comments:
I don’t think your historical account is accurate. There were major debates about homosexuality and the church 50 years ago! The conservatives of 50+ years ago believed that homosexuals should be legally punished and purged from churches, yet some mainline liberals started believing they should be treated with compassion, understanding, and respect. Remember, this was the time when it was illegal to have same-sex sex in your own home. People would be fired and kicked out if they were found at certain bars when raided. The vast majority of Christians supported its criminalization too. But even 50 years ago, there had already been years of churches that were actually fully affirming. The MCC was founded in 1968 as an explicitly affirming church, and the UCC started advocating for LGBT equal rights the following year. Mainline churches became bases for organizing the LGBT civil rights movement during this time—often because they were the only buildings in the community that would let gay people in! Of course, the conservative churches in this era fully opposed the decriminalization of homosexuality and actively campaigned against it. Sources: Reforming Sodom: Protestants and the Rise of Gay Rights “Coming Out in the Parish Hall: New York’s Gay Movement and the Church of the Holy Apostles, 1969–70” Recruiting Young Love: How Christians Talk About Homosexuality I’m also looking forward to reading Born Again Queer: A History of Evangelical Gay Activism and the Making of Antigay Christianity, which just came out a couple weeks ago.