As Attitudes Change, LGBTIQ Christians Challenge the Status-Quo
“I don’t care what anybody says, anybody that denies gay people into the church are no Christians as far as I’m concerned,” Reverend Shane Andersen says.
“Unfortunately, because of most people’s ignorance, they tend to take a piece of Leviticus or Romans and use that to condemn people just because they don’t understand their sexuality.”
Amongst the flamboyance and splashes of brilliant colour surrounding him, it was his modest, black and white priests uniform that made the biggest impression.
The Reverend was one of the thousands to pack themselves snugly into the courtyard between Sydney Town Hall and St. Andrews Cathedral, the country’s oldest, as part of large marriage equality rallies seen across Australia this month.
It was easy to see some sort of symbolism in the rally’s location, with the imposing spires acting as a strangely fitting backdrop to the array of rainbow flags and ‘pro-homo’ signs, literally wedged between church and state.
“I’m very supportive of this obviously, I’m very proud to be gay,” Andersen says.
“I’m a Christian and I don’t believe God hates gays, in fact I believe God has chosen gays for many areas within our society.”
His convictions haven’t always been this self-assured, neither has his faith in Christianity.
Born in England and raised in The Salvation Army, Andersen would eventually leave after a church officer told him as a young man his homosexuality was sinful.
After a prolonged period of disillusionment with both his sexuality and his faith, he would eventually come into contact with Campaign Against Moral Persecution (CAMP), a pioneering support group for LGBTIQ Australians, and slowly began to reconnect with his religion, eventually coming to work with the Outreach Ministries.
The Reverend’s story is typical of many LGBTIQ Australians growing up and living within religious environments.
The intersection of religion and the politics surrounding the marriage equality debate has always been just one aspect of a potent, and controversial mix.
Indeed, attempts to paint the issue of marriage equality as being a purely secular issue aren’t helped by the (often formidable) voices of Australia’s largest churches.
Earlier this year, the Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney went so far as to publish a pamphlet entitled Don’t Mess With Marriage.
For many, the idea of living openly with their sexuality, let alone getting married to their partners, continues to be out of the question.
The rally ended with the crowd, numbering nearly 5,000 participants, beginning its slow march towards Oxford Street, the heart of the city’s gay community.
LUC elder Curtis Dickson decided not to march as the crowd left the square, if only because his partner of eleven years had a leg encased in a thick blue cast.
“Even though as a denomination the Uniting Church doesn’t entirely agree upon marriage equality, our congregation has said we are supportive,” Dickson says.
The Uniting Church’s approach to LGBTIQ issues and it’s eager acceptance of members from the community makes for a uniquely progressive voice in the Australian Christian establishment.
Despite this, the church’s stance on marriage remains ambiguous, with major decisions often being made on a consensual basis.
This often culminates with the triennial National Assembly, which has made a point of discussing same-sex marriage regularly.
However, the past two assemblies, in 2015 and 2012, both chose to delay any decisive action on the issue, noting more thought and debate needs to be undertaken before a unifying position can be agreed upon.
A report published by the National Consultant of Theology and Discipleship in the Uniting Church Robert Bos in 2013, described the extensive process required to consult the wide range of opinions held within the church community.
Indigenous, migrant-ethnic and Anglo centric views were all analysed and taken into consideration within Bos’ report, as was the existing definition of marriage held by the Uniting Church, that of being exclusively between a man and a woman, dating back to 1997.
Despite these setbacks, Dickson is optimistic for the future.
“I hope that if there were ministers who supported marriage equality, they would be able to hold same-sex ceremonies in their church, [that] they would be free to do that.”
It was a sentiment the Reverend echoed, while also warning of the difficulties LGBTIQ people, particularly young people, still face.
“The must choose their churches very carefully,” he says, “but we will always advise them without prejudice.”
“We will comfort them, and let them know ‘You are loved, unconditionally’”.
