The Why and How of Congregational Discernment in LGBTQ+ Inclusion: Models in the Literature

Abstract

Through the years, people of faith and their congregations have encountered social issues without easy answers. From racism, women’s rights, and poverty to the current divisions over abortion and human sexuality, the church has wrestled with difficult subjects impacting policy and practice. In the United States of America (USA/US), the question of LGBTQ+ inclusion in churches is an increasingly frequent conversation, point of decision, and sometimes point of division in congregations. As these challenging social issues in a politically polarized USA culture impact the church, there is also a focus in the literature on methods for civil conversation. This article reports on models for conversations that provide guidance for congregations engaging in difficult conversations including that of LGBTQ+ inclusion. In this article, congregations and others are provided with resources and models for discernment. Models covered include those developed by individual Christian leaders, those developed in congregational processes, and those developed for public and educational discourse.