The gay debate

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The Rev. Dave Glesne in Fridley, Minn. Glesne is an outspoken opponent of allowing people in same-sex relationships to serve as pastors in the ELCA. (JIM MONE / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS ARCHIVES)

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Evangelical Lutheran Church of America voting members stop for a moment of prayer Aug. 21 during their assembly at the Minneapolis Convention Center. More than 1,000 members debated and voted on whether to allow gay and lesbian clergy to serve while being in committed same-sex relationships. (DAWN VILLELLA / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS ARCHIVES)

There was a big story in Minneapolis last month, but it had nothing to do with the acquisition of former Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre by the hometown Vikings.

In fact, the return to football by the all-star player had to share space on the front page of the city's two major newspapers with -- of all things -- a religion story.

And what was that story? The decision by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) to permit non-celibate gays and lesbians to become clergy.

"Sexually active gays can be clergy," said the headline in the Aug. 22 Minneapolis Pioneer Press, right beside a photo of a smiling Favre in a Vikings uniform.

Not to be outdone, the Minneapolis Star Tribune trumpeted the story in upper case type on its front page (also alongside a photo of Favre): "ELCA ban on gay clergy repealed."

The decision, taken at the denomination's biennial conference in Minneapolis, passed by a 559-451 margin. Prior to the vote, gays could be pastors in the denomination, provided they were celibate. It makes the ELCA, with 4.8 million members, the largest denomination in the U.S. to welcome gays into pulpits without restrictions.

The new rule, which goes into effect in November, will allow individual congregations to decide whether or not they want to call a gay pastor -- the so-called "local option."

According to reports in both papers, reaction to the vote was muted by design. Cheering or other displays of emotion were discouraged; right after the announcement, delegates joined together in prayer and then went on with the rest of the meeting's business.

The decision by that particular branch of Lutheranism got me wondering: How do other religious groups view homosexuality these days?

A great source of information is the U.S.-based Pew Forum on Religion in the Public life. In March it released survey results showing that 56 per cent of mainline Protestants in that country say homosexuality should be more acceptable.

Specifically, 70 per cent of Episcopalians feel that way, as do 69 per cent of those in the United Church of Christ, 56 per cent of ELCA members, 52 per cent of Presbyterians and 51 per cent of those who attend United Methodist churches.

Fifty-eight per cent of Catholics also believe that homosexuality should be accepted, as do 48 per cent of Orthodox believers.

Members of some other religious groups in the U.S. expressed similar viewpoints, with 79 per cent of Jews also believing homosexuality should be more accepted, along with 82 per cent of Buddhists and 48 per cent of Hindus.

Of course, not all religious groups approve of homosexuality. Seventy-four per cent of evangelical Protestants say that homosexuality is a way of life that should be discouraged, as do Mormons (76 per cent), Jehovah's Witnesses (88 per cent) and Muslims (73 per cent).

These figures compare with 48 per cent of the general U.S. population who consider homosexuality to be morally acceptable, according to a 2008 Gallup poll, while 55 per cent believe homosexual relations should be legal.

At least three observations can be drawn from the survey.

First, although this was an American survey, those who study religious trends in Canada suggest that Canadians are often not that dissimilar from Americans when it comes to beliefs -- the same attitudes about homosexuality could exist here.

Second, although it is commonly held that religion and homosexuality are in conflict, in the U.S., at least, there is more support for gays and lesbians among many religious people than in the general population.

Third, although evangelicals and Muslims disagree about many things, on this subject they seem to see eye-to-eye. Says the Pew Forum: "Despite their relatively liberal political orientation, Muslims by no means take liberal positions on all issues. On social issues, they are more similar to white evangelicals."

As for the ELCA itself, what will the decision mean for that denomination, and for other groups that are more accepting of homosexuality? Some may think it will make them more attractive to more liberal-minded people, and thereby help them to reverse declining membership trends. But veteran Dallas Morning News religion reporter and blogger Rod Dreher doesn't think that will happen.

"The demographic wave on homosexuality is real," he says, but so is secularism, which he defines as "being unchurched and happy with it."

In theory, liberalization on the gay issue ought to "help more tolerant congregations attract people," he observes. "But in practice, it's going to be a wash because significantly fewer of these people are going to care about belonging to any church at all in the future."

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A followup to my previous column about suicide: The 2009 Canadian Association of Suicide Prevention National Conference will be held in Brandon October 20-22, 2009. Go to www.suicideprevention.ca/2009 for more information.

jdl562000@yahoo.com

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition September 6, 2009 A10