By Krista McCracken
Though the government of Canada legalized same-sex marriage in 2005, marriage remains a contested point of debate within many Canadian religious denominations. Since the 1980s Christian denominations across Canada have debated and developed policies around human sexuality, marriage, and ordination.
Currently, the Catholic Church and the Presbyterian Church in Canada do not condone gay marriage or the blessing of same-sex unions. Both the Presbyterian Church and the Anglican Church of Canada will allow gay or lesbian individuals to be ordained in the church, providing the individuals are celibate and not ‘practicing’ their sexuality. In the Anglican Church blessings for same-sex couples (not marriage) can be performed in 10 Anglican dioceses across Canada and the Anglican Church of Canada is slated to vote on same-sex marriage in 2016. [i] These denominations are still struggling with policies relating to sexuality and have made very little movement to change their positions based on the 2005 legalization of same-sex marriage in Canada.
Conversely, this August the United Church of Canada (UCC) will mark the 25 anniversary of the flagship decision to allow gay and lesbian candidates be ordained. This decision was the first of its kind by a mainstream Christian denomination in the world. The UCC’s consistent support for same-sex relationships and equality has contributed to the UCC being seen as a ‘one-issue church’ or the ‘gay church’ by outside commentators. Considering the current position of the other major Christian denominations on same-sex relationships the UCC’s early advocacy, acceptance, and support of LGBT rights was ground breaking.
As early as 1984, the UCC affirmed an “acceptance of all human beings as persons made in the image of God, regardless of their sexual orientation.” This statement followed by the 1988 decision to allow gay and lesbian people to be ordained caused substantial upheaval within the UCC governance and parishioners. Thousands of members across the country left the UCC as a result of this decision.
Despite this internal upheaval throughout the 1990s the UCC worked to produce educational material for clergy and parishioners relating to sexual orientation. The UCC also played a substantial role in advocating for the equality of heterosexual and same-sex relationships. In 1999, the UCC appeared before the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights in support of Bill C-23, Modernization of Benefits and Obligations. This legal support was followed by the UCC general council adopting the policy to work toward the civil recognition of same-sex partnerships. This decision made in 2000, resulted in some UCC congregations recording the services of same-sex couples in their marriage registers and forwarding these registrations to provincial governments for licensing.
UCC advocacy continued as support for the recognition of same-sex rights grew throughout Canada. From 2000-2005 the UCC submitted numerous papers to the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights and repeatedly appealed to the Canadian government to change existing marriage legislation. Since the legalization of same-sex marriage the UCC has continued to support equality amongst its members. In 2012 Rev. Gary Paterson was elected as the moderator of the United Church, making him the first openly gay leader of a major Christian denomination in Canada.
Just looking at the history of the general council of the UCC paints a picture of a church that is very pro-gay rights and has been a forerunner in advocating for LGBT rights. However, this is not the complete picture of the UCC or representative of many individual congregations. Congregations have retained the power to make their own decisions about marriage. It has been left up to individual ministers and congregations to decide if they want to allow same-sex marriages in their sanctuaries. A procedure was put in place that allows a clergy member who does not want to perform a same-sex marriage to decline, however the policy also indicates that any congregation or minister who declines should make an attempt to locate another UCC minister who would be willing to perform the service.
Further unease with sexual orientation within the UCC at large can also be seen by looking at the membership in Affirm United/S’affirmer Ensemble, a support and justice group relating to sexual orientation equality. Affirm developed during the lead up to the 1988 decision to allow ordination of people of all sexual orientations. Since that time Affirm has helped LGBT clergy and parishioners find welcome UCC congregations. Affirm established a set of criteria for LGBT friendly churches to meet and those churches which meet this criteria are designated as Affirming.
Despite the acceptance of all sexual orientations by the UCC governing body, only 80 UCC congregations, three regional ministries, four retreat centres, and four colleges have been officially designated as Affirming. As of December 2011, the UCC had 3,132 local congregations, which means the number of Affirming congregations make up less than one percent of the UCC congregations. The belief that all UCC congregations are welcoming of all sexual orientations is a bit of a misnomer, as there are many congregations who are still divided on the issue of LGBT marriage and equality.
The UCC’s history of advocacy, social engagement and ground-breaking policies is inspiring. But, this history is also fraught with internal controversy and resistance. The UCC general council was on the forefront of the LGBT rights movement and its actions often reflect developments within the larger Canadian LGBT rights movement. Yet, many individual churches and UCC members are still divided on the issue of same-sex marriage and equality.
Krista McCracken is a Researcher/Curator at Algoma University’s Shingwauk Residential Schools Centre. She is a co-editor at Activehistory.ca
[i] The Presbyterian Church in Canada’s policies on same-sex relationships are found in: “Social Action Handbook”, 4th edition, Life and Mission Agency, Presbyterian Church in Canada, 2013. The Anglican Church of Canada’s position can be found in the “General Synod resolutions related to issues of sexuality.”