EDITOR- IN- CHIEF’S LETTER
It’s not been a great month for religious tolerance. [ I’ll give you a second to clutch your pearls.] First, the Sultan of Brunei passed an horrific law sanctioning death by stoning for gay sex. The law applies only to Muslims, further oppressing Brunei’s gay community; while the country’s businesses, hotels, etc are happy to continue accepting the money of non- Muslim gay visitors.
No, thank you, mister sultan. That’s not how the LGBTQ community works. An attack on one of us is an attack on all of us. It was encouraging to see the counter- reaction, from the Dorchester Hotel protest to all the many organisations and individuals taking a stand.
Closer to home, at Parkfield School, in Birmingham, parents protested against the school’s No Outsiders classes. Designed to celebrate diversity and encourage inclusivity of different races, ethnicities, religions and sexualities, they said including LGBTQ went against their religious beliefs.
Thankfully, these protests didn’t affect a government bill to introduce statutory age-appropriate relationship education in schools when MPs overwhelmingly voted in favour of the changes on 27 March. Before you crack open the champagne, it should be noted that the finer print is disappointingly vague. Primary schools do not have to include discussion of LGBTQ families. In faith- led schools, LGBTQ lives can be taught from a faith- perspective with debate allowed.
Excuse me — debate?
This implies that a conservative head of a faith school — be it Christian, Muslim or other — can promote the message that “gay relationships exist, but we believe they are wrong.” This is not progress, it’s fuelling prejudice. Where Section 28 silenced all LGBTQ discussion, this new policy tacitly enables homophobia.
Yet again, people who are born gay, bi or trans are having to debate and justify their existence against people who choose to follow a particular faith.
It wasn’t long ago that our community in the Republic of Ireland was fighting for marriage equality against religious stalwarts in a referendum, or the Church of England was campaigning against the same laws in the UK.
Let’s be clear about one thing: religion has no place in the education system. Faith schools are an outdated concept; religious studies should be extra- curricular lessons not the foundation of schools.
Religion is a choice. Its endless, contradictory interpretation should not be allowed to harm the mental health and well- being of young people, especially LGBTQ children who look to adults for acceptance and guidance.
Of course, there are many faiths that practise welcoming outlooks towards LGBTQ identity. There is no reason why they cannot off er their support outside the education system, or in addition to it. Similarly, there are many religious queer people who fi nd comfort in their faith, through which they have found balance alongside their gender and sexual identity.
I am sure they would not want their belief foisted upon others.
But for many queer people, when society and religion have too often been judgmental and condemning, they have had to create their own families, and make their own journey to happiness.
In this issue of Attitude, it was fascinating to meet eight people from the LGBTQ community who identify as spiritual. ( We’ll share a further four stories online during May.)
Each of them have found a way to communicate with their own higher power away from organised religion, moulded by their individual life experiences — with some being more enigmatic than others. No two stories or outlooks are the same, but they are all connected by a common theme: humanity grounded in nature and founded in love!
“Yet again, gay, bi and trans people are having to justify their existence”