LGBTI activists fight church homophobia
Academics and preachers in Southern Africa are determined to reverse the church’s heteropatriarchic tendencies
‘The reason I left the church — not only Grace Bible Church, but the church in general — is I kept going to places where I was being told publicly that I am not good enough; that because of who I am, I don’t deserve this love.”
So says Karabo Lepote, a former member of the Grace Bible Church, which this week made headlines after a sermon by visiting Ghanaian pastor Bishop Dag Heward-Mills, in which he called homosexuality “unnatural”.
“You don’t find two male dogs, two male lions, two male impalas, two male lizards. You don’t find that in nature. That is unnatural. There is nothing like that in nature,” HewardMills said.
The sermon saw celebrity Somizi Mhlongo walk out of the church in protest. But for Lepote, HewardMills’ views came as no surprise.
“I’m glad Somizi walked out, but I am really not surprised at all. The church has always been a place that promises an unconditional love that is actually filled with conditions,” says Lepote.
The struggle between their sexual orientation and the views held by the church is something many lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people of faith find themselves grappling with.
Gerald West, a professor at the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s School of Religion, Philosophy and Classics, believes that the faiths of LGBTI people have failed them and continue to stigmatise and condemn them.
“We must recognise that our faith traditions are not neutral. They have been forged within heteropatriarchy. So our faith traditions and our sacred texts are sites of struggle,” West says.
West is one of the authors of a report, When Faith Does Violence: Re-imagining Engagement Between Churches and LGBTI Groups on Homophobia in Africa. It was presented last year at the Homophobia and the Churches in Africa dialogue in Pietermaritzburg.
The report found that the “old” theology does not fit, “as it is founded on heteropatriarchy”. Commissioned by the Other Foundation, the report also said “this historically inherited theology must be interrogated for its usefulness” in this new site of struggle.
Pitting themselves against highly conservative religious institutions, a few dedicated activists in Lesotho, Swaziland and South Africa are working to gain greater acceptance by Christian churches of their countries’ LGBTI communities — with varying degrees of success.
South Africa
“It’s like inviting someone over to your home for a meal and then, when they get there, slamming the door in their face.”
André Bartlett is a Dutch Reformed Church (DRC) minister who has been discussing how to make the church inclusive of LGBTI people.
At the church’s synod last year, Bartlett, along with fellow reverend Monty Sahd, made a proposal seeking a change in the church’s long-held stance. The proposal proved a success: in October the DRC — known for its conservatism — announced its decision to approve same-sex unions and also to allow for the ordaining of ministers who identified as gay. The synod took the decision, after 64% of delegates voted in favour of it.
But the “bold and accommodating decision” was overturned during a special synod meeting, leaving Bartlett “disappointed and appalled”.
Another report, Engaging the Churches about Homophobia in Southern Africa: Understanding the Past, Present and Future Strategies, found that churches have been hotbeds for the creation and sustenance of homophobia and transphobia obia and that this was felt broadly.
“Whether her one is Christian or not; whether one is religious or not, there is no doubt that at as long as one lives in a community that is predominantlynantly religious or Christian, n, such individuals’ lives ives would be influenced nced and affected by the larger society. ciety.
“The impact mpact of homophophobia within hin the church ch or churchhsponsored ed homo- phobia, a, therefore, re, is [felt] by all LGBTI BTI persons, ns, out or in n the closet, who live within hin the sphere of influence of that church.”
Lesotho
“There is a lot more acceptance now, because people were interpreting the Bible very literally, but are now interpreting it contextually.”
Tampose Mothopeng is the director of the Lesotho-based organisation, People’s Matrix Association. Working with a staff complement of no more than seven people, the organisation has held talks with religious leaders in Maseru in the hopes of LGBTI inclusivity.
As part of the monthly dialogues and workshops it hosts, the association has sympathetic religious leaders or lecturers from the University of Maseru facilitate discussions with more conserva conservative church leaders.
“They were very hesitant at first, but now we hav have some real champions leading t the process. They are now facilitatorsfacilit of the workshops andan dialogues we hos host and also reach out to the med media,” says Mot Mothopeng. O One such ch champion is th the Romab based C Catholic m minister, T Tlali Phohlo. “Talking ab about sexual mi minorities is still a taboo in Leso Lesotho. When you sp speak to individual c church leaders, you’ll find some people are afraid to talk about it — let alone take a progr progressive position,” says Ph Phohlo.
Mothopeng adds: “There is a lot more acceptance now, because people were interpreting the Bible very literally, but are now interpreting it contextually.”
Swaziland
“Working with churches here is very, very difficult.”
For Thuthu Magagula, acting director of Swaziland’s LGBTI rights organisation, Rock of Hope, the results have been slightly different.
“Working with churches here is very difficult. Religion is a very powerful institution here in Swaziland. Church leaders are not willing to engage in conversation and knowledge-sharing on LGBTI issues.”
The Swaziland organisation House of Our Pride (Hoop) said in 2011: “Faith houses have been known to discriminate against LGBTI [people], advocating for the alienation of LGBTI in the family and society, while maintaining that these LGBTI are possessed by demons.”
In August, in what was a first for the country, Rock of Hope facilitated a discussion between church leaders and activists and members of the LGBTI community.
“It was a good platform of sharing and listening, but later turned into a space where the church leaders wanted to discuss biblical verses and opinions, so tempers started flaring,” says Magagula.
Heated though the discussion may have been, it yielded some results in that, according to Magagula, “some said they would like to take the conversation further and know more so we can all find ways of working together”.
Judith Kotzé, director of IAM, which raises awareness on sexual orientation diversity and faith across the continent, says: “For transformation to happen it is of utmost importance — life and death — to work with churches because faith communities and institutions are freely accessible to people on the ground.
“Africa is highly religious, so no change will come if the message is not translated into religious settings.”
But West takes the view that it is the church that is obliged to take the initiative. “I would say it is vital for the churches to work with civil society. The church does not have the capacity to engage with sexuality without the guidance and support of civil society. So the churches must reach out.”
Not prepared to wait for churches to reach out to them, activists such as Bartlett are forging ahead in the fight for acceptance.
“I will keep on doing this because I take my position in the church seriously. I also take inclusivity seriously. There will be setbacks, yes, but I’m willing to carry on. We have to find a way around this.”
And although Lepote is no longer a member of any church, he clings to his faith and a determination to find a place in it.
“I used to believe that the best way to avoid oppressive systems is to avoid it. But you have to be in it to change it.
“Also, if we could put an end to a system like apartheid, we can definitely find a way to end this kind of oppression. I truly believe that.”