A few months ago I became aware that a new campaign group had been formed – LGB Christians. Their web site states:
“We are LGB Christians, a new network of lesbian, gay and bi Christians and our friends. LGB Christians will defend the rights of same sex attracted people in the face of increasing backlash, confusion, and risks caused by ideas which replace the biological reality of the two sexes with self-defined, gender identities. We are ecumenical and non-party political.”
Messages of support from well-known community figures” Urs Mattmann, Tina Beattie, Marty Percy, Simon Fanshaw, Simon Edge and Michael Arditti can be found on the website. There is no information about the structure or management of LGB Christians or who is responsible for the group and its strategy. A statement on the website adds:
Before launching in October 2023 LGB Christians scoped all Christian bodies branding themselves with variants of the LGBTQIA+ acronym, or who used similar messaging, by researching publicly available information. In late September 2024 LGB Christians reached out privately to several of these groups about working with them.
LGB Christians did not reach out to Changing Attitude England or make contact with me.
Subsequently, I discovered that I know at least two of the people who are involved in leading LGB Christians and have had conversations with them. It is clear to me and my Trans and Intersex friends that this new group is not campaigning for a fully inclusive Church. Apart from the decision to focus on LGB identities and exclude TQIA+ categories, there is no reason why a new organisation was needed. I still believe that working together more inclusively, integrating the work of the twelve organisations and networks I identify as contributing to the vision of a fully inclusive church, free from prejudiced or abusive teachings and practices, continues to be a vital element in our working together.
Within the last month I was contacted by one of the existing groups, expressing support for trans and non-binary people and reaching out to CAE, wanting a conversation with the aim of avoiding the detrimental divisions being made by the new group. I replied, saying that I was also alarmed by the agenda of the group, echoing those conservative groups raising a fake alarm about "the dangers caused by ideas which replace the biological reality of the two sexes with self-defined gender identities – in particular dangers to children, women, and same-sex attracted people." The commitment of LGB Christians to "the biological reality of two sexes with self-defined gender identities" is in dramatic contrast to Changing Attitude England’s commitment to full equality in marriage and equality, that places them outside every organisation campaigning for full equality in the Church regardless of gender and sexuality.
Changing Attitude and the LGBTQIA+ Coalition
I was responsible for creating Changing Attitude in 1995, believing there was a need for an organisation with a more contemplative focus seeking to integrate the visions of those campaigning for and dreaming of a more inclusive, spiritually healthy Church. For several years the LGBTQIA+ Coalition succeeded in bringing together, regularly, representatives of all the organisations then working within the Church of England. We coordinated actions as far as possible and maintained open communication about what each group was doing.
Today, there are seven organisations working specifically on equality in terms of sexuality and gender in the Church of England: OneBodyOneFaith, Together, Equal, Changing Attitude England, Inclusive Evangelicals, Open Table Network and LGB Christians. Other organisations – Modern Church, Inclusive Church, Student Christian Movement, WATCH, Sea of Faith and Progressive Christianity Movement, are also committed to or actively involved in working to achieve a fully inclusive Church for LGBTQIA+ people. The campaign must have a spiritual and theological dimension if it is to overcome the prejudices and unhealthy practices that are a dominant part of the LLF conversations and
I have been working over three decades towards a Christian life and practice that is fully inclusive, not abusive or prejudiced, clear about what healthy church, practice and teaching is and pursuing a vision of God that exemplifies life in all its fulness.
The dozen groups with significant influence within the Church of England need to be working much more closely together, representing and arguing for the full and equal inclusion of women, people of colour, people with disabilities and LGBTQIA+ people in the Church.
Supreme Court ruling
The attitude towards trans people in the Church of England and in particular the attitude of LGB Christians has been thrown into sharp focus this week by the supreme court ruling issued on Wednesday, a ruling that has, according to reports, delighted gender-critical activists. Far right, populist authoritarian movements are on the rise globally, notably in the USA under Donald Trump and also in the UK and Europe and in Christian movements on both sides of the Atlantic. In the UK they are often lavishly resourced by money from the USA, replicating the massive resources being channelled into anti-LGBTQIA+ political and Christian movements in Africa.
Writing in the Guardian on Thursday, Sam Fowles says the supreme court ruling makes the legal equalities landscape far more complex. The decision means there are now multiple legal classes of “women” and “man”, each of which inviters a different interpretation of the Equality Act 2010.: cis women, trans women, trans women with a GRC, trans women without a GRC, cis men, trans men with a GRC, trans men without a GRC. But it won’t change existing protections under the Act. The law already permits the exclusion of trans women from such women-only groups that wish to exclude them. Trans people (regardless of whether they have a GRC) remain entitled to protection under the Equality Act. The court asked politicians and activists not to weaponise its decision for political gain. Moments after it was published, however, some politicians and activists did exactly that. Prior to Wednesday, trans people were already twice as likely as cis people to be the victim of violent crime.
Changing Attitudes
I could have written this blog two weeks ago or two months ago. But I didn’t. I was unsure about naming the failure of inclusive and progressive groups in the Church of England to get their act together and get organised. Issuing a challenge, naming groups and the failure of groups to integrate and campaign more coherently and forcefully can get you metaphorically crucified. I do not understand the mindset or the emotional needs of Christian LGB and cis people who need to exclude and protect themselves from campaigning for trans and intersex people. My attitude is related to my awareness of the seamless reality of creation and evolution embedded in my Christian philosophy, faith, theology and spirituality. I know that my attitudes are always subject to change, evolution and transformation. This is true for all of us and for the faith bodies to which we attach ourselves. Christian attitudes are always subject to change, not least our attachments and addictions to thoughts and ideas that exclude categories of people resulting in a culture of prejudice and discrimination. We, the diverse members of the human race, are one body, and the groups within the Christian Church named above that identify as progressive and inclusive need to address the challenges presented by this year’s attacks on our identities and freedoms – and reform our relationships to create a unified working Body.