Within Christianity, there are a variety of views on sexual orientation and homosexuality. Even within a denomination, individuals and groups may hold different views, and not all members of a denomination necessarily support their church's views on homosexuality.
The relationship between religion and homosexuality has varied greatly across time and place, within and between different religions and denominations, with regard to different forms of homosexuality and bisexuality. The present-day doctrines of the world's major religions and their denominations vary vastly in their attitudes toward these sexual orientations.
Unitarian Universalism (UU) is a liberal religion characterized by a "free and responsible search for truth and meaning". Unitarian Universalists assert no creed, but instead are unified by their shared search for spiritual growth, guided by a dynamic, "living tradition". Currently, these traditions are summarized by the Six Sources and Seven Principles of Unitarian Universalism, documents recognized by all congregations who choose to be a part of the Unitarian Universalist Association. These documents are 'living', meaning always open for revisiting and reworking. Unitarian Universalist (U.U.) congregations include many atheists, agnostics, and theists within their membership—and there are U.U. churches, fellowships, congregations, and societies around the world. The roots of Unitarian Universalism lie in liberal Christianity, specifically unitarianism and universalism. Unitarian Universalists state that from these traditions comes a deep regard for intellectual freedom and inclusive love. Congregations and members seek inspiration and derive insight from all major world religions.
Same-sex marriage in Manitoba has been legal since September 16, 2004. In the case of Vogel v. Canada, Justice Douglas Yard of the Manitoba Court of Queen's Bench ruled that the policy of the Government of Manitoba was unconstitutional, and ordered the province to begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. This decision followed a suit brought by three couples in Manitoba who were denied marriage licences. Both the provincial and federal governments had made it known that they would not oppose the court bid.
All Souls Church, Unitarian is a Unitarian Universalist church located at 1500 Harvard Street NW at the intersection of 16th Street, Washington, D.C., roughly where the Mt. Pleasant, Columbia Heights, and Adams Morgan neighborhoods of the city meet. The design of its current building, completed in 1924, is based on St. Martin's-in-the-Fields in London. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2020. All Souls, a member of the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations, describes its theology as having evolved from a liberal Christian tradition into a "rich pluralism."
Unitarian Universalism and the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) have a long-standing tradition of welcoming LGBT people.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) affirming religious groups are religious groups that welcome LGBT members and do not consider homosexuality to be a sin. They include entire religious denominations, as well as individual churches and synagogues. Some are composed mainly of non-LGBT members and also have specific programs to welcome LGBT people, while others are composed mainly of LGBT members.
The Religious Institute, Inc. is a progressive American multi-faith organization dedicated to advocating for sexual health, education, and justice in faith communities and society. It was co-founded in 2001 by Debra Haffner, a Unitarian Universalist minister and sexologist, and Larry Greenfield, an American Baptist minister and theologian.
Wake Forest Baptist Church is located on the campus of Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The church was organized in 1956 when Wake Forest College moved from Wake Forest, NC, to Winston-Salem, perpetuating a 125-year-old tradition of having a Baptist church at the center of the campus.
Pullen Memorial Baptist Church is a Baptist church known for its progressive theology located in Raleigh, North Carolina, US, right beside North Carolina State University. Pullen, called "a fiercely independent Baptist church" whose traditions have "earned it a reputation far and wide as the South's premier liberal church," has a long history of civil rights activism, and is currently a leader on key issues of the day, from LGBTQ rights to activism in Moral Monday protests to alliances with like-minded people in distant places from Cuba to Nicaragua to Georgia in the Caucasus Mountains and Black Sea.
Many views are held or have been expressed by religious organizations in relation to same-sex marriage. Arguments both in favor of and in opposition to same-sex marriage are often made on religious grounds and/or formulated in terms of religious doctrine. Although many of the world's religions are opposed to same-sex marriage, the number of religious denominations that are conducting same-sex marriages have been increasing since 2010. Religious views on same-sex marriage are closely related to religious views on homosexuality.
Same-sex marriage has been legally recognized in the U.S. state of North Carolina since October 10, 2014, when a U.S. District Court judge ruled in General Synod of the United Church of Christ v. Cooper that the state's denial of marriage rights to same-sex couples was unconstitutional. The state's Governor and Attorney General had acknowledged that a recent ruling in the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court's decision not to hear an appeal in that case established the unconstitutionality of North Carolina's ban on same-sex marriage. State legislators sought without success to intervene in lawsuits to defend the state's ban on same-sex marriage.
Jimmy Creech is a lifelong pioneer in LGBT equality issues. Creech is a former United Methodist Church minister who was defrocked for marrying same-sex couples. He was a founding member of the North Carolina Religious Coalition for Marriage Equality, an interfaith same-sex marriage advocacy group, co-author of the Dallas Principles, was a participant in the Marriage Equality Express, and is the current Board Chairman of the North Carolina Social Justice Project, a progressive policy and advocacy organization dedicated to eliminating inequality in North Carolina.
The relationship between religion and LGBT people can vary greatly across time and place, within and between different religions and sects, and regarding different forms of homosexuality, bisexuality, and transgender identity.
The Eno River Unitarian Universalist Fellowship (ERUUF) is a Unitarian Universalist (UU) congregation located in Durham, North Carolina. In 2018, over seven hundred people were members of ERUUF, making it the largest UU congregation in NC and one of the largest in the UUA. It sponsors the UU campus ministry program at Duke University, Unitarian Universalist Fellowship @ Duke.
Within Christianity there are a variety of views on the issues of gender identity and transgender people. The many Christian denominations vary in their position, ranging from condemning transgender acts as sinful, to remaining divided on the issue, to seeing it as morally acceptable. Even within a denomination, individuals and groups may hold different views. Furthermore, not all members of a denomination necessarily support their church's views on transgender identities.
Brandan Robertson is a gay writer, activist, and minister, best known for his writing and commentary on millennials, social justice, contemplative spirituality, and his work as an LGBTQ activist among Christians. He has also worked as a consultant and lecturer at several seminaries including San Francisco Theological Seminary and Auburn Theological Seminary. Robertson received his Bachelor of Arts in pastoral ministry and theology from Moody Bible Institute, his master's degree in theological studies from Iliff School of Theology, and his master's degree in political science from Eastern Illinois University. Robertson writes regularly for Patheos, The Huffington Post Blog, Progressing Spirit, and Sojourners magazine.
Reverend Robin Noelle Tanner is an American Unitarian Universalist minister notable for her activism for the causes of religious freedom and civil rights. Reverend Tanner is the Minister of Worship and Outreach at Beacon Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Summit. From 2010 to 2016, she was lead minister at the Piedmont Unitarian Universalist Church in Charlotte and Salisbury in North Carolina. Tanner is a lesbian who married her partner in 2014 and has performed marriage services for same-sex couples. In 2014, Tanner joined the United Church of Christ in an innovative lawsuit challenging prohibitions against marrying same-sex couples. This lawsuit took the novel position that the laws restricted the ministers' freedom of religion. The suit was successful: On October 10, 2014, the federal district court for western North Carolina struck down the ban on same-sex marriage. Reverend Tanner also worked to overturn HB2, the North Carolina law that was passed in March 2016 to ban individuals from using a public bathroom that does not match the person's biological sex. The law also prevented cities from passing rules to protect gay and transgender people from discrimination. In spite of challenges and an apparent agreement between the city of Charlotte and the state to repeal both the Charlotte anti-discrimination ordinances and HB2, HB2 remains in effect. She is an advocate for equal opportunity, voting rights for Latino and African-Americans, raising the minimum wage, marriage equality, as well as other issues. In July 2017, she was arrested while protesting outside the office of senator Mitch McConnell, as part of an effort of "moral obedience" or civil disobedience, to espouse the cause of health care being a fundamental human right. In January 2017, she began serving as the Minister of Worship and Outreach at the Beacon Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Summit, New Jersey. In July 2017, Tanner protested the GOP healthcare plan to repeal the Affordable Care Act by bringing a coffin to the offices of congressional leaders, and was arrested for her civil disobedience.
We are a moral movement, rising up in resistance to the cruelness of this Congress. We are commanded by a moral imperative to care for the sick. Forget partisan politics, forget left and right, forget Republican and Democrat, we are commanded to take care of the people ― our people.
Reverend Cedric A. Harmon is the Executive Director of Many Voices: A Black Church Movement for LGBT Justice and a speaker, writer, and activist. He is recognized as having taken a "leading role in trying to convince the faithful to support LGBT rights," his work acknowledged in the National Park Service 2016 Centennial report LGBTQ America: A Theme Study of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer History. He has also written for outlets such as the Huffington Post and the Advocate.
