An Interfaith Conversation on Sexual Orientation Features Groundbreaking Discussion Between Four Religious Leaders

In a panel discussion marked by civility and respect for differing theological positions, leaders of four faith traditions today discussed how homosexuality is viewed by their denominations. Participating in the discussion at the UUA's General Assembly were the Rev. John Buehrens, president of the UUA; the Rt. Rev. Carolyn Tanner Irish, bishop of the Episcopal diocese of Utah; Bishop George Niederauer of the Catholic diocese of Salt Lake; and Elder Alexander Morrison, president of the Utah North branch of the Church of Latter-day Saints (Mormon). The workshop was moderated by the Rev. Silvia Behrend, Minister of Religious Education at First Unitarian Church in Salt Lake City.

Although all four leaders agreed that gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people are deserving of respect, there were stark differences in the theological positions on homosexuality. The Catholic bishop and the Mormon elder were in agreement that homosexual behavior is sinful; Elder Morrison went further, saying that such behavior would result in "appropriate church discipline" and even banishment from the church. In contrast, Bishop Irish said she was offended by the religious right's appropriation of the term "family values"; she pointed out that the families in Hebrew and Christian scripture were rarely the "happy-clappy" families referred to by the religious right. John Buehrens, speaking last, admonished the largely UU audience that they should guard against assuming a stance of moral superiority on this issue, but he also spoke of the UUA's long history of support for the rights of gays and lesbians, including the fact that the UUA ordains gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people to the UU ministry. Buehrens advocated focusing on the integrity of relationships rather than obsessing on sexual acts and body parts.

During the question-and-answer session following the speakers' presentation, the subject of same-sex marriages was raised. Bishop Niederauer and Elder Morrison said that their faiths could never condone such unions (with Elder Morrison saying that such unions would be the first step to acceptance of other perversions such as incest and "inter-species marriages"). Bishop Irish said that regardless of her personal opinion on the topic she was not in a position to support same-sex marriages without the approval of the national Episcopal organization. Rev. Buehrens reminded the audience that the UUA had been the first religious organization to support same-sex unions as a result of a resolution passed by the General Assembly in 1996.

In closing comments, both the Revs. Buehrens and Behrend were enthusiastic about the discussion, saying that this event could be a model for future interfaith conversations on a variety of subjects. Buehrens said this event could prove to be one of the most significant of the entire General Assembly.

For further information on this event, see the Deseret News article.

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