Years after he famously responded to a reporter’s question about gay priests with the words, “Who am I to judge?” Pope Francis has made another effort to reach out to LGBTQ people. In Oct 2020, Francis became the first Roman Catholic pontiff to show support for same-sex civil unions, stating in a new documentary that gay and lesbian people are “children of God.”  He said, “You can’t kick someone out of a family, nor make their life miserable for this. What we have to have is a civil union law; that way they are legally covered.”
 

Pope Francis, head of the Catholic Church, has a reputation for being progressive, despite normally couching his language in vague or convoluted manners. But in a new documentary making waves in Italy, the Pope was much more direct: he supports some rights for LGBTQ people. Nations should recognize civil unions for same-sex couples, he said, because they “have a right to a family.”

This isn’t the first time that the Pope has indicated his support for civil unions while still opposing full marriage equality, but it is the most direct. “Homosexuals have a right to be a part of the family. They’re children of God and have a right to a family. Nobody should be thrown out, or be made miserable because of it,” Francis said in the film, speaking on his approach to pastoral care of congregants. “What we have to create is a civil union law. That way they are legally covered,” he added. “I stood up for that.”

In a 2017 book, the Pope was quoted as saying, “Marriage between people of the same sex? Marriage is a historical word. Always in humanity, and not only within the Church, it’s between a man and a woman… we cannot change that. This is the nature of things. This is how they are. Let’s call them civil unions.”

In a 2014 interview published in Corriere della Sera, an Italian daily, the pontiff suggested the Catholic Church could tolerate some types of same-sex civil unions as a practical measure to guarantee property rights and health care. The pontiff said that “matrimony is between a man and a woman,” but moves to “regulate diverse situations of cohabitation (are) driven by the need to regulate economic aspects among persons, as for instance to assure medical care.”

Marcelo Marquez, a leading Argentine LGBTQ rights activist, said that during that nation’s 2010 debate over same-sex marriage, he received a phone call from the Pope (then Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio), the Archbishop of Buenos Aires. According to Marquez, then Cardinal Bergoglio “told me that he was in favor of gay rights and in any case, also favored civil unions for homosexuals, but he believed that Argentina is not yet ready for a gay marriage law." Francis had led the Catholic Church’s public stance against legalizing same-sex marriage in Argentina while he was an archbishop. At the time, Francis called the proposed legislation “a destructive attack on God’s plan.”

“This is the first time as pope he’s making such a clear statement,” the Rev. James Martin, a prominent Jesuit said. “I think it’s a big step forward. In the past, even civil unions were frowned upon in many quarters of the church. He is putting his weight behind legal recognition of same-sex civil unions.”

[Source: Bil Browning, Advocate Mag and Carol Kuruvilla, HuffPost, October 2020]

Dissecting the Catholic Church's Disrespect of LGBTQ People

Bishop Gene Robinson

Gene Robinson was the first openly gay bishop in the US Episcopal Church. His ordination as a bishop of the New Hampshire diocese in 2003 divided the global Anglican community. In the US, hundreds of parishes broke away from the Episcopal Church (the US branch of Anglicanism) in protest, forming a new Anglican Church in North America. Bishop Gene Robinson became a symbol of the LGBTQ rights movement and an advocate for equal marriage.

Gene Robinson was born in 1947 in Lexington, Kentucky. As a schoolboy, he began to realize that he might be different.  He suspected he was gay but said it was not something to be open about. Bishop Robinson says he had relationships with women but admitted that he was also attracted to men.

He met Isabella Martin during an internship at the University of Vermont. He says a month into their relationship, he explained his concerns about his sexuality. But, never the less, they married in 1972 and he took a job as a curate in New Jersey before they moved to New Hampshire in 1975. The couple had two daughters, Jamee and Ella. In 1985, after seeking counseling, he and his wife decided they should separate. He went public with his sexuality and they divorced.

18 months later, Bishop Robinson began to date Mark Andrew, who subsequently moved to New Hampshire.  They married in 2003.  In 2014, after 25 years together, they divorced. Bishop Robinson retired in 2012.

Wikipedia: Gene Robinson

YouTube: First Openly Gay Bishop in Episcopal Church

BBC: Profile of Gene Robinson

I'm Sorry: Open Letter to a Transgender Young Person

John Pavlovitz is a writer, pastor, and activist from Wake Forest, North Carolina. A 25-year veteran in the trenches of local church ministry, John is committed to equality, diversity, and justice—inside and outside faith communities. He wrote this open letter in March 2021.

Dear Friend,
 

I don’t know your story. I cannot imagine how you feel. I can’t fathom how difficult this road has been for you: the swirling storm of the questions inside your head, the hidden fears you’ve had to constantly keep at bay, the incessant worries about the responses of those you love to your full truth—and to have to endure all of it while living inside a space that does not feel like home.

There’s no way to place myself inside your shoes or your skin and even begin to understand how much it hurts be the target of the scalding hatred of strangers simply for existing, the way that must wound your heart and alter your days and hinder your joy.
That is a reality I’ll never know and I so hate that it is your reality: not that you are who you are but that people are who they are in response, that your inherent beauty is met with such undeserved ugliness.

I just want you to know that I see you, that I am for you, that I am in your corner as you struggle to simply be and to breathe freely and to step fully into the dreams you have for the future. I want you to know that I am fighting for you today as I am able, and that I will keep fighting for you because you are so worth fighting for.

I want you to know that even though it may feel that way inside your head or in your home or at your school—you are not alone. I and millions of other people believe in you and want you to have every opportunity to live this life as the most authentic version of yourself; people who celebrate you fully and support you without reservation. I also want you to know that I am sorry. I’m sorry for the people who injure you with taunts and threats and sermons and laws and fists, because they are somehow threatened by your existence.

That is a reflection of their ignorance and fear, not of your worth. I’m sorry for those who terrorize you in the name of a God they also claim is love. They do not speak for God. They only speak for their bigotry-addled, polluted hearts and for the distorted religion they have inherited from people who failed them. They are strangers to love.

I’m sorry for the silence of people who should have spoken up when you were mocked and made fun of by strangers, when you were the object of jokes spoken in your presence, when your dignity and your rights were used as cheap culture war props of pastors and politicians, when those you counted on for refuge refused to provide it. I know there are difficult days ahead for you, and that these words won’t magically make your worries evaporate or silence the bullies or give wisdom to the hateful people in your path.

I only hope these words can be a companion in the days when the fear feels like it will overwhelm you, when the sadness threatens to swallow you up, when the monsters are prevalent and close, when there seems to be no safe space to simply rest in your truth, when you begin to believe that no one around you sees or loves or believes in you. I see you. I love you. I believe in you. So many people do.

You may not feel that way when you are in your home or when you walk through your neighborhood or when you watch the news about your nation—but the world is so much larger than those things, and one day you will get to experience that wide-open, expansive space and you will do it surrounded by a fiercely loving community that sees and respects you as you fully are. In that day, you will no longer need to strive to feel known and welcomed, you will simply realize that you are.

And one day you will be able to step into the day as all of you, as fully you, without limitation or restraint, you will be home. Until then, please know that I and so many others are standing with you from here and cheering you on; that we will work to change legislation and to renovate hearts and to shout down the bullies because you are worth that.
Be greatly encouraged today.
 

John Pavlovitz: Open Letter to a Transgender Young Person

Bridging the Faith Divide in the LGBTQ Community

Savage and Insensitive Church Language Must End

John Pavlovitz: If God is Love, God is For Same-Sex Marriage

John Corvino: What is Morally Wrong With Homosexuality?

Christians Must Stop Disguising LGBTQ Exclusion as Religious Freedom

Jesus at the Gay Bar

He's here in the midst of it all, right at the center of the dance floor,
his robe hiked up to his knees to make it easy to spin.

At some point in the evening a boy will touch the hem of his robe
and beg to be healed, beg to be anything other than this.

And he will reach his arms out, damp with sweat, and weary from dancing.
He'll cup this boy's face in his hand and say,

My beautiful child, there is nothing in this heart of yours that ever needs to be healed.
 

First Out Trans Bishop Installed by Lutheran Denomination
Supporters Push for Gay Priest Who Died on 9-11 to Be Made a Saint
Megan Rohrer Elected As 1st Openly Transgender Bishop In US Lutheran Church
Unity Village: Experience the Spiritual Side of LGBTQ Pride
Guilty as Charged: Southern Baptist Pastor Welcomes LGBTQ Members
Vatican Says Catholic Church Won't Bless Same Sex Unions

Evangelicals Made a Bad Bargain With Trump

CNN: Why Evangelicals Should Care About Trump's Lies (And Other Sins)

John Pavlovitz: Open Letter to a Transgender Young Person

Methodist Conservatives Detail Breakaway Plans Over LGBTQ Inclusion

US Catholic Bishops: People of Goodwill Should Support LGBTQ Youth

Rabbi Denise Eger

Denise Eger is an American Reform rabbi. In March 2015 she became president of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, the largest and oldest rabbinical organization in North America.  She is the first openly gay person to hold that position.

While studying to become a rabbi during the 1980s in New York City, Denise Eger started a group for gay and lesbian students, holding meetings far from campus. At the time, there were few prospects for out lesbian rabbis, a lesson Eger would learn personally.  No one would hire her. But she found her calling at a synagogue created as a religious refuge for gays, Beth Chayim Chadashim in Los Angeles, the world’s first gay and lesbian synagogue to be recognized by Reform Judaism. It was a road that led her to found Kol Ami, a welcoming and jubilant Jewish community that is open to all.

Since then, the Reform Jewish movement (Eger’s lifelong spiritual home) has undergone a radical transformation on LGBTQ issues and now fully embraces the community.

Eger has been honored for her HIV/AIDS work and is a highly regarded expert on Judaism and LGBTQ civil rights. She is a noted author contributing to anthologies such as “Torah Queeries,” “Lesbian Rabbis,” “Twice Blessed,” and “Conflicting Visions: Contemporary Debates in Reform Judaism.” She wrote the piece “Creating Opportunities for the ‘Other’: The Ordination of Women as a Turning Point for LGBTQ Jews”, which appears in the book “The Sacred Calling: Four Decades of Women in the Rabbinate,” published in 2016.

Wikipedia: Denise Eger

Queery: Lesbian Rabbi Denise Eger

NY Times: Lesbian Rabbi Becomes President of Reform Group

Institute for Judaism and Sexual Orientation
How Can You be Gay and Jewish?

Rabbi's View: Gay Marriage Does Not Violate Religious Rules

Queer Midrash: Reimagining Hanukkah

What Does Judaism Say About LGBTQ People?

List of LGBTQ Jewish Organizations

Gamal Palmer: Black, Gay, Jewish

List of LGBTQ Jewish People

Keshet

LGBTQ Christian Musicians

Just as there are gay, lesbian, and bisexual people who are Christians, there are gay, lesbian, and bisexual artists in the Christian music industry as well. Among these are Ray Boltz, Jennifer Knapp, Trey Pearson, Vicky Beeching, Marsha Stevens, Jason & deMarco, and Dan Haseltine (lead singer of Jars of Clay).

Coming out of the closet in the Christian music world is no easy task. Being gay is considered a sin to many religious people, so the backlash could be harsh whether coming out to family or the entire Christian music world. And that’s what closeted Christian music artists had to face after deciding to be open with their sexuality. But despite the fear they may face, some of these artists had the courage to speak up in support of the LGBTQ community, whether by coming out or becoming an open advocate.

Trey Pearson: Christian Rock Star Comes Out
Vicky Beeching: Christian Music Star Comes Out

Trey Pearson's New Album: Tribute to Larry Kramer's Legacy

Jennifer Knapp: Righteous Babe

Top Openly Gay Christian Musicians

Christian Rocker Trey Pearson Comes out to Fans

Vicky Beeching: I Lost My Music Career After Coming Out

Data From GLAAD

--Catholics support marriage equality at 54%, which is higher than the national average.

--Individual Evangelical Christians are consulted in the media at a higher rate than their presence in the population would warrant (34% of media coverage versus 26% of the U.S. population).

--Over half of Roman Catholics consulted in the media presented negative messages about LGBTQ issues, despite the fact that 71% of American Catholics support civil marriage equality and 73% of lay Catholics support anti-discrimination laws that would protect LGBTQ people in the workplace and in public accommodations.

--The mainstream media used far fewer religious voices from Mainline Protestant, Jewish, or other religious sources whose messages were predominantly positive.

--Many faith groups are developing rites and rituals for transgender individuals.

--African-American church leaders increasingly support LGBTQ equality. According to the latest research, fully one-third of African-American Protestants support marriage equality.

--Faith groups have taken the lead in addressing LGBTQ youth homelessness.

--The Orthodox Jewish world is slowly backing away from its fierce opposition to LGBTQ people.

Troy Perry

Rev. Troy Perry is the founder of Metropolitan Community Church, a Christian denomination with a special affirming ministry with the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer communities, in Los Angeles in 1968.

Perry felt called to offer a place for gay people to worship God freely. Perry put an advertisement in The Advocate magazine announcing a worship service designed for gays in Los Angeles. Twelve people turned up on October 6, 1968 for the first service, and "Nine were my friends who came to console me and to laugh, and three came as a result of the ad." After six weeks of services in his living room, the congregation shifted to a women's club, an auditorium, a church, and finally to a theater that could hold 600 within several months. In 1971, their own building was dedicated with over a thousand members in attendance.

Being outspoken has caused several MCC buildings to be targeted for arson, including the original location in Los Angeles. Perry's theology has been described as conservative, but social action was a high priority from the beginning of the establishment of the denomination. Perry performed the first public same sex unions in the United States as early as 1968 and ordained women as pastors as early as 1972. MCC has more than 200 congregations in 33 countries.
 

Ethnic and Religious Perspectives

African American/Black
Hispanic/Latino

Arab/Muslim/Middle East

Asian/Pacific

Indian/Hindu/Sikh

Jewish/Israeli

Native/Two Spirit
Diversity/Intercultural

Responses From Clergy

Question: In your opinion, does God regard homosexuality as a sin?

Baptist|Dr. Stayton - Absolutely not! There is nothing in the Bible or in my own theology that would lead me to believe that God regards homosexuality as sin. God is interested in our relationships with ourselves, others, the things in our lives, and with God. There is nothing in the mind of God that could be against a loving, sexual relationship, freely entered into, without coercion, among sincere adults whether gay, bisexual or straight.