Presbyterian church split over homosexuality

Stances of Faiths on LGBTQ+ Issues: Presbyterian Church (USA)

BACKGROUND

With its roots in the 16th century teachings of John Calvin, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) boasts million members who participate in more than 10, congregations across the country. The largest Presbyterian organization in the region, the denomination was formed in when the southern-based Presbyterian Church in the U.S. (PCUS) joined the northern-based United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. (UPCUSA) to form a free entity. The Presbyterian Church (USA) remains distinct from the Presbyterian Church in America, which tends toward less inclusive policies.

The Presbyterian name derives from the Greek word for “elders” – lay leaders who govern the church and are chosen by its congregants. According to the denomination’s web site, elders work closely with clergy to, “exercise leadership, government, and discipline and hold responsibilities for the being of a particular church as well as the church at large.” Elders serve at every level of leadership from “sessions,” which govern a solo church, to “presb

NEW YORK - The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) struck down a barrier to ordaining gays Tuesday after decades of debate, ratifying a proposal that removes the celibacy requirement for unmarried clergy, in the latest mainline Protestant move toward accepting gay relationships.

The transform was endorsed last year by the Presbyterian national assembly, but required acceptance by a majority of the denomination's presbyteries, or regional church bodies.

The Presbytery of the Twin Cities Area, based in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, cast the deciding 87th vote Tuesday night. Sixty-two presbyteries have voted against the measure and balloting will continue, but the majority needed for ratification was secured in Minnesota.

"It's a thrilling day," said Sylvia Thorson-Smith, an elder at St. Mark's Presbyterian Church in Tucson, Arizona, whose family advocates for gays and lesbians in the church.

Thorson-Smith invited 40 people to her home for a party after the vote was announced. "I can't help but think of those who have worked and suffered and endured and hoped for this. Some hold not

Historic Methodist rift is part of larger Christian split over LGBTQ issues

Thousands of congregations have left the United Methodist Church amid contentious debates over sexuality, including a quarrel over whether to accept gay marriage and LGBTQ pastors.

The rift marks the largest denominational schism in U.S. history. A quarter of the church’s approximately 30, congregations said they planned to erase themselves from the United Methodist Church as of Dec. The church is one of America's largest Protestant denominations.

The historic rift in the United Methodist Church is part of a larger split in recent years in the Christian religion over issues of gender and sexuality. Similar divides have led to splits among Baptists, Mennonites, Presbyterians and other protestant denominations.

"It's been brewing forever – for at least the last 20 years, " said Jason Bivins, a professor in the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies at North Carolina Declare University.

Meanwhile, the Catholic church is representing signs of an evolving stance on gay marriage.

'It left us' After his

In recent years both the Presbyterian Church in America and the Evangelical Presbyterian Church have had to deal with the issue of a same-sex attracted ordained minister, and the question of whether or not that ordination is lawful. A celibate homosexual attracted Presbyterian minister, who openly declares a homosexual orientation that God has not promised to change,[1] is not something the conservative Presbyterian denominations have ever considered legitimate in the past. What has brought about this new openness to consider a question that was inconceivable just a few decades ago? Of course, the cultural pressure to accept gay orientation as normal is immense. Add to this the fact that evangelicals sometimes appear to be more concerned about how those outside the church perceive Christianity, than they are maintaining historic Christian positions on sexual sin. After all, some argue, the church must be driven by a missional stance towards the gay community.

There is tremendous pressure from within evangelical churches to compromise on the question of homosexuality. Some are convi