The Reverend Dennis W. Wiley, Ph.D.
and
The Reverend Christine Y. Wiley, D.Min.
Pastors, Covenant Baptist Church, Washington, DC

The black church has been so poisoned by homophobia and heterosexism that the idea of actually opposing Proposition 8 seems oxymoronic. But black churches are not monolithic, and while most denounce homosexuality as a sin, there are a few that do not.

Covenant Baptist Church, a traditional African-American congregation in Washington, DC where we pastor, is one of those few. We believe that whereas homosexuality, as a sexual orientation, is not a sin, hypocrisy is. That is why Jesus says nothing about the former, but speaks volumes about the latter.

There are many publications that help us to understand that the few biblical passages once thought to condemn homosexuality have been grossly misinterpreted. Tthe more accurate translations of the Bible do not even mention homosexuality, a relatively new term. While these passages condemn same-sex behavior that is violent, abusive, or believed at the time to result in ritual impurity, the scriptures do not address a monogamous sexual relationship between two loving and committed individuals of the same gender.

The question, then, is why has the black church become so hostile toward non-heterosexual persons and so vitriolic in its approach to the issue of homosexuality? The reasons, varied and complex are associated with the historical intersection of racism and sexuality in America. It is not the Bible, but socially-conditioned and culturally-infused interpretations of the Bible, that account for the pervasive anti-gay sentiment within the black church and among black people.

That said, it is our opinion that the black church should oppose Proposition 8 because homosexuals are human beings who deserve the same rights as heterosexuals. Despite what some may argue, their sexual orientation is an integral and immutable component of their identity.

On a certain level, we believe that many in the black church are aware of this, but it is too difficult and uncomfortable for us to go against what has been instilled in us all our lives. We were taught to be respectable and to avoid any behavior—especially sexual behavior—that might attract negative attention and/or prevent us from blending into, and being accepted by, a racist society.  Consequently, it has been much easier for the black church to condemn and discriminate against gay people, while at the same time exploiting their tremendous gifts and talents, than to become a safe space in which they can be fully accepted and openly affirmed for who they truly are.

We oppose Proposition 8 because the gospel of Jesus Christ is a gospel of love, not hate; a gospel of justice, not injustice; a gospel of inclusion, not exclusion; and a gospel of authenticity, not hypocrisy. Instead of insisting that “ only marriage between a man and a woman is valid,” would it not make more sense, if we are truly concerned about protecting the family and the institution of marriage, to insist instead that only marriage between two loving and committed adults is valid?

While some resent the comparison of gay rights with civil rights, we agree with Julian Bond who, in a recent address to the 20th National Conference on LGBT Equality, stated that “people of color ought to be flattered that our movement has provided so much inspiration for others . . .” In the spirit of Jesus Christ, Martin Luther King Jr., Coretta Scott King, and, ironically, even the Declaration of Independence, the Black Church should support gay rights if one believes that all of God’s children “are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, [and] that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Because the Black Church is comprised of a race of people who themselves have been, and still are, the victims of oppression, it should be the last institution in the world to condone the oppression of anyone else. For as King often said, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

*From the Editors: View more opinions on this topic