The Presbyterian Church (USA) & homosexuality

History of the denomination;
Recent conflicts over homosexuality.

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Presbyterian history in the U.S.:

Presbyterians are part of the Reform (a.k.a. Calvinist) tradition. The movement was first established in Scotland under John Knox.

The history of the Presbyterian movement in the United States contains many schisms based on moral questions, often followed by mergers:

• 1861: The denomination split on north/south lines over the issue of the preservation or abolition of human slavery.
• Circa 1925: The church was able to weathered a second serious crisis: the Fundamentalist - Modernist controversy. The denomination was divided whether to retain to traditional, historical beliefs, or to absorb modern beliefs concerning biblical inerrancy, inspiration of the authors of the Bible, the search for the historical Jesus, the existence and nature of Hell, etc. A commission, organized in 1925, successfully avoided a denominational schism. Some liberal ideas were accepted by the denomination.
• 1972-3: 260 congregations totaling over 41,000 members left the Presbyterian Church in the United States (Southern) because of an internal liberal/conservative controversy. This conflict was largely caused by disageements over the inerrancy of the Bible and the ordination of women. A number of presbyteries left: the Warrior Presbytery in Alabama, the Westminster Presbytery in Virginia and East Tennessee, and the Vanguard Presbytery at large. ₁ Many high-profile conservative Presbyterian ministers left, including Dr. D. James Kennedy, of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church, and Dr. Larry Roff of Knox Theological Seminary. They formed the National Presbyterian Church.
• 1974: The National Presbyterian Church changed its name to the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA).
• 1982: The Reformed Presbyterian Church, Evangelical Synod, joined the PCA.
• 1983: The United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America and the Presbyterian Church in the United States merged to produce the The Presbyterian Church (USA). This healed the major split in the denomination that occurred at the start of the Civil War due to a disagreement over human slavery.

The World Almanac for 2004 reported that the PCUSA had 3.4 million members and 11,142 congregations. The denomination is divided among 171 presbyteries. The more conservative Presbyterian Church in America [PCA] has about 307,000. There are also seven smaller Presbyterian denominations of which the largest has about 85,000 members. ₂ Like many other mainline Protestant denominations, the PCUSA has been losing members for the past 40 years. ₃ Their net recorded loss between 2002 and 2003 was 46,658 members:

• Some conservative members believe that the loss is related to the church's continuing, two-decades long, discussion of equal rights for gays and lesbians, including both homosexual ordination, and the recognition of holy unions and marriages by same-sex couples. 
• Many believe that the drop is caused by the denomination's inability to attract younger members. Youth may well be discouraged, in part, by the denomination's rejection of equal rights for gays and lesbians.

Recent conflicts:

During the late 1990's and continuing to the present time, internal conflict within the church over beliefs and practices has intensified. The main sticking points seem to be homosexuality and salvation: specifically:

• Whether whether gays and lesbians in committed relationships can be considered for ordination. 
• Whether ministers should be allowed to hold holy union ceremonies for committed gay and lesbian couples.
• Whether a path exists for personal salvation that does not involve Jesus.

Currently, the denomination is seriously split in three ways:

• Within each congregation, between religious liberals and conservatives.
• Between urban and rural congregations.
• Between "liberal" areas of the country, like the northeast, and "conservative" areas, like the southern states.

There appear to be only three possible future scenarios:

• The denomination might persist as it has in the past, with continuing debates causing dissention in the church for many years into the future.
• The church might split into two denominations as it did in the past over the morality of human slavery.
• The church might develop some form of local option in which individual presbyteries would decide matters of procedure for themselves.

Internet and media references:

1. Krista Ramsey, "Doug is calm at center of church storm", Cincinnati Enquirer, 1997-NOV-1
2. "The World Almanac and Book of Facts," World Almanac Books, (2004), Page 610.
3. "The Church and Homosexuality," (1978). Publication #OGA-88-042. It can be ordered for $1.50 + S&H by phoning 1-800-524-2612. It is important to realize that this document is partly based on scientific knowledge of human sexuality as it existed in 1978. Much has been learned since.

Copyright © 1996 to 2008 by Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance. 
Latest update 2008-SEP-28
Author: B.A. Robinson

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Web ReligiousTolerance.org