| Pilgrimage of Faith |
Questionnaire 2: Question 10 Summary
Recent research on homophobia in the church found that 'the majority of homophobic abuse sufferered by gay men and lesbians in the United Kingdom is supported by the words and actions of the Christian Churches'. What, if any, is your own experience of homophobia within the Methodist Church?The majority of people had
encountered homophobia,
and some of those who hadn’t said it was because they were
not ‘out’. There
were stories of people leaving because
of gay ministers, and anti gay comments in conversation, house groups,
meetings
and occasionally from the pulpit.
Some
had harsh statements made to them.
Others felt gagged and silenced on the issue.
It
was said that the assumption is made that all
members are heterosexual, whilst another said it traps people and
persecutes
them.
There
was amongst many a realisation that the
Methodist Church does not condemn homosexuality, but that this is not
the case
in many individuals, and so these disagreed with the statement.
There
were many that still hid their sexuality for
fear of what it may bring and the negative attitudes, and one was
sickened by
such heterosexism. Another
commented
that Resolution 4 of the 1993 Conference is homophobic.
The
major cause of homophobic abuse expressed was the
Bible, and the quoting of such passages like Leviticus and passages
written by
St Paul.
There
were many comments that there were very
supportive attitudes of some leaders and members, and that this had
been very
valuable.