I’m an evangelical minister. I now support the LGBT community — and the church should, too.

For Christians, the LGBT debate has always been framed as a question of sexual ethics. Our argument has centered on six or seven biblical passages that appear to mention homosexuality negatively or appear to establish a heterosexual norm. For most of my career, these ideas formed the foundation of my views and teachings as an evangelical minister and professor of Christian ethics. I co-authored a popular textbook that stated this position flatly: “Homosexual conduct is one form of sexual expression that falls outside the will of God.” I wasn’t mean about it. But I said it.

In recent years, my moral position has shifted. It has dawned on me with shocking force that homosexuality is not primarily an issue of Christian sexual ethics. It’s primarily an issue of human suffering. With that realization, I have now made the radical decision to stand in solidarity with the LGBT community. Read More

Pope invites anti-gay hate group leader to ‘traditional marriage’ summit

The Pope has invited the head of listed anti-gay hate group the Family Research Council to his summit on ‘traditional marriage’.

Pope Francis will open the ‘Complementary of Man and Woman’ conference on November 17, which brings together religious leaders from across different faiths who oppose same-sex marriage.

As well as representatives from the Catholic Church and other forms of Christianity, speakers from 23 countries will purportedly represent the views of Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, Taoism and Sikhism.

However, Right Wing Watch reports that anti-gay activist Tony Perkins – whose group is listed as an active homophobic hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Centre – has been invited to the Pontiff’s gathering. Read more

Can the Catholic Church Help End HIV?

This year National Latino AIDS Awareness Day coincides with new conversations happening around two very important areas of HIV prevention for Latinos: PrEP and stigma. A shift in tone from the Catholic Church could result in how Latino families embrace their loved ones who happen to be gay, lesbian or transgender.

What does this mean for Latinos and HIV?
It means that the stigma around being gay may be coming to an end. It means that Latino men and women may feel safer to come out of the closet to their family, their community and to a church that will not only tolerate them, but embrace them. It means that we may be closer than ever to ending HIV by reducing the stigma surrounding what it means to HIV-positive.  Read More

Young U.S. Catholics overwhelmingly accepting of homosexuality

Fully 85% of self-identified Catholics ages 18-29 said in a 2014 Pew Research Center survey that homosexuality should be accepted by society, compared with just 13% who said it should be discouraged. Older age groups are less likely to favor acceptance. But even among Catholics ages 65 and older, 57% say that homosexuality should be accepted.  Read More

Meanwhile, antigay politician Rick Santorum claims young people support LGBT rights only because gay activists have kept them from hearing the alternative view. Read More 

Conservative Cardinal Who Clashed With Pope Francis Confirms He Has Been Ousted

A top cardinal told BuzzFeed News that the worldwide meeting of church leaders coming to a close in Rome seemed to have been designed to “weaken the church’s teaching and practice” with the apparent blessing of Pope Francis. 

Internal discontent among conservatives inside church leadership began to simmer over in the weeks leading up to the synod. In an apparent attempt to mollify anglophone conservatives, the Vatican released a new translation of the report that changed the phrase “welcoming homosexual persons” to “providing for homosexual persons” and made other small changes, while leaving the versions in all other languages unchanged. Read More

Church should not fear change, pope says at synod close

Pope Francis has closed an assembly of Catholic bishops that revealed deep divisions on how to respond to homosexuality and divorce, saying on Sunday the Church should not be afraid of change and new challenges.

The working session of the gathering ended on Saturday night with a final document that reversed a historic acceptance of gays by the Church made just a week earlier -- a result some progressives see as a setback for Francis. Read More

Turkey gets its first umbrella LGBTI organization to fight homophobia

A new organization, the first in Turkey to ensure LGBTI websites, groups and organizations has been established to fight homophobia and transphobia in the Islamic country that straddles Europe and Asia. In existence since less than two months, the organization was created in order to ensure unity and solidarity among LGBTI groups, LGBTI websites and LGBTI organizations. Read More

Real Religious Liberty is not Oppression

Religious liberty is one of the defining issues of our time — offering distinct challenges and historic opportunities for LGBTQ people and everyone who is struggling to create a more just society. As the Christian Right continues to use the term to frame their issues, we must not concede the definition of religious liberty to interlopers. Read More 

Research finds more church acceptance of gays and lesbians

A new survey of American religious congregations conducted by researchers from Duke University and the University of Chicago finds that, in recent years, more churches have become welcoming to openly gay and lesbian couples. These findings parallel broader trends showing greater acceptance among the general public of both homosexuality and same-sex marriage during roughly the same period. Read More 

Religious Perceptions Of LGBT People In Uganda

When we talk about the rights of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community in Uganda, it tends to always be in terms of religion-based oppression, violence and murder. However, are the voices that often rise to the top when same-sex attraction in Uganda is discussed truely representative of religious leaders as a whole in this African nation? This is the question documentary photographer Daniella Zalcman sought to explore through her new portrait series "Faces of Faith." Read More 

Nigerian archbishop defends gays, criticizes Western intervention

Earlier this year, Nigeria adopted a law that hands out 14-year sentences to anyone entering a same-sex union and bans public displays of affection between homosexual couples. At the time, Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama announced the Church’s support for the legislation. But now the archbishop said the Church only supported the elements of the law that set out that marriage is between a man and a woman. 

“We are not supporting the criminalisation of people with different sexual orientations,” Archbishop Kaigama stressed. “We would defend any person with homosexual orientation who is being harassed, who is being imprisoned, who is being punished.” Read More

Gay Conversion Therapy: A bigger Threat to Africa than Scott Lively

Rev. Dr. Kapya Kaoma was the original researcher to expose the ties between U.S. right-wing evangelicals and the anti-LGBTQ legislation in Uganda, and has testified before Congress and the United Nations. He is the author of "Globalizing the Culture Wars" and "Colonizing African Values," and appears as an expert voice in the 2013 documentary God Loves Uganda. He argues that pseudoscience is the biggest threat to African equality. Read More