Which Christian Denominations Are The Least Gay-Friendly?

[arwalden]

And... Which ones are the most friendly, non-judging, and welcoming?

[Waya]

1. Southern Baptists are .....

...the worst in IMO.

[TomInTib]

3. I find it interesting, growing up Southern Baptist, how many gay

people I know were brought up in that environment.

BTW, I am straight and, with the exception of weddings and funerals, have not set foot in a church in 35 years.

[Lithos]

2. Bad

Church of Christ, Pentecostal, Mormon, Evangelicals in General.

Good

Episcopalian, Lutheran, Methodist (some), Catholic (Agape Ministries), Presbyterian, Mennonite

[Imagine My Surprise]

4. As already mentioned, avoid for sure...

Mormons, Church of Christ, Nazarene, Southern Baptists, Seventh Day Adventist, Church of God (Pentecostal and non-Pentecostal version) -- most ALL evangelicals; Lutherans, Methodists and Presbyterians aren't exactly warm and fuzzy towards us; it becomes a sticky area, too, among gays when some gay churches are very into their own form of fundamentalism and the so-called born-again experience.

Great ones for gays are: United Church of Christ (if you want to maintain some shred of association with mainline Protestantism -- they were the first to ordain an openly gay man back in the 60's); otherwise, Unitarian/Universalists, for sure. Most Episcopals other than the hateful traditionalists; more philosophical ones include: Unity, Religious Science (Science of Mind -- NOT Scientology although I've dated Scientologists who claim it's OK to be gay.)

[AX10]

5. Southern "Satan" Baptists along with the Mormons....

militantly anti-gay.

[helderheid]

6. Quakers are very welcoming

[TechBear_Seattle]

7. No one has yet mentioned the Metropolitan Community Church

Founded in 1969 by Troy Perry, an Assemblies of God minister who was defrocked when he came out as gay in the early 60s. Theologically, they are standard evangelical Christian but very open socially. The first openly gay friendly Protestant church.

http://www.mccchurch.org

[Imagine My Surprise]

8. You are so right about their theology...

I'm an ex-Baptist minister myself, and I know that MCC is VERY conservative in their doctrine -- ironically, so. The last thing I want to hear about (I speak for myself ONLY) is that I was born in sin and that I need Jesus to be saved. Well, one hears these things at MCC churches. If that's one's trip, fine.

But for me my "coming of age" also involved degrees of critical thinking which certainly precluded ANY association with such notions.

[TechBear_Seattle]

9. It's not all that ironic

Again, MCC was founded by an Assemblies of God minister, and many of the early members and leaders were drawn to Perry's AoG style of preaching. That had a strong influence in seasoning the flavor of the denomination.

That said, MCC is congregational in nature and each congregation can vary widely. When I was involved with the MCC in Tucson some 20 years ago, services tended towards a more liturgical feel with sermons more in line with Robert Schuller than with Billy Graham. At other MCC churches, I've been to services that were taken from the Book of Common Prayer and services where charismatic pentecostals would have felt at home; I've heard sermons that would make the UCC seem conservative and sermons that would make the SBA seem like the UUA. But regardless of the style of liturgy or the flavor of the preaching, there was always a very strong message of acceptance and a powerful sense of God's love.

I remember this one preacher at a District Conference who joked, "At MCC, we do not discriminate at all: some of our most loved members are straight."