It is too early to call the ELCA’s decision a tipping point for mainline Protestants. The Presbyterian Church (USA) and the much larger United Methodist Church continue to prohibit gay people from being ordained. Demographics likely explain some of these differences – there are many more Methodists and Presbyterians in the most conservative regions of the country than members of the ELCA, Episcopal Church, or United Church of Christ.
The history of debate in individual denominations matters too – the Presbyterians and Methodists have been locked in divisive internal battles about homosexuality for longer than the ELCA – as do the formal ways denominations make decisions. The Presbyterians seem the most likely to follow the ELCA; their denominational vote on gay ordination this year was narrower than in the past.
These shifts within mainline Protestantism reflect liberalizing public opinion about homosexuality. They show that mainline Protestant denominations, like most religious traditions, are continually adapting and revising theological interpretations as their social environments change. We salute the ELCA for taking a bold step in the direction of justice and equality and hope the Presbyterians and United Methodists soon follow suit – fully tipping the mainline Protestant denominations toward complete equality for gay men and lesbians.
You have to wonder what the point of an op-ed piece like this is. It covers no new ground; offers no new insights or data. But it does keep the issue before the public, and celebrates what the two authors think (however wrongly) is a victory for equality and civil rights.
In particular, I’m left wondering what the two women have to gain from thus associating themselves with the gay cause. I don’t know anything about them, except what the publilsher, boston.com, chose to say. Namely, Wendy Cadge teaches sociology at Brandeis University in liberal New England, and Laura Olson teaches political science at Clemson in conservative SC. But both earn their livelihoods in overwhelmingly liberal academic enviroments.
David Handy+