Religion. Supposedly the guiding word of the masses, yet to the LGBT+ community it’s a constant source of hate and rejection. But what do two of the world’s biggest religions really have to say about being gay? Last week, Jonny Marsh looked at Islam. This Easter week, Christianity is put on trial…

Happy Easter homos! On this weekend, we’re told, a very long time ago, Jesus died for our sins on the Friday, and was resurrected on the Sunday, thus establishing Him as the powerful Son of God and proving that God will judge the world in righteousness. Apparently. Today, however, it’s more of an excuse to eat chocolate eggs and have an extra couple of days off work, but hey, that works for us. But as we head into the long weekend, should we be celebrating the religious significance of Easter or shunning an establishment that – on the whole – continues to shun us? 

CHRISTIANS, CATHOLICS, AND THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND

Now this is where things can get a little confusing. Christianity is the religion based upon the writings of Jesus Christ. The Catholic Church is the world’s largest Christian denomination, headed up by the Pope from Rome. And the officially established religion here on our fair shores is the Church of England, which split from the main Catholic Church in 1534. However it is still considered a Catholic faith.

And Catholicism has a very complicated, often somewhat ironic, relationship with same-sex attraction, as can be easily confirmed by just a few examples of recent headlines. The Vatican has bought a 21 million Euro apartment in the same complex as the biggest gay sauna in Europe. Cardinal Keith O’Brien – once the most senior Catholic in the country and an outspoken homophobe  – is alleged to be in a long term relationship with another man. Many priests have over the years been found to be involved in sexual abuse and cover ups, traceable to the very top levels of the faith’s organisation. You couldn’t make this stuff up.

And with plenty of demonstrable evidence that the Church of England and the Catholic Church are homophobic, we must ask ourselves, why are they so determined to discriminate against gay people?

For Sharon Ferguson, Chief Executive of the Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement, this has everything to do with gender. “The church, and especially the Catholic Church, has always been very male dominated, misogynistic and patriarchal”, she tells me. “Gay men are seen as not conforming to the male stereotype and therefore undermine male authority – the same goes for lesbian women who are seen as emulating men. We also still have the emphasis in the Catholic church on procreation which again affects views on any relationship that is not open to child production.”

And as these faiths are based on the text of the Holy Bible, what does it actually say about homosexuality? Quotes such as “Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination”, are bandied around all too often by conservative Christian groups at Pride marches and gay events.

“There are passages that hold same sex relationships in very high regard such as David and Jonathan and Ruth and Naomi.”

“There are six or seven passages that are quoted as condemning homosexuality,” says Sharon, “but the reality is that these are taken out of context both historical and cultural and really don’t apply to mutually loving, faithful and committed relationships between two people of the same gender as we understand them today.”

“Christ said nothing at all about homosexuality. There are actually passages that hold same sex relationships in very high regard.”

So, ultimately, is the Christian faith homophobic? “No it’s not!” says Sharon. “Christ was not homophobic but unfortunately some people who claim to follow Christ are.”

The Church of England denies that it is actually homophobic. “Sexuality is an on-going debate in the Church of England, where there is a wide range of views.” says Steve Jenkins, head of media relations at the Church. “In its statement Issues in Human Sexuality, the House of Bishops made clear that there is no place for homophobia in the Church of England and that those in an intentionally permanent homosexual relationship should find a welcome in our churches.”

Unfortunately for the Church – not just in England but across the developed world –  the end result of all this conservatism and officially sanctioned discrimination is ultimately disengagement with youth and more liberated communities, and a general prospect of irrelevance in the modern world.

For Sharon, it’s not just disengagement with the Church happening, but an increasing division and strength of opinion on matters of doctrine.

“I think what we are seeing is a polarisation. There are those for whom the rigid thinking around many issues including homosexuality have caused serious alienation but for others it provides security in a world of too many choices and rapid change. This is why the Church of England appears to be struggling the most. Its history has always been one of accommodating all people. People of different understandings could worship alongside of each other. Now, everyone is being forced into being either liberal or conservative in their beliefs and there is no acceptance or tolerance of diversity.”

So, once again, we see a religion based on love, on the prospect that God is Love, being turned on us, and turned against us. Something that fundamentally should be uniting us, is dividing us. Something that should be celebrated, is turned into something to fear.

For Sharon, we’re focusing on all the wrong things. “I would like to see all people realising that God is much bigger and more diverse than our little minds can comprehend… If we all concentrate more on how we can achieve this then there will be less time for us to worry about things that are irrelevant such as the gender of the person who is expressing God’s love in an intimate way.”

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