Christian Denominations and Gays

These links are all from glbtq.com - an excellent encyclopedia of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, & queer culture. Used with Permission.

While denominations such as the Metropolitan Community Church and the Unitarian Universalists welcome full participation by glbtq members and clergy, others are divided over glbtq issues, and some are ardent supporters of the most homophobic elements of the New Right.

http://www.glbtq.com/social-sciences/metro_comm_church.html
http://www.glbtq.com/social-sciences/unitarians.html
http://www.glbtq.com/social-sciences/new_right.html

Churches of the Anglican Communion include the Episcopal Church and the Church of England. The recent consecration of Reverend V. Gene Robinson
(b. 1947), an openly gay man, as a bishop in the United States brought tensions within the worldwide communion into sharp focus.

http://www.glbtq.com/social-sciences/anglicanism.html
http://www.glbtq.com/social-sciences/robinson_vg.html

The Bible is the foundational text of Christianity. Perhaps no other book has been more influential--for better or worse--in determining the construction of gay and lesbian identity in the modern world, as well as social attitudes toward homosexuality.

http://www.glbtq.com/literature/bible.html

The socially and politically conservative Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) has long been antagonistic to the rights of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered people.

http://glbtq.com/social-sciences/church_of_jesus_christ_of_latter_day_saints.htm

The core of Evangelical Christianity is its emphasis on convincing non-Christians to join the Christian faith. Evangelicalism is closely related to fundamentalism and tends to be both socially conservative and hostile to glbtq people and sensibilities.

http://www.glbtq.com/social-sciences/evangelical_christians.html

Spurred by the gay liberation movement of the late 1960s, a number of religious groups--including specifically Gay and Lesbian Churches and Synagogues--have been formed to address the needs of gay and lesbian believers.

http://www.glbtq.com/social-sciences/gay_lesbian_churches.html

The Metropolitan Community Church was founded by Rev. Troy D. Perry in 1968 to minister to the glbtq community. Today, the denomination has more than 40,000 members in 300 churches in 18 countries.

http://www.glbtq.com/social-sciences/metro_comm_church.html
http://www.glbtq.com/social-sciences/perry_t.html

The Christian group known as the Quakers is officially known as The Society of Friends. The Society of Friends, especially its conservative branch, has been a leader among Christian religious denominations in accepting homosexuality and gay and lesbian identity.

http://www.glbtq.com/social-sciences/quakers.html

The Roman Catholic Church is the largest Christian denomination in the Western world. It may be the institution most responsible for the suffering of individuals involved in same-sex sexual relationships.

http://www.glbtq.com/social-sciences/roman_catholicism.html

The Salvation Army is an Evangelical Christian sect founded in the nineteenth century, which has recently become an arm of right-wing conservatism. During the late 1990s, the sect campaigned in favor of sodomy laws and against glbtq rights.

http://www.glbtq.com/social-sciences/salvation_army.html

The United Church of Canada has been instrumental in the increased acceptance of glbtq rights, including same-sex marriage, in Canada.

http://www.glbtq.com/social-sciences/united_church_canada.html

The United Church of Christ has attempted to make its churches a "place of extravagant welcome" for glbtq people.

http://www.glbtq.com/social-sciences/united_church_christ.html

The Unitarian Universalist church in the United States has been outspoken in support of human rights--including, since 1970, those of the glbtq community. Though many of its members do not describe themselves as Christian, the church has Protestant historical roots.

http://www.glbtq.com/social-sciences/unitarians.html

Many thanks to glbtq.com for compiling this list! Used with Permission.

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