Churches may have to allow same-sex unions

THE North Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, could force all churches in South Africa to embrace same-sex unions, although this may be against their religious beliefs.

This is according to the Alliance Defending the Autonomy of Churches in South Africa, which represents the largest contingent of evangelical churches in the country.

The organisation said this would happen should the court rule that it was against the constitution for the Dutch Reformed Church to ban homosexual relationships and unions in its congregations.

It will tomorrow join legal proceedings as a friend of the court in the matter in which the Dutch Reformed Church is being taken to task by four of its members after it had a change of heart regarding homosexual unions.

In 2015, the church gave its blessing to same-sex unions, but a year later recalled this with a new stance that these relationships did not meet Christian guidelines.

Reverend Laurie Gaum, with the support of his father, Frits Gaum, who is a leading figure in the church, is asking the court to overturn the church’s latest decision in which it changed its stance.

The Commission for Gender Equality, which was also admitted as a friend of the court, is due to argue that the court has to rule against the 2016 decision as it is politically incorrect in light of the country’s constitution and laws regarding same-sex partnerships.

Reverend Moss Ntlha, the general secretary of the Evangelical Alliance of South Africa, said if the court ruled in favour of the argument, it would not only impact on the Dutch Reformed Church, but on every religious grouping in the country.

The alliance represents more than 4 million congregants of, among others, pentecostal and charismatic churches.

The effect of this “politically correct” stance would be that every church group would have to accept same-sex unions, whether it went against their religion or not.

He made it clear that the Alliance Defending the Autonomy of Churches in South Africa was not adopting a position for or against same-sex relationships.

“We are rather advocating for the right of each religious institution… to determine such ‘core doctrines’ for themselves,” he stated in court papers. Religious institutions had a constitutional right to religious freedom, he argued.