Exclusion

Note: This is the opinion article previously mentioned. Please comment!

In 2003, the first openly gay bishop in the Episcopal Church was consecrated. This sparked criticism and outrage from the Church’s conservative members, while less traditional Episcopalians praised the decision to appoint him. Last month Episcopalian leaders from both within the United States and overseas met and agreed on a compromise: that homosexuals already serving as priests or bishops would be allowed to continue their service, but no new gay bishops would be consecrated. They also agreed to stop blessing same-sex relationships. Most European leaders view this as a satisfactory compromise, but a number of African leaders are deeply opposed to it. Benjamin Nzimbi, the Archbishop of Kenya, has publicly denounced the compromise. He says that the gay bishop should be removed from his position immediately, and that the American church needs to repent for what he says is “a sin in the eyes of the Lord”.

The Episcopal Church is one of the more liberal ones with regard to homosexuality. Roman Catholicism requires that homosexuals wishing to be ordained remain celibate for a period of time prior to entering the seminary. The Southern Baptist Convention recently expelled three of its congregations from the group for conducting studies about homosexuality. The Presbyterian Church requires its priests to “live either in fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman, or chastity in singleness”.

Most religious or semi-religious people would agree that this rift—or any rift—in the church is not helping them gain members. Between 1990 and 2001, the fastest growing religious group in terms of number of members was the non-religious, which also includes atheists and agnostics. The world figure for non-religious people is about 13 percent as of 2004, up from approximately eight percent in 1990. Indeed, the number of non-religious people in the world and especially in the United States is expected to continue to grow, as more children are brought up without religion.

As churches try to increase their membership, the idea that a group that comprises up to ten percent of the world’s population can be and is excluded from membership is ridiculous to me. National and regional governments around the world are gradually moving towards acceptance and tolerance of gays and lesbians, and some religions are following them. However, the divide between religions such as Unitarian Universalism, which has as its symbol a rainbow flag, and Orthodox Judaism, which looks down on homosexuality, is still wide, as is the gap between traditional and liberal Episcopal churches.

While some religions claim that homosexuality can be cured, there is no psychological or scientific evidence to prove this. Indeed, the American Psychological Association reports that these so-called therapies often do more harm than good. It points out that people subjected to the therapy are likely to experience greater feelings of self-hatred than they did prior to the treatment. It has been documented that homosexual youth are more than twice as likely to commit suicide as their heterosexual counterparts. This is attributed to the homophobia and the lack of a support structure that gay and lesbian youths face. Paul Gibson, a licensed clinical social worker, specifically points to an intolerant or unaccepting religion as a risk factor for suicide in gay youth. He points to the fact that teens who do not feel like it is possible to come out are the ones most likely to commit suicide. Religion, he says, is one of the factors that may make it impossible for homosexual youth to speak to their families regarding their sexual orientation.

While it is important for religions to have strong belief systems, it is incomprehensible that edicts against homosexuality would be viewed as more important than teachings about equality and compassion. Turning people away from religion—perhaps permanently—is too large of a price to pay for taking every word of the Bible or any religious text literally.