By Stacey Patton:

“Blow on my garden, that the spices thereof may flow out. Let my beloved come into his garden, and eat the pleasant fruits.” Those are lines from Song of Solomon, the most exquisitely erotic book of the Old Testament.

The Bible doesn’t shy away from topics of romance, love and sex. Indeed, the “good book” graphically speaks of adultery, lust, incest, rape, bestiality, masturbation, anal intercourse, sex with menstruating women, and even of men like Onan who was cursed for spilling his seed on the ground instead of impregnating his wife. Yet, some clergy, including some African-American clergy, still find it difficult to include in their sermons discussions of the flesh, as well as move their sermons beyond the spiritual even as others are bringing these silences under scrutiny.

I spent much of the past two weeks reaching out to black ministers across the country to invite them to weigh in on the heated debates surrounding Proposition 8 and race. [Proposition 8 is the California ballot proposition that changed the State Constitution to restrict the of marriage to a union between a man and a woman.] Some ministers refused to participate in the discussion because they feared provoking a negative reaction from their congregations. A Catholic priest from a predominantly West Indian parish in North Jersey showed his ambivalence by pondering my questions for nearly a week before calling to say he could not participate. “But I will pray for you,” he said. “I will pray that this project works out for you.”

I heard similar refrains from others:
“Maybe next time.”
“Not on this topic, but I can write about other things.”
“I can’t say anything, but let me give you the name of another minister.”
“We should teach about sex in the way the Bible talks about adultery and fornication.” “It is not the role of the pastor to speak about sex from the pulpit.”

Those reactions provoked flashbacks for me. In my mind I revisited Sunday morning services at the Pentecostal church I attended as a child. I saw the gay choir director and the lesbian police officer who attended church faithfully, paid their offerings and tithes, and shouted “amen” and “hallelujah” even when the minister declared that homosexuals were an abomination in the eyes of God and were going to join murderers, rapists and other kinds of sinners in hell.

Whether it’s gays in the choir, pregnant teens and HIV/AIDS victims in and outside the sanctuary, women married to “down-low” men, or church women and girls who’ve been sexually molested by male family members or even men of the cloth, the realities and impact of sex on black communities often remain that big ecclesiastical elephant in houses of worship that folks don’t like to acknowledge.

But to say that “the black church” is wholly silent on sex, as if it is a monolithic institution, is a myth. Some very progressive ministers I spoke with express frustration when all black churches are accused of not making the gospel relevant to the cold and hard realities facing black communities. For example, a Baptist minister in Atlanta spoke about a new program that will begin HIV/AIDS testing of children as young as age 12 and also seniors, who are a fast-growing demographic for the disease thanks to aids such as Viagra. For these ministers, religious theology must evolve and be applied to present-day issues.

Race may play a critical role in some of the reluctance of some ministers to engage in a discourse on sex. Throughout American history and still today, black sexuality has always been problematic and viewed as a source of disorder and pathology. As a result, in many realms of black life, especially within the context of the black church experience, the silence is an extreme version of larger American attitudes about sex – that it is not healthy or natural.

But the stakes are too high for the most vibrant, energetic and potent institution in black communities to be silent or ambivalent about sex, however it manifests itself. People come to houses of worship for truth, guidance, leadership and spiritual healing. Church, especially the black church, is also a place full of energy where parishioners seek comfort, touch and love without violating the tenets of their faith. In that regard, it is profoundly irresponsible for religious leaders, who have unparalleled influence in black communities, to engage in deadly denial.

When ministers are in denial, it allows parishioners to stay in denial and it leads to destructive behaviors and pathologies that undermine individuals and communities. Black religious leaders must move their gospel beyond the spiritual body even if it makes them uncomfortable and even if they must wrestle with the tenets of their faith; this, too, is part of a minister’s responsibility. The health and survival of our communities demand it.