Black Protestants Attitudes Towards Homosexuality

Introduction (no slide)
And I quote, “Without increased recognition of the broadening of identities through which people exist in and understand the world, traditional black leaders and scholars may end up so out of touch with the differing experiences of multiple segments of black communities that they fill no real function in their communities and thus are left to talk to themselves.” Cathy Cohen on homosexuality, AIDS, and the boundaries of blackness.
Slide 1
A negative attitude toward same-sex/same-gender attraction and orientation and a view that engaging in homosexual acts is morally unacceptable and ultimately punishable in the spiritual sense are some mainstream Christian biblical interpretations regarding homosexuality. In this presentation,
we’ll take a closer look at how attitudes toward homosexuality have developed in the context of historically black protestant tradition. Acknowledging the inherent difficulty of interpreting and articulating an entire group’s system of beliefs, it’s crucial to remember that a range of attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality exist within different social and religious groups as well as even among individuals within a single group. But what are the roots and character of homosexuality in black churches in the U.S.?
Slide 2
Views condemning homosexuality can be found within different religious institutions and their congregations, including the Black Church. For example, the sign that reads, “homosexuality is sin; Christ can set you free,” refers to how some members of black churches consider homosexuality a state of immorality and believe that to restore one’s morality, the teachings of Christianity must be adhered to, namely by renouncing homosexuality in the process. The marquee board in the image to the left reads, “AIDS is God’s curse on a homosexual life,” a view suggesting that people who are homosexual suffer from AIDS as a result of being punished by God for their homosexuality. It is important to note that not all members of the Black Church, or people who are religiously affiliated with historically black protestant tradition, necessarily support its views on homosexuality.
Slide 3
According to Pew Research, in 2001, roughly a third of both white and black adults said that they were in favor of same-sex marriage. The numbers rose to 57% for whites in 2016, but to only 42% for blacks. Why do you think there’s a racial discrepancy? And as a sort of thought question--is it possible to not support same-sex marriage yet approve of homosexuality?
Slide 4
In searching for an explanation for black heterosexual attitudes toward homosexuality, qualitative studies have proposed looking at a mix of social, cultural, religious, and historical forces at play that, in one way or another, becomes influential in shaping attitudes. Religious and faith-based ideologies are extremely powerful sources of influence, mainly being able to link them back to the Black Church’s integral and virtually inexhaustible role in the lives of black communities, throughout the history of the United States.
Slide 5
In the last fifteen years, support for same-sex marriage among black Protestants has remained lower than for other religious groups, according to a Pew Research.
However, black Protestants have grown to become somewhat more accepting of same-sex marriage over the last decade. The data gives us a better glimpse of the intersection between black religiosity and attitudes toward homosexuality, where we can start to probe further into why we’re seeing more accepting attitudes toward homosexuality as time progress but not at the higher rates of other Protestant denominations. One question we are led to ask to better piece things together is how the black Protestants who have negative attitudes toward homosexuality frame homosexuality in a religious
context.
Slide 6
So, as it comes down to how homosexuality is framed in the religious context, we can see by looking at the table that the majority of black Protestants actually view homosexuality as a sin and have been feeling this way for at least the last decade. If the view that homosexuality is a sin a belief that a majority of black Protestants have, then can we imagine that there are any implications related to perhaps the treatment toward people who engage in homosexual behavior?
Slide 7
In our discussion about homosexuality and the Black Church, it’s important to define what we mean by “the Black Church.” As some previous studies have done, we will consider the term “the Black Church” to mean the collective identity of African American Christians. It “emerges from the religious, cultural, and social experience of black people. It is a fluid historic process, continued to be shaped by the personal as well as collective experiences of African peoples who maintained spiritual faith in the midst of enslavement and emancipation alike. The black church tradition possesses distinctive characteristics and constitutive elements, including key questions, symbols, rituals, ideas, and beliefs that are always subject to adaptation, improvisation, reinterpretation, and even abandonment,” asserts Floyd-Thomas, one of the authors of the book, Black Church Studies.
Slide 8
Studies that have qualitatively examined what sources influence homophobic attitudes in black faith communities and churches have been abundant.
According to many scholars, homophobia in the Black Church is said to be related to “literalist theological views.” Thus, what would seem to be a literal interpretation of scripture is consequently regarded with a particularly strong authority. Elijah Ward, a scholar in black history studies, states, “Scripture is often the cornerstone of homophobia in the black community and why black people's use of the Bible to condemn homosexuality is understandable in the context of their historical experience, as enslaved blacks sought refuge and found freedom in the literalness of Scripture.” Historical sexual exploitation is another line of thought that attempts to connect homophobia in the Black Church mainly with the history of white exploitation of black sexuality during slavery and beyond. Black faith communities and churches have historically avoided addressing the fundamental issues of sexuality for fear that it’d confirm the stereotypes of black sexuality like “deviant sexuality,” which would include things like being hypersexual or homosexual, that whites have long held. Some scholars believe that the social construct of masculinity has and continues to rely on hypermasculine performances, such as conflating gender and sexuality, to the extent that, to be perceived as masculine, you need to be male and heterosexual. In part, the
performance of homophobia is prompted, which characteristically means homosexuality must be pathologized and demonized as a means to legitimize and consolidate masculinity and achieve cultural advantage. A hegemonic force of masculinity is reproduced and reinforced within black faith communities and churches as well, especially as a way to overcome white de-legitimization of black masculinity historically. Finally, it is a fact that HIV/AIDS disproportionately affects the African American community, particularly in diagnoses and deaths. So, aside from not adequately addressing fundamental issues of sexuality, like homosexuality, as they pertained to black communities, the Black Church, in addition, would respond with contempt and disapproval of the lifestyles which church leaders believed led to individuals becoming infected. HIV/AIDS was largely acknowledged as Gay-related immune deficiency syndrome or “GRIDS,” a further stigmatizing force of homosexuality.
Slide 9 These would be common examples of scriptures from the Protestant Bible whereby the literal interpretation of the texts would provide the religious grounds to justify homophobia within the Black Church. To many, the extent to which it would be practical to live by literal interpretations of the biblical text was not broad enough, driving the push for more inclusive interpretations.
Slide 10
In recent years, members of many Protestant denominations are now more acceping of homosexuality. And while homosexuality is still a point of tension for many people of black faith communities and churches, it has not stopped a growing number of black churches in the United States from actively and explicitly embracing sexual minorities. In fact, LGBT-led and predominantly black lesbian and gay churches exist, though still loose-knit. Many of these churches take on an active role in HIV/AIDS advocacy and intervention as well as countering homophobia.
Slide 11
Some parting words in hopes of reinforcing the importance of this topic, again, I quote: “Without increased recognition of the broadening of identities through which people exist in and understand the world, traditional black leaders and scholars may end up so out of touch with the differing experiences of multiple segments of black communities that they fill no real function in their communities and thus are left to talk to themselves.”