Querying the Church: Christian Church Leaders' Perspectives on Homosexuality
This thesis explores the perspectives of Christian church leaders on homosexuality. Sexual orientation, specifically homosexuality, is a highly controversial issue in Christianity. The denominations within Christianity maintain a variety of views which range from outright condemnation to complete acceptance. The purpose of this study was to identify the perspectives on homosexuality that exist among Christian church leaders in the Toledo area. A qualitative research methodology was utilized for this study. Two distinct bodies of literature - sexualities studies and Christian theology – were used as the theoretical frameworks to guide the research. Church leaders held a wide variety of views on the topic – but mainly they could be defined as the Religious Right, who consider homosexuality a sin, and the Welcoming and Affirming churches, which do not regard homosexuality as a sin and are explicitly inclusive towards homosexuality. Church leaders rely on combination of Scripture, reason, tradition, and experience to formulate their perspectives on homosexuality.
Bible, Biblical Studies, Clergy, Religion, Religious Congregations, Sociology, Theology, Homosexuality, Christianity, Christian Church leaders, Sodom and Gomorrah, Religious Right, Welcoming and Affirming
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