Catholics around the world deeply divided by Vatican decision recent statement giving priests more latitude to bless same-sex couples. Supporters of LGBTQ inclusion welcome the move; some conservative bishops attack the new policy as a betrayal of the Church’s condemnation of sexual relations between gay or lesbian partners.
It is striking to note that the conflagration of debate within Catholic ranks coincides with developments in two other international Christian denominations: the international community. Anglican Communion and the United Methodist Church – which divide due to differences in LGBTQ-related policies.
Taken together, it’s a dramatic illustration of how – in a religion that emphasizes God’s love for humanity – divisions over marriage, sexuality and the inclusion of gays and lesbians prove insurmountable for the foreseeable future in many sectors of Christianity.
Ryan Burge, a political science professor at Eastern Illinois University and pastor of an American Baptist church, says it has become increasingly difficult for Christian denominations to fully accommodate clergy and congregations with points opposing views on same-sex relationships, especially as such marriages have become legal in much of Europe and the Western Hemisphere.
“Many denominations find themselves in a situation where we have to make a decision: we can no longer be foolish,” said Burge, a specialist in religious demography. “That’s the tension they face: how to keep older conservatives in the fold while attracting younger ones.”
For the world’s faiths — notably Catholics, Anglicans and United Methodists — Burge sees another source of tension: Some of their strongest growth in recent decades has occurred in socially conservative African countries where same-sex relationships are taboo.
“African bishops have this ammunition,” Burge said. “They say to the West: ‘We are the ones who are growing.’ You have the money, we have the numbers.
Kim Haines-Eitzen, a professor of religious studies at Cornell University, said Christianity — throughout its history — has been divided over divergent theological views, such as whether women could be ordained members of the clergy.
“Christianity is incredibly diverse – globally, theologically, linguistically and culturally,” she said. “There are bound to be some incredibly controversial issues, especially when they relate to the interpretation of Scripture. That’s what keeps the world’s religions alive: that kind of push and pull. »
Anglican anguish
Among Christian denominations, the Anglican Communion is second only to the Catholic Church in terms of geographic distribution. Divisions over marriage, sexuality and LGBTQ inclusion have rocked the communion for many years, and they deepened on December 17, when Church of England priests offered officially sanctioned services. blessings of same-sex partnerships for the first time.
The Church of England’s ban on religious marriages for same-sex couples remains, but the decision to allow blessings has infuriated several conservative Anglican bishops in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Pacific.
In the middle is the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby – the most senior bishop in the Church of England and ceremonial head of the Anglican Communion.
Welby says he will not personally bless same-sex couples because it is his job to unify the world’s 85 million Anglicans. That has not appeased some conservative bishops, who say they no longer recognize Welby as their leader.
The decision to allow blessings of same-sex couples follows five years of discussions over the Church’s positions on sexuality. Church leaders apologized for not welcoming LGBTQ people, but also affirmed the doctrine that marriage is the union of a man and a woman.
“What we are proposing as a way forward does not go far enough for many, but too far for others,” said Sarah Mullally, Bishop of London.
United Methodist Separation
A slow dissolution is underway within the United Methodist Church. A few years ago it was the third largest denomination in the United States, but a quarter of US congregations recently received permission to leave on disputes involving LGBTQ-related policies.
Among the more than 7,650 churches that have left the country, most are conservative-leaning congregations responding to what they see as a failure to enforce bans on same-sex marriage and the ordination of openly LGBTQ people. .
There is no precise estimate of how many members are leaving, as some members of congregations who are leaving are. join other UMC churches. But UMC officials are preparing to cut faith-based agency budgets in anticipation of a drop in revenue from church offerings.
United Methodist Church rules prohibit same-sex marriage rites and the ordination of “self-proclaimed practicing homosexuals,” but progressive Methodist churches in the United States have increasingly challenged these rules.
Conservatives mobilized like-minded congregations to withdraw; many join the new World Methodist Church, which intends to enforce these rules.
More than half of the United Methodist Church’s members are overseas, many in conservative African churches. When UMC delegates meet this spring, they are expected to debate proposals to liberalize ordination and marriage policies and make it easier for churches to move overseas.
Splits in other Protestant denominations
Presaging the UMC schism, several other mainline Protestant denominations have experienced divisions over the past two decades resulting from irreconcilable differences between supporters and opponents of LGBTQ inclusion. For example, after the Episcopal Church ordained an openly gay bishop in 2003, some dioceses and conservatives formed the Anglican Church in North America.
Similar differences between liberals and conservatives have prompted hundreds of congregations to leave the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the Presbyterian Church (USA) after adopting LGBTQ inclusion policies.
Some conservative denominations – such as the Southern Baptist Convention and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints – have firmly adhered to policies that reject recognition of same-sex relationships and ordination of openly LGBTQ people. These policies have provoked departures, but no major schism.
Brent Leatherwood, chairman of the Southern Baptist Public Policy Committee, reiterated the SBC’s position in a statement saying the Vatican — under Pope Francis — “has been on a trajectory that appears destined to allow same-sex marriage.”
“The reality is that marriage has been defined by God…It is a union between one man and one woman for life,” Leatherwood said. “Southern Baptists remain grounded in this truth. »
Disapproval of the Orthodox Church
The second largest Christian communion in the world, after the Catholic Church, is the Eastern Orthodox Church, with approximately 220 million members, concentrated mainly in Eastern Europe and Western Asia. To a large extent, Orthodox Christians disapprove of same-sex marriage and relationships.
In Greece, where the government is committed to legalizing same-sex marriage, the Orthodox Church has expressed strong opposition.
The Russian Orthodox Church has backed harsh anti-LGBTQ legislation passed with the support of President Vladimir Putin.
Non-Christian beliefs
The debate over LGBTQ inclusion has not been as contentious in other major world religions as it has been in Christianity.
In the Muslim world, same-sex relationships and same-sex marriage are widely frowned upon; many Muslim countries criminalize homosexuality. However, some LGBTQ-inclusive mosques have popped up in North America and elsewhere.
Among Jews around the world, there are different approaches to LGBTQ issues, but relatively few high-profile grudges. Orthodox Judaism disapproves of same-sex marriage and sexual relations, while they are widely accepted in the Reform and Conservative branches.
In Hinduism and Buddhism, there is no universal official position on same-sex marriage. Many practitioners of both religions disapprove of such unions; some communities are more tolerant.
