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The views of Quakers toward homosexuality has a dramatic range from complete acceptance and celebration of same-sex marriages, to viewing homosexuality as abhorrent and sinful. See also: List of Christian denominational positions on homosexuality See also: History of Christianity and homosexuality The issue of Homosexuality and Christianity has become a matter of intense theological debate among some Christians, with ongoing argument over whether homosexuality, and specifically homosexual sex, is immoral or a sin. ...
The issue of homosexuality remains a controversy in the Anglican Communion. ...
The Eastern Orthodox Church is particular in its view of sin. ...
This is a list of Christian denominational positions on homosexuality. ...
The Religious Society of Friends (commonly known as Quakers or Friends) was founded in England in the 17th century by people who were dissatisfied with the existing denominations and sects of Christianity. ...
The word homosexuality has acquired multiple meanings over time. ...
Same-sex marriage is marriage between two people who are of the same sex (i. ...
SiN is a computer game developed by Ritual Entertainment and published by Activision in late 1998. ...
Since Quaker decision making is generally based on a consensus method termed "unity" or "sense of the meeting", the percentage of individual Quakers who support equality for homosexuals may differ from the percentage of groups, even when weighted by membership, which have taken such stances officially. Similarly, even in meetings that explicitly support a full spectrum of rights for gay couples, there may be dissenting members [1] In the United States, which has large numbers of both "liberal", unprogrammed meetings and more "conservative" programmed meetings (as well as conservative unprogrammed meetings), the discussion of homosexuality has occasionally been a painful one, lasting in some cases many years without unity. The Religious Society of Friends (commonly known as Quakers or Friends) was founded in England in the 17th century by people who were dissatisfied with the existing denominations and sects of Christianity. ...
Consensus has two common meanings. ...
Finally, the organization of Monthly meetings (or simply "meetings") -- the basic unit of Quakerism, equivalent to a single congregation in other Protestant denominations -- into larger groups such as Yearly meetings or other "umbrella" groups is convoluted at best, making determination of a particular Quaker "attitude" difficult. 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. Monthly meetings are the basic unit of Quaker worship, usually equivalent organizationally to a single church in Protestant denominations. ...
Yearly Meetings are gatherings of members and attenders of the Religious Society of Friends—also known as Quakers or Friends—from across a geographical area such as a country, state, or an area surrounding a city. ...
Chicago (officially named the City of Chicago) is the third largest city in the United States (after New York City and Los Angeles), with an official population of 2,896,016, as of the 2000 census. ...
Quakers are non-credal. Being a member in good standing at a meeting does not necessarily imply endorsement of any official statements of that meeting.
Australia
Quakers in Australia are overwhelmingly accepting of homosexuality. In 1975 Australia Yearly Meeting officially stated: Yearly Meetings are gatherings of members and attenders of the Religious Society of Friends—also known as Quakers or Friends—from across a large geographical area such as a whole country or state. ...
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 recognise them on an equal basis with other committed and loving relationships. However, Australia Yearly Meeting's Handbook of Practice and Procedure cites lack of legal recognition as an impediment to solemnisation of same-sex marriage by Australian Friends and refers to committed same-sex relationships as 'relationships other than marriage'.
New Zealand In New Zealand, the yearly meeting Te Hahi Tuhauwiri affirmed a similarly tolerant stance as Australia above, in 1995, and resolved "to seek formal ways of recognizing a variety of commitments, including gay and lesbian partnerships." The Yearly Meeting of Aotearoa/New Zealand (Te Hahi Tuhauwiri) is the umbrella body and Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends in New Zealand. ...
United Kingdom Quakers in the United Kingdom are similarly accepting; one of the first statements in Quakerism regarding homosexuality was the controversial 1963 book Towards a Quaker View of Sex, published by British Quakers, which affirmed that gender or sexual orientation were unimportant in a judgment of an intimate relationship and that the true criterion was the presence of "selfless love." A statement similar to this was later adopted by the Britain Yearly Meeting. Britain Yearly Meeting is the umbrella body for the Britain (England, Scotland, Wales, the Channel Isles and the Isle of Man). ...
While a small number of British meetings have celebrated same-sex marriages and commitment ceremonies, the British yearly meeting, as of 2005, does not officially recognize same-sex marriage.
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." The Ireland Yearly Meeting is the umbrella body for the Religious Society of Friends in Ireland. ...
1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ...
North America 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 union. 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, 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 [2]. The Friends General Conference (FGC) is a Quaker organization in the unprogrammed tradition of the Religious Society of Friends which primarily serves affiliated yearly and monthly meetings in the United States. ...
Similar positions from other unprogrammed Quaker meetings not affiliated with FGC include that taken by North Pacific Yearly Meeting, which supports same-sex marriage. In general, meetings in the unprogrammed tradition are supportive of homosexual relationships in a manner similar to meetings in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
On the other hand, Friends associated with Friends United Meeting (FUM) and Evangelical Friends International (EFI), which represent mostly programmed Quaker meetings, 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. Friends United Meeting is an association of yearly meetings of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) encompasing twenty-six yearly meetings in North America, Africa, and the Caribbean. ...
Evangelical Friends International is an association of Religious Society of Friends Yearly Meetings (regional associations) around the world that profess evangelical Christian beliefs. ...
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 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. Baltimore Yearly Meeting (officially the Baltimore Yearly Meeting of the Relgious Society of Friends) is a body of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) headquartered in Sandy Spring, Maryland that includes Friends from Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and the District of Columbia. ...
New England Yearly Meeting (officially the New England Yearly Meeting of Friends) is a body of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) headquartered in Worcester, Massachusetts that includes Friends from the New England region of the United States. ...
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. 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. Since that time, BYM has had a program of intervisitation with other Yearly Meetings on the issue of same-sex relationships.
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 they "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." CYM is a member of both FUM and FGC. Canadian Yearly Meeting is a body of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), with approximately 1200 members in Canada and border areas of the United States. ...
2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
Attitudes in Other Countries The majority of Friends live in countries not mentioned above. Kenya, for example, boasts 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 [4] Central and Southern Africa are unprogrammed, liberal and accepting of homosexuality; in Asia, many of the meetings are unprogrammed and have connections with more liberal groups elsewhere in the world. Africa is the worlds second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia. ...
Latin America consists of the countries of South America and some of North America (including Central America and some the islands of the Caribbean) whose inhabitants mostly speak Romance languages, although Native American languages are also spoken. ...
World map showing the location of Asia. ...
See also Friends for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Concerns (FLGBTQC) is a faith community within the Religious Society of Friends. ...
References
Australia and New Zealand - Gay and Lesbian People in the Society of Friends (Quakers)
- Aotearoa New Zealand Yearly Meeting Statement of Affirmation and Reconciliation
United Kingdom and Ireland
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