LGBTQI+ and Christian? Who decides?

A Way Forward for Discernment in Congregations: LGBTQ+ Inclusion Discernment

“…There are lessons in the experiences of these congregations and denominations that can inform the processes of congregations engaging in discernment conversations in the future. The primary reported concern of the congregations in this study was fear of losses of relationships, members, finances, and denominational affiliation (Harris et al 2020;Harris and Yancey 2021). While these findings and possibilities do not address the potential loss of denominational affiliation, they do address relationships and the potential for loss of members and with members, finances.…”

“…On the other hand, some denominational groups including Metropolitan Community Church (MCC), Church of Christ, and Affirming Baptist groups, have adopted welcome and affirming positions (Baldock 2014;Polaski et al 2013). Many others continue to struggle over their responses both denominationally and within individual congregations (Harris and Yancey 2021;Harris et al 2020). Examples of these include Baptist denominations like the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship whose recent positions attempt to find mid-ground; the United Methodist Church whose past positions have been officially traditional with flexibility for some churches within the denomination making congregational decisions to hire LGBTQ+ ministers and to perform gender inclusion marriages; and the Presbyterian Church USA in which local congregations have both the freedom and the challenging task of deciding their level of inclusion at the congregational level.…”

Complicit silence, fluid identities and a shift to personalized faith: LGBTQ+ experiences in conservative Christian communities

“…Although this particular nuance has not been examined extensively in previous literature, it is supported by findings regarding the consequences associated with taking a side on controversial topics in Christian communities. Harris et al (2020) note in their study that, both historically and currently, denominational and congregational decisions about controversial topics, including current discussions with respect to LGBTQ+ inclusion, can lead to members leaving due to disagreement. My findings indicate that the participants' conservative Christian communities will simply avoid openly having these controversial discussions while still implicitly enforcing a strict cisgender heterosexual norm within the community.…”

“…LGBTQ+ people comprise an important segment of religious and church life while experiencing challenges around acceptance and inclusion (Harris et al, 2020). Previous literature and academic work on this topic clearly demonstrate that Christian communities are important places for resolving conflict between religious and non-normative sexual/gender identities (Joldersma, 2016: 43).…”