifts from God. Gifts are to be accepted and shared in a unitive manner. That manner is loving, life-giving, and life-affirming according to the life teaching of Christ. In many countries in Europe, however “apart from the Italian Catholic church there is hardly any organized religious opposition to the rights of gay Europeans. Same-sex unions are a reality in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and the Netherlands. France and Germany have both enacted strong domestic-partnership laws, their capitals both have gay mayors, and gay soldiers serve openly in many NATO armies” (Kaiser, 2002). In the United States it is the opposite, gay marriages are illegal no matter how many cities elect for “civil unions.” Even the president has gone as far as to define “marriage” as an institution between a “male and female only.” Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement works toward bringing lesbian/gay liberation to the churches and Christianity to the lesbian/gay community through prayer, study and action in local groups and especially to those gay Christians subjected to discrimination. The movement was founded in 1976 as an ecumenical organization with the aim of encouraging fellowship, friendship and support amongst gay Christians, helping the Church to re-examine its understanding of human sexuality, encouraging the witness of Christian faith within the gay community and maintaining links with other gay Christian groups in Britain and elsewhere. To help the whole Church re-examine its understanding of human sexuality, and
Some topics in this essay:
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Statement Conviction…so,
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Approximate Word count = 1221
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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