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THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH (USA)
AND GAY / LESBIAN ORDINATION

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Quotations from delegates to the 2001 General Assembly:

Overview:

Many authors divide Protestantism into three groups: conservative, mainline and liberal denominations.

A consensus within mainline denominations is impossible to attain; they are divided within families, congregations, presbyteries, and geographical regions between religious conservatives and liberals.  Gulfs have opened between young and old members, between urban and rural areas, and between northern and southern sections of the country. Intelligent, devout, prayerful Presbyterians all read the same Bible but come to opposite conclusions about what it says about homosexuality.

The hottest debate in recent years is whether sexually active gays and lesbians should be eligible for ordination. Back in 1993, the church's General Assembly voted 72% in favor of continuing a ban on lesbian/gay ordination. Since that time, there has been an increasing acceptance within society of homosexual orientation and behavior as a valid, normal, and acceptable form of sexuality for a small minority of adults. Some members of the Presbyterian Church have followed these social trends; others retained their conservative beliefs.

The debate reached a crisis point in the late 1990's when the opposing sides became roughly equal in influence. If current trends continue, then sexually active gay and lesbian candidates will be considered for ordination. It is debatable whether the church can stand the strain of this transition without triggering a schism.

Homosexual orientation essays in this section:

Author's thoughts:

Religious liberals in the denomination generally approach lesbian/gay ordination as a civil rights issue. They stress "liberty and justice for all." They tend to base their beliefs partly on biblical themes that run through Scriptures -- like justice, equality, and love.

Religious conservatives generally regard homosexual behavior, no matter what the circumstances, to be a very serious sin -- sufficient to preclude a person from being considered for ordination. They generally base their beliefs mainly on the six "clobber passages" in the Bible which they feel refers to homosexuality.

The question simply will not go away. The historical record in the U.S. shows that when a minority organizes and demands equal rights, that they will usually eventually attain them. This has happened with slavery, racial segregation, women's right to vote, inter-racial marriage, women's equality in employment, etc. It is happening with respect to les/gay ordination on a denomination by denomination basis. This has tended to start with the most liberal and progress towards the more conservative faith groups. 

My view in 1991 was that there was a strong possibility that the Presbyterian Church (USA) would undergo a schism, as it did over slavery, and nearly did over female ordination. This would split the denomination into two approximately evenly sized faith groups: one accepting and one rejecting gay ordination and civil unions. This would be a largely geographical and a urban/rural division. Separations in religious denominations resemble marital separations -- they may start out with people behaving rationally, but they tend to quickly degenerate.

I felt in 1991 that the only other obvious path was to continue the debate for years in to the future. If Presbyterians could wait long enough, support would probably swing to the liberal side. Opinion polls of high school seniors indicate a far more liberal stance on homosexuality.

By 2001, Presbyterians seemed to be growing weary of the endless conflict. Another option began to look attractive: that of a local option: leave the existing standards in place which discriminate against gays and lesbian candidates for ordination, and give the ordaining bodies some wiggle room to approve at least some candidates who do not meet the standards. This satisfied nobody. But many Presbyterians saw it as the only alternative to church schism. It was approved at the 2006 General Assembly. This may provide a model which more conservative denominations can choose to follow to avoid schism.

It is interesting to note that at the same time that the General Assembly was discussing the local option, the Episcopal Church, USA was meeting to discuss other matters related to human sexuality:

They chose to proceed along a different path which may threaten the stability of the worldwide Anglican Communion.

End of Author's thoughts:

Copyright © 1996 to 2006 by Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance
Last update: 2006-JUN-24
Author: B.A. Robinson