Special Section 2007

Harry Knox, director of HRC's Faith and Religion Programs has his hands full. He is enlisting clergy across the nation to educate their congregations on the issues and to let their senators and representatives know where they stand on pending legislation. Lucky for him, most clergy consider advocating against hate as important today as it was during the civil rights struggles in the ‘60s.

For 45 years, Michael Griffin, a devout Catholic, hid the heart and mind of a female and presented himself to the world as a male. He couldn't figure out what God wanted him to do until he asked. The Lord replied, “I have work for you to do, but you have to be the person I created you to be.”

The people who knew Michael do not accept Chellie, but she credits divine intervention for the times she has found support and understanding. “God is in front of me, changing minds and softening hearts.”

At the heart of the controversy of gay rights is the question of whether homosexuality is a choice and, if so, whether it can be changed. Because the issue is deeply personal to many GLBT people who feel pressured to change, it has spawned a sort of cottage industry for therapists and ministers.

The belief held by transformational ministries is the idea that faith, perseverance and divine intervention can cure homosexuality. However, results from published studies on results of conversion therapy show anywhere from 0.4% to 15% success rates, even after four years of therapy.

The Bible has been used for centuries to support various forms of predudice and power struggle. This includes:

• to support the Divine Right of Kings in 1215
• to oppose Galileo in the 17th century
• to oppose Darwin in the 19th century
• to support slavery and apartheid in the 19th and 20th centuries
• to keep women from being educated, voting and being ordained in the 20th and 21st century

When asked about homophobia, Bishop Gene Robinson is more philosophical than religious. “Homophobia is aimed more at gay men than lesbians,” he says. “I think it’s because it has to do with an internalized misogyny.”

One of the longest-running debates over sexual orientation is nature versus nurture – are GLBT people “born that way” or is it a result of external influences? A recent poll indicates that, for the first time, a majority of Americans (56 percent) think that sexual orientation cannot be changed.

Rev. Dr. Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite, president of the Chicago Theological Seminary, says that fear is a religious and political staple of our time and it’s important to confront it and expose it as manipulative. She further states that it's important for GLBT people to see that in many respects the arguments of the religious right are wrong and not biblically and theologically sound.

“My brother hates God because God made him gay, and he knows he is going to hell, and I do, too, for that is what the Bible says.” When Louise made this comment to Bruce W. Lowe, it propelled him on a journey of faith that would culminate in a powerful document affirming a place in this world, and the church, for homosexuals. In 2002, Lowe presented a “Letter to Louise,” a 38-page treatise with contents life-affirming and comforting to many and shocking and disturbing to others.