Homosexuality and Quakerism

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The views of Quakers toward homosexuality encompass a range from complete celebration and the practice of same-sex marriage, to the view that homosexuality is abhorrent and sinful. The Religious Society of Friends is a Christian movement, founded in 17th Century England; it has around 350,000 members.^[1] In the UK, Canada, New Zealand and Australia, many Quakers value the depth of a loving relationship and disregard the gender balance, while views are divided among American and African Friends.

Friends' policy and decision-making

Since Quaker decision making is generally based on seeking "unity" at the level of a Monthly meeting (a monthly meeting meets monthly for business, more often for worship, and is the basic unit of Quakerism—a meeting is equivalent to a single congregation, sometimes to a parish or group of churches in an area), determining a particular Quaker attitude is difficult on this or any topic. Monthly meetings are organized into larger groups such as Yearly meetings or other "umbrella" groups, but often these larger groups have conflicting stances on particular issues. Some groups, for example the 57th Street Meeting in Chicago, may have joint membership in umbrella groups that have mutually contradictory stances on the issues. In the end, the true "Quaker view" on homosexuality is probably best analysed meeting by meeting (or, better, Friend by Friend.) However, there are some general patterns, and for reasons of space and completeness this article deals mainly with the largest organizations on a country-by-country basis.

Quakers as a whole do not have a specific, set creed. The Richmond Declaration is a confession of faith that expresses the experience of two branches of American Quakerism, but does not reflect the views of others.

By region

Australia

Quakers in Australia are overwhelmingly accepting of homosexuality. In 1975 Australia Yearly Meeting officially stated:

The Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in Australia calls for a change in the laws ... to eliminate discrimination against homosexuals. This statement is made in the light of the Society's desire to remove discrimination and persecution in the community. The Society also calls on all people to seek more knowledge and understanding of the diversity of human relationships and to affirm the worth of love in all of them.

Australian Quakers have supported the celebration of same-sex commitment ceremonies since 1994 and recognize them on an equal basis with other committed and loving relationships. Australia Yearly Meeting's Handbook of Practice and Procedure cites lack of legal recognition as an impediment to solemnization of same-sex marriage by Australian Friends and refers to committed same-sex relationships as 'relationships other than marriage'. However, some Regional Meetings, including Canberra Regional Meeting and Queensland Regional Meeting, are prepared to celebrate same sex marriages despite the lack of legal recognition. Canberra Quaker meeting celebrated the marriage of two gay men on 15 April 2007. (Canberra Quakers: Newsletter of the Religious Society of Friends Canberra Region, May 2007, p2)[1][2]

Ireland

The unprogrammed Ireland Yearly Meeting, which includes meetings in Northern Ireland, has no recent public statement on its attitudes towards homosexuality. With regards to same-sex unions, in 1993, the IYM declared "we believe in the institution of marriage, and in common with many others are currently wrestling with the problem of what our attitude should be to the other forms of human relationships which are increasingly being accepted by society at large." Subsequent statements have continued to fail to resolve this issue.

New Zealand

In New Zealand, the yearly meeting Te Hāhi Tūhauwiri, in 1992, resolved "to seek formal ways of recognizing a variety of commitments, including gay and lesbian partnerships." ^[2].

North America

United States

Quakers in the United States of America are divided on the issue of homosexuality, with some (mostly Friends affiliated with programmed meetings) not approving of either homosexuality or the legalisation of same sex unions. Friends associated with Friends General Conference (FGC), the more liberal group of Friends encompassing a large number of yearly meetings, and approximately a fifth of all Quakers in the country, are the most tolerant with many monthly meetings and some yearly meetings providing full equality for homosexuals including marriage. FGC itself in 2004 made a statement on including LGBT quakers as equals in worship and acknowledging their past contributions to the conference [3]. The largely FGC-based FLGBTQC (Friends for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Concerns) group has twice-yearly meetings [4].

Similar positions from other unprogrammed Quaker meetings not affiliated with FGC include that taken by North Pacific Yearly Meeting and Pacific Yearly Meeting, which support same-sex marriage.[5]

On the other hand, Friends associated with Friends United Meeting (FUM) and Evangelical Friends International (EFI), which represent mostly programmed Quaker meetings, conservative Friends, and thus the majority of American Friends, have taken stands condemning gay marriage and, in some cases, homosexual relationships altogether. FUM for example, has a statement of "core values" for Indiana and Western Yearly Meetings which includes both an insistence on abstinence outside of marriage, and a restriction of marriage to heterosexual couples only, effectively condemning the physical expression of homosexuality (without condemning homosexuality per se). Evangelical Friends Church Southwest, a yearly meeting and a member of EFI, states in its Faith and Practice that homosexuality is a sin and grounds for termination of employment in the church.

Within the evangelical groups, however, there is dissension; for example, the Friends of Jesus Community, some of whose members were affiliated with EFI, took a public stance in favor of the equal worth of same-sex relationships,^[3] and Patuxent Friends Monthly Meeting, a member of Baltimore Yearly Meeting (BYM; a member of both FGC and FUM), has taken a similar position. Similarly, although perhaps to a lesser extent, some meetings associated with groups on the other side of the issue have dissented; for example, the Swansea Monthly Meeting, under care of the New England Yearly Meeting, is one of two meetings in that group to publicly oppose same-sex marriage.

In 2002, FUM and BYM began a dialogue on homosexuality and same-sex relationships. At the 2002 FUM Triennial, Clerk Lamar Matthew was excluded from leading a worship sharing group because he was in a relationship with another man. (Minutes of 2002 BYM Annual Sessions, page 23) [6] FUM has affirmed in a minute of its General Board that its policy of excluding gays in relationships (or anyone in sexual relationships outside of marriage "which is understood to be between one man and one woman") cannot be in paid leadership positions (a minute approved in 1988) also applies to those in other leadership positions and to their overseas workers. Since that time, BYM has had a program of intervisitation with other Yearly Meetings on the issue of same-sex relationships. It should be noted that this policy of FUM has been in constant discussion in the FUM board ever since it was originally proposed. BYM is not the only dual-membership Yearly Meeting (membership in both FUM and FGC). New York Yearly Meeting has also been struggling with the FUM position.

Canada

In Canada, the main "umbrella" Quaker body, Canadian Yearly Meeting, shares a similar view to the more liberal American Quaker groups, and stated in 2003 that Canadian Quakers "support the right of same-sex couples to a civil marriage and the extension of the legal definition of marriage to include same-sex couples." Since then a number of same-sex marriages have been performed at Canadian Monthly Meetings. CYM is a member of both FUM and FGC. As a result of FUM's position on homosexuality, there is ongoing debate within Canadian Yearly Meeting about CYM's relationship with FUM. Canadian Yearly Meeting in 2007 approved a letter to be sent to FUM stating that CYM has appointed a committee "to review the involvement and participation of CYM in FUM". In the mean time, CYM's financial contribution was earmarked for a specific purpose.^[4]

United Kingdom

Quakers in the United Kingdom are similarly accepting, and at their annual business meeting in July 2009, formally expressed support for same-sex marriage, and are now lobbying the government for the necessary legal changes.^[6] While the decision was not difficult in 2009,^[7] the decision was only taken after 22 years since being raised at Meeting for Sufferings, and 46 years after the publication of 'Towards a Quaker view of Sex'. Controversial in its day, the book forms one of the first Quaker statements regarding sexuality, and includes affirmation that gender or sexual orientation are unimportant in a judgement of an intimate relationship and that the true criterion is the presence of "selfless love";^[8] further consideration arose from Harvey Gillman's Swarthmore Lecture, in 1988.^[9]

A number of British meetings, probably more than a couple of dozen since 1994,^{[citation needed]} have celebrated same-sex relationships through an official meeting for commitment - a public act of worship something very like the traditional Quaker wedding, but without legal significance. British Quakers also supported the 2005 introduction of the legal status of 'civil partnerships' in the UK, and were taken to their 2009 support of same-sex marriage with the idea that "marriage is the Lord’s work and we are but witnesses".^[6][10].

In other countries

This section requires expansion.

The majority of Friends live in countries not mentioned above. Kenya, for example, has a Quaker population larger than that in the United States. In Africa and Latin America, most meetings are programmed and under the care of either FUM or EFI although meetings in [7] Central and Southern Africa are unprogrammed; in Asia, many of the meetings are unprogrammed and have connections with more liberal groups elsewhere in the world.

African Friends in general are supportive of the position taken by FUM. In 2007, at the first meeting of FUM held in Africa, the clerk of Uganda Yearly Meeting delivered a devotional in which he quoted Romans 1:8-32, saying that "homosexuals and even those who support them are worthy of death." Although in a later letter of apology he said that he was referring to spiritual death, many more liberal Quakers found his comments hateful and unrepresentative of broader Quaker thought^[11].

See also

	Christianity portal
	LGBT portal

• Friends for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Concerns

References

External links

Australia and New Zealand

• Gay and Lesbian People in the Society of Friends (Quakers) (pdf)
• Statement of Affirmation of Same Sex Relationships, Yearly Meeting Statements, The Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in Aotearoa/New Zealand, 11 August 2004 [1992], archived from the original on 4 June 2006, http://web.archive.org/web/20060604064908/http://quaker.org.nz/whoweare/affirmation.htm, retrieved 29 June 2009 

Ireland and the United Kingdom

• Ireland Yearly Meeting's statement of principles
• Quaker Lesbian and Gay Fellowship

North America

• FUM "core values for Indiana and Western Yearly Meetings" statement
• EFCSW statement on homosexuality
• Newspaper article on a split between Friends in the Northwest
• Patuxent Friends on their membership in FUM
• NEYM minutes on same-sex marriage

• Report and Questions from a Retreat on Same-Sex Issues 3/15-17/1996, Wallingford, Pennsylvania: Pendle Hill, 6 October 2003 [1996], archived from the original on 4 April 2006, http://web.archive.org/web/20060404190624/http://www.pendlehill.org/frames+lectures/same-sex-issues.html, retrieved 29 June 2009 
• Canadian Yearly Meeting's 2003 statement
• Evangelical Friends Church - Mid America "Position Paper on Homosexuality" Published in current Faith and practice

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