The Presbyterian General Assemblies have addressed the issue of homosexuality in three broad categories: (1) the legal rights of gay men and lesbians in society; (2) homosexuals in the church; and (3) the ordination of homosexuals as deacons, elders, or ministers.

The Legal Rights of Gay Men
and Lesbians in Society
In 1978, a Presbyterian General Assembly declared that ". . . there is no legal, social, or moral justification for denying homosexual persons access to the basic requirements of human social existence . . ."(1) In 1987, the General Assembly called ". . . for the elimination . . . of laws governing the private sexual behavior between consenting adults [and the passage] of laws forbidding discrimination based on sexual orientation in employment, housing, and public accommodations . . ."(2)

Homosexuals in the Church
In 1978, a Presbyterian General Assembly adopted the following statement:

Persons who manifest homosexual behavior must be treated with the profound respect and pastoral tenderness due all people of God. There can be no place within the Christian faith for the response to homosexual persons of mingled contempt, hatred, and fear that is called homophobia.

Homosexual persons are encompassed by the searching love of Christ. The church must turn from its fear and hatred to move toward the homosexual community in love and to welcome homosexual inquirers to its congregations. It should free them to be candid about their identity and convictions, and it should also share honestly and humbly with them in seeking the vision of God's intention for the sexual dimensions of their lives. . . .(3)

In 1991, the General Assembly clarified its position with respect to the institution of marriage:

Inasmuch as the session is responsible and accountable for determination of the appropriate use of the church buildings and facilities (G-10.0102n), it should not allow the use of the church facilities for a same sex union ceremony that the session determines to be the same as a marriage ceremony.

Likewise, since a Christian marriage performed in accordance with the Directory for Worship can only involve a covenant between a woman and a man, it would not be proper for a minister of the Word and Sacrament to perform a same sex union ceremony that the minister determines to be the same as a marriage ceremony. (4)

The Ordination of Homosexuals
The specific issue of homosexuality first arose as several presbyteries (regional governing bodies within presbyterian churches) requested guidance from the General Assembly on ordaining avowed practicing homosexuals. In 1976, a General Assembly said, ". . . it would at the present time be injudicious, if not improper, for a presbytery to ordain to the professional ministry of the gospel a person who is an avowed practicing homosexual . . ."(5) This particular General Assembly also ". . . direct[ed] that a task force be established . . . to study these issues . . ."(6) The 1978 General Assembly received the report of this task force and declared in its definitive guidance: "That unrepentant homosexual practice does not accord with the requirements for ordination..."(7) set forth in the church's constitution.

In 1993, the General Assembly adopted the recommendation of its Advisory Committee on the Constitution which stated that "current constitutional law in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is that self-affirming, practicing homosexual persons may not be ordained as ministers of the Word and Sacrament, elders, or deacons."(8)

In 1997, the approval by a majority of presbyteries of an amendment to the Book of Order known as "Amendment B" (now section G-6.0106b) makes constitutional the following language:

Those who are called to office in the church are to lead a life in obedience to Scripture and in conformity to the historic confessional standards of the church. Among these standards is the requirement to live either in fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman (W-4.9001), or chastity in singleness. Persons refusing to repent of any self-acknowledged practice which the confessions call sin shall not be ordained and/or installed as deacons, elders, or ministers of the Word and Sacrament.

Since then there have been regular attempts to "soften" or remove this wording from the constitution. These attempts have been met with requests to continue discussion and dialogue, rather than forcing a confrontation.

Footnotes

1. Minutes of the 190th General Assembly (1978), United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A., pp. 265-66.

2. Minutes of the 199th General Assembly (1987), Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), p. 776.

3. Minutes of the 190th General Assembly (1978), United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A., pp 263-64.

4. Minutes of the 203rd General Assembly (1991), Presbyterian Church U.S.A., p. 395.

5. Minutes of the 188th General Assembly (1976), United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A., pp 111-12.

6. Minutes of the 188th General Assembly (1976), United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A., p 112.

7. Minutes of the 190th General Assembly (1978), United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A., p. 265.

8. Minutes of the 205th General Assembly (1993), Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), p 322.

(Copyright © 1997, PresbyFax, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Louisville, KY.)