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Attitudes in Presbyterianism toward homosexuality vary, ranging from outright condemnation to complete acceptance.
The "mother church" for Presbyterians worldwide, the Church of Scotland is still debating the issue of homosexuality. In 1994, the General Assembly received for consideration two reports, one from the Board of Social Responsibility on human sexuality ("placing questions of sexuality for people with...disabilities, elderly people, and homosexuality in the contexts of human sciences and Scripture"), and one from the Panel on Doctrine on marriage (concluding, "among other things, that cohabiting couples, whether heterosexual or homosexual, may well display all the marks of loving, faithful and committed partnership, and should not be thought sinful"). The Panel's Working Party was unanimous, but the larger Panel was not and had dissenting members, as did the Board's report. Neither became official church doctrine. The legalization of same-gender Civil Partnerships in Scotland in 2005 brought the issue to a head again, this time over the question of whether Church of Scotland ministers are allowed to conduct (and also have the right to decline to perform) union ceremonies between two persons of the same gender. [1] The Assembly narrowly passed legislation to permit civil blessings. In 2011, the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland voted to allow openly gay ministers, provided those ministers were inducted into the Church of Scotland before May 2009. However, it imposed a moratorium on openly gay ministers being newly inducted into the Kirk until May 2013. During its May 2013 annual meeting the question of ordaining openly gay ministers was again discussed. As an effort to build common ground between the generally opposing "traditionalists" and generally affirming "revisionists", the General Assembly made a decision for the Church to maintain its historic doctrine in relation to human sexuality but, to permit individual Kirk Sessions (local congregations) to call a homosexual minister in a civil partnership if they choose to do so. [2] Questions regarding a mechanism by which conflict between the local Kirk wishing to ordain a homosexual minister and its overseeing Presbytery (which aims to maintain church doctrine) were referred to committee and the question will be further discussed at the 2014 general assembly. In 2015, the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland voted in favour of appointing and accepting gay ministers who entered into same-sex marriages. [3] On May 25, 2017, the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland officially backed a Theological Forum report calling for approval of same-sex marriage and an apology to homosexuals for past mistreatment. [4] While the apology immediately went into effect, [5] no timeline was set for allowing gay marriages and it was acknowledged that same-sex marriages would still not be allowed in Church of Scotland churches until at least the 2018 assembly. [5] In May 2018, the General Assembly passed a vote by 345 to 170, for a motion which tasked a committee with drafting church law on the issue of same-sex marriage. Its legal question committee has been asked to report back to the decision-making body in 2020. [6]
The Presbyterian Church in Canada has had a conservative view on the subject in the past. A 2002 report summarized its position by noting that the church "opposes any attitude of hatred or discrimination directed at homosexual people, the Church believes its task is to lead all people to the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ, the Church has accepted the biblical norm of male and female, and the Church has called for chastity...outside the bond of marriage." It notes that "there are lesbian and gay people holding positions of responsibility in the [PCC], people of homosexual orientation are able to have all the privileges of church membership, and [that the PCC] still needs to examine the issues around ordination." [7] The PCC did not approve of same-sex marriages at the time the Civil Marriage Act was passed, and it stated that position to the Canadian government in 2005. [8]
However, the stance of the PCC has changed in recent years. The 145th General Assembly in June 2019 adopted two recommendations: that presbyteries under the Barrier Act may hold parallel definitions of marriage being "a covenant relationship between a man and a woman or as a covenant relationship between two adult persons", and that LGBTQI persons may be ordained as ministers and ruling elders. [9] The recommendations were approved by the General Assembly in 2021. [10]
For decades members of the LGBTQ community have been welcomed as members in the Presbyterian Church. Since 2011, The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), the largest U.S. Presbyterian body, welcomes gay and lesbian persons to serve in leadership positions as ministers, deacons, elders, and trustees within the church based on the discernment of individual ordaining bodies. This is referred to as home rule and does not make ordination of LGBTQ persons a mandated denominational standard. This is a change from the denominational standard added to the denomination's constitution, The Book of Order, first proposed in 1994, that stated:
- Those who are called to office in the church are to lead a life in obedience to Scripture and in conformity to the historic confessional standards of the church. Among these standards is the requirement to live either in fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman, or chastity in singleness. Persons refusing to repent of any self-acknowledged practice which the confessions call sin shall not be ordained and / or installed as deacons, elders, or ministers of the Word and Sacrament (G-6.0106b).
This paragraph, often referred to by its pre-ratification designation "Amendment B", was ratified by a majority of presbyteries in 1997 and was in large part inspired by definitive guidance documents issued by the PC(USA)'s predecessor denominations, the UPCUSA in 1978 and the PCUS in 1980. Different attempts to remove or soften this language have been unsuccessful. Individual ministers are permitted to bless same-sex unions, but the Church does not permit same-sex marriages, and does not explicitly support the consummation of these unions. [11] In 2001, the General Assembly ordered the formation of a Theological Task Force on the Peace, Unity and Purity of the Church. The members were chosen to reflect the diversity of opinion within the church. Its final report was approved by the 2006 General Assembly in Birmingham. The task force made seven recommendations:
The Task Force Report and the AI passed the General Assembly on June 20, 2006. [13]
In November 1994, an individual PC(USA) church and Presbyterian Renewal Ministries sponsored a conference called "The Path to Freedom: Exploring healing for the Homosexual." This conference focused on both how to minister to those “struggling" with homosexuality and to teach those in the church how to support them. A few months later, OneByOne was organized. OneByOne is an ex-gay organization whose aim is to "educate the Church and minister to members" in regards to "sexual brokenness", of which they include homosexuality. [14] Other groups advocate the full inclusion of LGBT persons in the life and work of the church, including More Light Presbyterians, dating to 1974, and the Covenant Network of Presbyterians (formed in the aftermath of the ratification of Amendment B). All three of these groups are considered advocacy groups, separate from the PC(USA) and do not speak on behalf of the denomination. [15]
At the General Assembly of 2004 an overture to consider adoption of the Belhar Confession was approved. That confession was written by the Dutch Reformed Mission Church in South Africa in response to apartheid. Some controversy exists as to whether its principles in the American context relate to the issue of sexual orientation.[ citation needed ] The 2008 General Assembly was to consider adoption [16] but because the report to the assembly was incomplete in 2008 a new report on adoption is expected in 2010. [17]
The 2008 General Assembly, taking under serious consideration the report of the Peace, Unity and Purity of the Church Task Force, [18] decided to remove many (if not all) of the definitive guidance standards, authoritative interpretations, and church-court cases concerning homosexuality that were seen by full-inclusion advocates as stumbling blocks to homosexual ordination. The Assembly also took steps to remove "Amendment B" (G6.0106b) from the constitution by sending to the presbyteries a vote to alter amendment B and replace it with wording that does not implicitly or explicitly bar homosexuals from ordination. [19] Further changes to the governance of the denomination came in the adoption of a separate authoritative interpretation which allowed for homosexual individuals to "scruple" or challenge the restrictions of homosexual ordination before governing bodies of the church and be allowed ordination at which point the governing body may accept or refuse the challenge. [20] The process for correcting the Heidelberg Catechism, which is part of the constitution of the denomination, was also begun. The correction will remove the improper 1962 "translation" of the original document which illicitly added homosexuality to its list of sins. The 2010 General Assembly will have to receive and approve a report for the change and send to the presbyteries to receive a two-thirds approval for change in 2012. [21]
On July 8, 2010, by a vote of 373 to 323, the General Assembly voted to approve the so-called Amendment 10-A to permit the ordination of partnered gays and lesbians. The measure required ratification by a majority vote among the 173 Presbyteries before taking effect. [22] On May 10, 2011, a majority of Presbyteries ratified Amendment 10-A. The deciding vote was cast by the Presbytery of Twin Cities; 19 presbyteries that voted against a previous such amendment changed sides. [23] The new policy, which overrides a policy reserving clergy status to people "living in fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman or chastity in singleness," took effect on July 10, 2011. [24] [25] Immediately thereafter, a new denomination, the Evangelical Covenant Order of Presbyterians, was formed for the congregations that wanted to leave the PC(USA).
The Presbyterian Church (USA) voted to allow same-gender marriages on 19 June 2014 during its 221st General Assembly, making it one of the largest Christian denominations in the world to openly accept same-sex unions. This vote effectively lifted a previous ban and allows pastors to perform marriages in jurisdictions where it is legal. Additionally, the Assembly voted to send out a proposed amendment to the Book of Order that would change the definition of marriage from "between a man and a woman" to "between two people, traditionally between a man and a woman." This amendment needed to be approved by a majority of the 171 Presbyteries to take effect. [26] [27] It was approved by a majority of the 171 Presbyteries in March 2015, and so it was included in the church's Book of Order, taking effect on June 21, 2015. [26]
The United Church of Canada, formed in 1925 with 70% of Canadian Presbyterians along with Congregationalists and Methodists, welcomes LGBT members into active membership and does not bar LGBT candidates to the ministry. It allows same-gender marriage ceremonies to be performed by its ministers and opposes repeal of the Civil Marriage Act that allows persons of the same gender to be married. [28]
Many Presbyterians in New Zealand are active in the Association for Reconciling Christians and Congregations, [29] an ecumenical group that supports the full inclusion and participation of all people in the Church, including gay and lesbian persons.
In America, More Light Presbyterians, a coalition of gay-inclusive congregations, was founded in 1980. Today the organization has 113 member churches, while many more informally endorse its mission to more fully welcome people of all sexualities into the life of the church.
An ecclesiastical court for the Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa declared that "the Presbyterian church allows gay marriage" and that pastors may exercise their consciences. [30]
Other American Presbyterian bodies, such as the Presbyterian Church in America, [31] the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (United States), [32] the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church, [33] and the Orthodox Presbyterian Church [34] condemn same-sex sexual behavior as incompatible with Biblical morality, with the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (United States), [35] the Presbyterian Church in America, and the Orthodox Presbyterian Church also viewing homosexual orientation as itself sinful. [36]
In Australia, the Presbyterian Church of Australia, declared homosexual practices to be sin in 1994, while in 2007 it called on the government to amend the Sex Discrimination Act "in such a way as to prevent same-sex partners and singles from continuing to access artificial reproductive technology." [37]
In New Zealand the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand has debated homosexuality for many years. In 1985 its General Assembly declared "Homosexual acts are sinful." The most recent decision of the Assembly in 2004 declared "this church may not accept ...anyone involved in a sexual relationship outside of faithful marriage between a man and a woman," but added the lemma, "In relation to homosexuality... this ruling shall not prejudice anyone, who as at the date of this meeting, has been accepted for training, licensed ordained of inducted."
In Brazil, the Presbyterian Church of Brazil (Igreja Presbiteriana do Brasil) is against gay practice. Given recent laws, the Presbyterian Church of Brazil published an article stating its position against these themes, leaving clear its opposition to both abortion (except those performed to save the life of the pregnant) and homosexuality. [38]
In 2011 the conservative National Presbyterian Church in Mexico put an end on the 139-year-old relationship with the PC(USA) over the issue of gay ordination, and in the same meeting the Mexican Presbyterian Church rejected woman ordination. [39]
In India, the Presbyterian Church of India is strongly against homosexuality.
In Ireland, the Presbyterian Church in Ireland is opposed to LGBT rights and same-sex marriage. In June 2018, it voted that individuals in same-sex marriages cannot be full members of the church, and cannot have their children baptised. [40] It has also sanctioned some liberal ministers and congregations. [41] [42]
All 150 Presbyterian denominations in Korea including the two largest, Tonghap and Hapdong, denominations are vehemently against what they view as homosexual "sins".
The Presbyterian Church of Colombia prohibits same-sex marriage.
In 2014, the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan issued a statement declared homosexuality is against the Bible and homosexual orientation is not born with. [43]
OneByOne is a Presbyterian ex-gay organization whose mission is both to minister to the "sexually broken" and serve as a source to those trying to support them, with an emphasis on homosexuality. The idea for OneByOne started as a result of a conference held in November 1994 by a PC(USA) church and the Presbyterian Renewal Ministries entitled "The Path to Freedom: Exploring healing for the Homosexual." In January 1995 the Presbyterian Renewal Network held a meeting to discuss what could be done, at which time they created OneByOne. [44] In July 2003, it joined with 10 other organization that serve people conflicted over unwanted homosexual attractions [45] to form a coalition called Positive Alternatives to Homosexuality. [46]
The Presbyterian Church (USA), abbreviated PCUSA, is a mainline Protestant denomination in the United States. It is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the country, known for its liberal stance on doctrine and its ordaining of women and members of the LGBT community as elders and ministers. The Presbyterian Church (USA) was established with the 1983 merger of the Presbyterian Church in the United States, whose churches were located in the Southern and border states, with the United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America, whose congregations could be found in every state.
Presbyterianpolity is a method of church governance typified by the rule of assemblies of presbyters, or elders. Each local church is governed by a body of elected elders usually called the session or consistory, though other terms, such as church board, may apply. Groups of local churches are governed by a higher assembly of elders known as the presbytery or classis; presbyteries can be grouped into a synod, and presbyteries and synods nationwide often join together in a general assembly. Responsibility for conduct of church services is reserved to an ordained minister or pastor known as a teaching elder, or a minister of the word and sacrament.
The Church of Scotland is a Presbyterian denomination of Christianity that holds the status of the national church in Scotland. It is one of the country's largest, having 259,200 members in 2023. While active membership in the church has declined significantly in recent decades, the government Scottish Household Survey found that 20% of the Scottish population, or over one million people, identified the Church of Scotland as their religious identity in 2019. The Church of Scotland's governing system is presbyterian in its approach, therefore, no one individual or group within the church has more or less influence over church matters. There is no one person who acts as the head of faith, as the church believes that role is the "Lord God's". As a proper noun, the Kirk is an informal name for the Church of Scotland used in the media and by the church itself.
The Uniting Church in Australia (UCA) was founded on 22 June 1977, when most congregations of the Methodist Church of Australasia, about two-thirds of the Presbyterian Church of Australia and almost all the churches of the Congregational Union of Australia united under the Basis of Union. According to the church, it had 243,000 members in 2018. In the 2016 census, 870,183 Australians identified with the church, but that figure fell to 673,260 in the 2021 census. In the 2011 census, that figure was 1,065,796.
The Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) is the second-largest Presbyterian church body, behind the Presbyterian Church (USA), and the largest conservative Calvinist denomination in the United States. The PCA is Reformed in theology and presbyterian in government.
The Cumberland Presbyterian Church is a Presbyterian denomination spawned by the Second Great Awakening. In 2019, it had 65,087 members and 673 congregations, of which 51 were located outside of the United States. The word Cumberland comes from the Cumberland River valley where the church was founded.
The United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America (UPCUSA) was the largest branch of Presbyterianism in the United States from May 28, 1958, to 1983. It was formed by the union of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America (PCUSA), often referred to as the "Northern" Presbyterian Church, with the United Presbyterian Church of North America (UPCNA), a smaller church of Covenanter-Seceder tradition at a conference in downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in May 1958. Vigorous ecumenical activity on the part of PCUSA leaders led to this merger, something of a reunion of two long-separated branches of the larger Presbyterian family deriving from the British Isles.
The Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC) is an American church body holding to presbyterian governance and Reformed theology. It is a conservative Calvinist denomination. It is most distinctive for its approach to the way it balances certain liberties across congregations on "non-essential" doctrines, such as egalitarianism /complementarianism in marriage or the ordination of women, alongside an affirmation of core "essential" doctrinal standards.
The blessing or wedding of same-sex marriages and same-sex unions is an issue about which leaders of Christian churches are in ongoing disagreement. Traditionally, Christianity teaches that homosexual acts are sinful and that holy matrimony can only exist between two persons of different sexes. These disagreements are primarily centred on the interpretation of various scripture passages related to homosexuality, sacred tradition, and in some churches on varying understandings of homosexuality in terms of psychology, genetics and other scientific data. While numerous church bodies have widely varying practices and teachings, individual Christians of every major tradition are involved in practical (orthopraxy) discussions about how to respond to the issue.
The Presbyterian Church in the United States of America (PCUSA) was a Presbyterian denomination existing from 1789 to 1958. In that year, the PCUSA merged with the United Presbyterian Church of North America. The new church was named the United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America. It was a predecessor to the contemporary Presbyterian Church (USA).
More Light Presbyterians is a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing and ensuring the full participation of LGBTQIA+ people in the Presbyterian Church (USA). As of 2024, the organization's membership includes over 330 congregations and thousands of individuals.
The New Wineskins Association of Churches (NWAC) was a group of nearly 200 theologically conservative Presbyterian churches, each of which is in varying stages of departing from the mainline Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), also known as PCUSA. The New Wineskins network of churches was formed as a result of growing discontent among theologically conservative pastors, elders, and members regarding the general direction of the PCUSA. The NWAC was scheduled to come to a conclusion in June 2012. The New Wineskins Presbytery was dissolved in 2011, as its mission was completed.
Methodist viewpoints concerning homosexuality are diverse because there is no one denomination which represents all Methodists. The World Methodist Council, which represents most Methodist denominations, has no official statements regarding sexuality. Various Methodist denominations themselves take different stances on the issue of homosexuality, with many denominations holding homosexual practice to be sinful, while other denominations ordain LGBT clergy and marry same-sex couples. The positions of the various Methodist denominations around the globe are outlined in this article.
The ordination of lesbian, gay, bisexual and/or transgender (LGBT) clergy who are open about their sexuality or gender identity; are sexually active if lesbian, gay, or bisexual; or are in committed same-sex relationships is a debated practice within some contemporary Christian denominations.
Although the United Church of Canada is one of the few mainstream Christian denominations to both ordain LGBTQ clergy and consecrate same-sex marriages, support for these issues have caused deep divisions within the church.
The Presbyterian Church in Ireland is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the Republic of Ireland, and the largest Protestant denomination in Northern Ireland. Like most Christian churches in Ireland, it is organised on an all-island basis, in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. The church has approximately 210,000 members.
ECO: A Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians is an evangelical Presbyterian denomination in the United States. As a Presbyterian church, ECO adheres to Reformed theology and Presbyterian polity. It was established in 2012 by former congregations and members of the Presbyterian Church (USA), abbreviated PC(USA). Denominational disputes over theology—particularly ordination of practicing homosexuals as pastors and gay marriage—and bureaucracy led to the founding of ECO. In 2018, ECO has over 383 congregations, 103,425 covenant partners and over 500 pastors. ECO churches are egalitarian in beliefs and ordain women as pastors and elders.
The National Presbyterian Church in Mexico is the second-largest Protestant church, and the largest Reformed denomination in Mexico. It is present throughout the country, and is particularly strong in the states of Tabasco, Chiapas, Campeche, Yucatan, Nuevo León, Aguascalientes and Mexico City.
Greg Johnson is an American Christian author and lead pastor of Memorial Presbyterian Church in St. Louis. He is one of the first celibate publicly gay-identified pastors of a non-affirming conservative evangelical church in the United States.
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