Discrimination of Homosexuality in Traditional Black Church - Research Paper Example

Discrimination of Homosexuality in the Traditional Black Church s Discrimination of Homosexuality in the Traditional Black Church Abstract There are various ethical dilemmas in the present day society. One such dilemma is homosexuality. This is a sexual relationship of people of the same gender. Focusing on the traditional black church’s view, homosexuality is not allowed. In the same way, discrimination towards homosexuals is pervasive in the African-American community. This is attributable to the teachings of the black churches. People who engage in same sex romantic relationships are openly discriminated against in these churches. Both directly and indirectly, the black churches foster homophobia, which is the fear or discrimination of homosexuals and behavior based upon such feelings. They play a very significant role in its genesis and legitimation, as well as reinforce it every week in the black communities. Most of the powerful positions in the Black Church are held by the heterosexual males and females. However, Black Churches that have acknowledged homosexuality have given the gay people non-threatening positions in the Church’s ecclesiastical structure. The traditional black churches treat homosexuality as an unforgivable sin and an abomination, thus being morally wrong and unacceptable. This view is cemented by the black churches that hold a major as well as uniquely influential position within the black culture and society in the United States. They clergy, including Bishop Long and Smith, Pastor Esmery Moss, Danny Holliday, and Janet Boynes among others continue to spread the message of denouncing homosexuality. As for the Black Therefore, the acceptance of homosexuality in the mainstream society by the Black Church together with the community is not likely in the foreseeable future due to hard stands taken by these entities. Introduction The issues of sexual orientation have been prevalent for a very long time. That is why it remains a controversial topic to date. Homosexuality is the sexual attraction towards a person of one’s own gender. In other words, it is primarily a sexual relationship between people of similar sex. There have been varied opinions regarding the issue of homosexuality. The most commonly used terms for homosexual individuals are gay for males and lesbian for females. However, the term gay is often utilized to refer generally to both homosexual males as well as females. Too often, the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people face discrimination and hostility. Discrimination is a harmful reality in any sphere of life. Homosexual discrimination can either be physical or mental. Physically, homosexuality discrimination has often led to violence. In the U.S, the Federal Bureau of Investigations reported that in 2013, 19.5% of the hate crimes that were reported to the law enforcement agents were based on sexual orientation bias. Discrimination against the homosexuals is more prevalent in the African-American community as compared to any other groups in the United States. A survey carried in 2012 found out that 120,500 adults were more likely to identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender in contrast to any other ethnic group. The black churches have been at the forefront in opposing homosexuality. The discrimination makes the people treat them less favorably due to their sexuality. Surveys evidence that four out of five blacks belong to a faith tradition. 90% of black people in the U.S claim religious affiliation to the Black Church. In this perspective, drawing on a variety of sources the paper will discuss discrimination of homosexuality in the traditional black church. Discussion In the United States, religion and church are still racially segregated among the homosexuals and heterosexuals. The Black Church, just like most Christian churches oppose homosexuality. A report in 2012 demonstrated that 4.7% of the African-American community identifies as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender. Zimmerman and Haggerty say that “The Black Church comprises of black Christian churches in the United States” (2003, p.117). They are not officially related to the historical black denominations, even though they comprise of African-Americans who worship in the traditional black Church style. The black churches foster homophobia, which is a form of discrimination within the African-American community towards homosexuals. The Black Church has refused to accept homosexuality and a change in the traditional sexual norms. The gay people are victims of homophobia due to the ever-present possibility and fear of public castigation. For example, Bishop Eddie Long of New Birth has been very negative towards the issue of homosexuality. The fanatical black clergy says, “The problem with the society today, is because men are feminized and women are being masculine!” You cannot say I was born this way” (Stanford, 2013, p. 137). Besides, that the clergy equate homosexuality as sexual immorality, and cannot be compared to racial discrimination that the African-Americans underwent. Pastor Emery Moss, Danny Holliday, and Janet Boynes argued that the 14th Amendment was done since the Black people were regarded as property, and homosexuals have never been considered as property. In a viral video, COGIC Superintendent Earl Carter fumes against the homosexuals and even rants on homosexual worship leaders as well as sissies (COGIC, 2014). Bishop Samuel Smith of the Apostolic World Christian Fellowship posits that history has evidenced that every culture that has embraced a homosexual culture has suffered decline and depravity, in addition to decadence. Pastor Emery Moss of Strictly Biblical cements the argument by sharing the view that it is un-American to be gay and all Americans need to stand up against homosexuality. The sentiments from these clergy men and women show how reluctant the black ministers are to relent on the issue of homosexuality or equal rights for the lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgender. The traditional Black Church is against homosexuality and promotes heterosexuality. The evangelical-conservative theology along with Biblical fundamentalism of the Black Church establishes a sexual orthodoxy that promotes heterosexuality, and completely denounces homosexuality. Homosexuality is considered as perversity which defiles the flesh, destroys the traditional composition of the nuclear family, and desecrates the sanctity of marriage. The traditional African-American Churches have been known to be intolerant of homosexuality. In Atlanta, the relationship between the black clergy and homosexual is edgy (Jarvie, 2006). Most clergy enhance the issue of homophobia and are so negative that they cannot defend their own family. For example, Bishop T.D. Jakes could not stand by his son when he was arrested for indecent exposure as well as for homosexuality behaviors. Bishop Eddie Long is considered as one black religious extremists whose is known for his ferocious provocative oratory against black homosexual persons and is the core of an ever increasing intolerant homophobic black culture. Bishop Long called for a constitutional ban on same sex marriage culminating in a march where about 10,000 people participated. Long, together with other black ministers who support hateful preaching against black LGBTs show how deeply rooted the issue of discriminating the homosexual people from the mainstream community is with black clergy being at the forefront. They hold the view that homosexuality is destruction to the sanctity of marriage and defilement of the flesh. It gives an idea about how the leaders of the traditional black church are intolerant to the issue of homosexuality. The anti-homosexual stance of the traditional Black Church is also reflected in its ecclesiastical positions. Entrenched in the ecclesiastical positions sometimes known as ‘committees,’ are prescribed roles for females and males. For instance, ordination is run by men, while the kitchen ministry is operated by women. This leaves no position for the LGBT. These ecclesiastical positions make an assumption that people need to be of heterosexual orientation. As a result, the heterosexism is kept according to the traditional Black Church. In the Black Church, the homophobia is also associated with misogyny and is founded on an anti-female sentiment other than an anti-homosexual. As an example, for a gay male, an ecclesiastical position in the Black Church is the minister of music or choir master. Even though it may appear paradoxical for the traditional Black Church to acknowledge homosexual people, the position of the choirmaster is non-threatening within the ecclesiastical structures. The position for the minister of music is non-gendered and can also be filled by a female figure. Even though it is a crucial leadership position within the church, and key to the liturgy of the church, it is not within the governing and administrative pecking order of the traditional Black Church. Therefore, it does not put in danger the church’s sexual integrity. Though choirmaster’s position is considered as one of the visible entry points into the church’s fold, the gay persons, especially male assume this role at huge cost of their personhood. However, the heterosexual men hold the most powerful positions in the church. In the African-American churches, homosexuality is regarded as a taboo. As cited by Jarvie (2006), most homosexuals and their pastors operate under the policy of ‘don’t-ask, don’t tell.’ In the recent past, the relationship between the Black Church clergy and gays has strained. The clergy of the Black Churches posit that homosexuality is a sin and an abomination (Blaxton, 2008). For the majority of the African-American pastors and lay persons, sex between people of the same gender is an abomination, as the author of the Book of Leviticus states, “If a man lie with mankind, and a woman lieth with womankind, both of them have committed an abomination” (Lev. 20: 13 New International Version). Therefore, most clergies base their sermons on this teaching to justify the ungodliness of homosexuality. In the African-American community, homosexuality is regarded as antithetical. The major reason is due to the black communities’ associations with the traditional black churches. The Black Church by Christian evangelical conservatives has been instrumental in undermining homosexuality and promoting the ideology of Christian evangelical conservatism. Throughout the American history, hiding homosexuality in the African-American culture has been exacerbated by the systematic discrimination that has been supported by the racially biased black church (Stanford, 2013). The systematic prejudice leveled against the homosexuals explains to some extent the pervasive and irrational homophobia that exists within the African-American community. In 2013, President Obama passed a message to the African-American community that if people are honest with themselves they need to acknowledge that the society is diverse, and instead of scorning the gay people, the society should embrace them. Even America’s first black President has repealed the ban against gays to end decades of discrimination against the LGBTs, he has been faced with a solid black constituency that is resolute in its opposition to same-sex marriage and homosexuality. After lifting of the discriminatory policy solely for the members of the LGBT community, it has come under attack by the blacks, under the stewardship of the traditional black churches. According to Zimmerman and Haggerty (2013), the African-American women outnumber their men by about three to one in majority of the traditional black churches. These figures provide an impression that the Black Church is actually operated by women. On the contrary, the institutional sexism of the Black Church gives the African-American heterosexual woman high visibility and prestige. Although nominal, they are often given power within the governing as well as administrative hierarchy of the church. For example, the high visibility as ‘Mother of the Church” and pastor’s wife are fixed female-gender positions whose prestige is picked up from their titles and association with the pastor. Considering that the homosexual persons cannot be in the pastor’s inner circle, such positions are never for people of same sex orientation. The African-American lesbians are not represented in any of the black church’s ecclesiastical positions. This is a contributing factor to the low or no attendance in the Black Church. For those lesbians who enter these churches, they are closeted. The depiction of the heterosexual African-American woman as the back-bone of the Black Church is a clear indication of discrimination based on sexual orientation. However, Terry (2009) notes that this hero worship also puts into limelight the limited roles allocated to the Black women in the functioning of the Black Church. The gay rights movement has not received widespread support. Even though the abolition of the discrimination based on sexual preference that has drawn parallels to the Black Power Movement and African-Americans Civil Rights, it has not received extensive support from the Black community (Smith, 2010). The lack of support of the gay rights is rooted in the African-American’s reliogisity along with cultural traditions. The homosexuals have faced stiff opposition from the black community arguing that the gay rights activists cannot compare segregation based on sexual orientation to the oppression of the black on the basis of race. Psychological researchers and scientists have demonstrated that sexual orientation is a choice. Historically, some researcher have evidenced that lesbianism is a choice in response to the shortage of males as well as the influence of feminists. The traditional black church leaders have refused to view racism and homosexuality as equivalent. Therefore, the black clergy argue that gay people can also choose to change. In the same way, most of the African-American community assert that being black is not a choice. This strengthens the homosexuality discrimination. The black church in America is widely recognized as the oldest and most influential institution in the black community (Stanford, 2013). Therefore, the backing off of the blacks and trending towards a more traditional position on the issue of homosexuality is consistent with the black churches’ traditional norms of keeping the religion and ethnic paradoxical stance against homosexuality (Stanford, 2013). Most African-Americans who worship in Black Church are intolerant of homosexuality. Its conservative theology argues that homosexuality is inconsistent with the manner in which God created the human being. As a result, there is open discrimination of the gay people. The vicious and secretive homophobic black culture punishes and exiles numerous black homosexuals to lives in this world in their in the shadows (Rodriguez, 2010). Homophobia, takes a considerable but an unexamined psychic and social toll on a person’s life. These forces negatively shape the lives of the homosexual persons. HIV/AIDS was first associated with homosexual behavior. Currently, it is in the conservative circles. AIDS is now associated with homosexual behavior (Zimmerman & Haggerty, 2013). Most people in black community view HIV/AIDS as a homosexual disease. This view is further held by the traditional Black churches which argue that AIDS is associated with both homosexuality together with heterosexual perversity. Over half a million black people live with HIV, while as many as 30,000 are infected annually (Bernstein and Schaffner, 2012). Homophobia is still one of the major barriers preventing better treatment of persons with AIDS in the African-American community. As long as people continue thinking along these lines, it would be very difficult to contain the epidemic. Proceeding further, the perceived bias against being gay in the African-American society has resulted in a subculture phenomenon that is referred to as ‘on the down-low’ (Bernstein and Schaffner, 2012). The black people who self-consciously or even publicly identify as being heterosexual will have sex with men, although in secret. Due to the homophobia within the African American community, black youths engaging in homosexual behavior observe that their friends, churches, and neighbors are unsupportive (Rodriguez, 2010). Therefore, they are often reluctant to disclose their sexuality. However, there is no indication that the blacks will lessen their resistance towards homosexuality. In other words, the acceptance of homosexuality in the Black Church together with the community is not likely in the foreseeable future. Conclusion The LBGT form a significant number in the mainstream society. However, the discrimination towards homosexuals is persistent in the African-American community. This is because of the teachings of the black churches. It has been found out that the traditional black churches oppose homosexuality. The evangelical teachings of the Black Church denounce homosexuality. Homosexuality is often considered as a sin and an abomination. Black churches foster homophobia, which is the fear or discrimination of homosexuals. The clergy have played a crucial role in perpetrating prejudice based on sexual orientation, with specific reference to LGBT. These traditional black church’s clergy have led a full blown campaign towards not accepting homosexuality in the society. However, as for the traditional Black Churches that have agreed to embrace homosexuality, the gay people are given non-threatening positions in the Church’s ecclesiastical structure. The discrimination of the black Christian LGBTs by certain black ministers is and continues to be vital to the intensifying divide, and a contributing factor to the breakdown of an already delicate black family structure. Segregation based on one’s sexuality impacts negatively on someone’s development and interaction with society. As a society, we should embrace diversity and decease from discrimination based sexual orientation, national background, race, social background, disability, and gender. The LGBT should be integrated into the society just like other people regardless of their sexual orientation. As for the discrimination of the LGBT by the Black Church, the gay black churches are springing up in the most of the urban areas serving as an alternative worship place of the traditional Black Church. References Bernstein, E., & Schaffner, L. (2012). Regulating sex: The politics of intimacy and identity, New York: Routledge. Blaxton, R. (2008). “Jesus Wept: Black Churches and HIV,” Harvard Gay and Leasbian Review , 12 (2), 13-16. COGIC. (2014, November 23). COGIC Supt Earl Carter Slams Sissies, Gay Worship Leaders and Punk Prophets!, Retrieved March 6, 2015, from http://youtu.be/9uAJm1gfmDk Jarvie, J. (2006, January 21). Black Clergy Tackle Homophobia, Retrieved March 6, 2015, from http://articles.latimes.com/2006/jan/21/nation/na-clergy21 Rodriguez, E.M. (2010). “At the intersection of Church and Gay: A review of the psychological research on Gay and Lesbian Christians,” Journal of Homosexuality, 57(1), 5-38. Smith, R. (2010). Encyclopedia of African American Politics. New York: Infobase Publishing. Stanford, A. (2013). Homophobia in the Black Church: How Faith, Politics, and Fear Divide the Black Community. New York: ABC-CLIO. Terry, J. (2009). An American obsession: Science, medicine, and homosexuality in the modern society, Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Zimmerman, B., & Haggerty, G. (2013). Encyclopedia of Lesbian Histories and Cultures. New York: Routkedge. Read More