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While
Christian 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. |
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 Churches of the Anglican Communion include the Episcopal Church and the Church of England. The recent consecration of
Reverend V. Gene Robinson, an openly gay man, as a
bishop in the United States brought tensions within the worldwide
communion into sharp focus. |
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 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. |
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 The socially and politically conservative Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has long been antagonistic to the rights of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered people.
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 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. |
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 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.
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 Lutheranism is riven into numerous denominations, which vary widely in their attitudes toward homosexuality and in their acceptance of gay men and lesbians as full participants in church life. |
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 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. |
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 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. |
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 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. |
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 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. |
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 The Southern Baptists have become the most intolerant of the major American religious denominations, especially (but not exclusively) for their opposition to equal rights for gay men and lesbians. |
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 The United Church of Canada has been instrumental in the increased acceptance of glbtq rights, including same-sex marriage, in Canada.
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 The United Church of Christ has attempted to make its churches a "place of extravagant welcome" for glbtq people. |
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 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.
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Further Reading |
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social sciences >> Religion |
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