Sébastien.
Ne deviens pas gay, tu finiras triste
. Paris: Ed. François-Xavier de Guibert, 1998.
Tin, Louis-Georges. “L’Invention de la culture hétérosexuelle,”
Les Temps modernes
, 2003.
Wittig, Monique.
La Pensée straight
[1980]. New edition. Paris: Balland, 2001.
—Closet, the; Contagion; Exhibitionism; Heresy; Heterosexism; Himmler, Heinrich; Peril; Perversion; Rhetoric; Sterility; Theology; Tolerance; Vice.
PROTESTANTISM
Because Protestantism was based on the theological and moral criticism of the Catholic clergy’s “abuses,” it was hardly predisposed to be lenient toward sodomites. The comparison of Catholic Rome to the town of Sodom was a common theme in the rhetoric of the Protestant Reformed Church of France, theologians such as John Calvin and Martin Luther, humanists such as Henri Estienne, and poets such as Agrippa d’Aubigné, who violently criticized France’s King
Henri III
(widely believed to be homosexual) in
Les Tragiques
; they did not want to miss a chance to deplore the corruption of morals, in particular the influence of sodomites. A famous
scandal
was caused when Théodore de Bèze (1519–1605), an early Calvinist reformer in France, wrote verses that referred to his roguish preference for Audebert, his
favorite
, rather than Candida, his mistress. The reaction was such that de Bèze was made to issue a resounding criticism of himself, condemning these thoughts as temporary distractions—the fruits of a sinful soul—before he was permitted to become Calvin’s successor as head of the Geneva Academy and the Protestant Churches of Switzerland and France. Further, during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries in Protestant Geneva, several men and women were beheaded, hanged, or drowned because of their alleged acts
against nature
. Meanwhile in England in 1533, King Henry VIII, the monarch behind the Anglican schism, promulgated the Buggery Act, a sodomy law that was the first civil legislation against homosexuals in the country, which entrenched England’s homophobic legislation; it was declared perpetual some years later by his daughter, Elizabeth I. Protestant homophobia lived on for centuries thereafter; in 1930,Théodore de Felice of France wrote in
Le Protestantisme et la question sexuelle
(Protestantism and the sexual question): “The aversion for the opposite sex, demonstrated by homosexuals, clearly classifies them among the ill, and moreover among the dangerously ill, because they constantly search for new partners whom they will make abnormal in turn.” Likewise, in 1936, Georges Portal showed how difficult it was to reconcile Protestant ethics and homosexual life in a novel entitled
Un Protestant
. Under these conditions, it is clear that the climate of moral austerity imposed by the Protestant religion in general was hardly conducive to recognizing any type of sexual pluralism.
Today, however, compared with the Catholic tradition, the philosophy developed by Protestant thinkers is characterized by a somewhat more favorable position on homosexuality. The Protestant interpretation of the
Bible
on this question differs appreciably from the Catholic perspective. And even if homosexuality’s status varies from one Protestant group to another, it is nonetheless quite remarkable that pastors have been blessing same-sex unions for a long time. Several reasons can explain this.
First of all, the explosion of Protestant groups and the limitations of the Protestant hierarchy allowed the development of a certain autonomy on questions of morality. Characteristically, the very Catholic writer Paul Claudel wrote a reproachful letter to André
Gide
, dated March 9, 1914: “You are especially a victim of … your Protestant heredity, which has accustomed you to look only within yourself for the rule of your actions.”
Also, the notions of personal freedom and the protection of one’s right to
privacy
are fundamental in Protestant culture. This reformist religion had to harshly assert its right to exist; as a result, the freedom of thought, consciousness, and expression were considered essential rights. This concept of individual autonomy included protection from state intervention in the public sphere. The protection of privacy, which became fundamental in predominantly Protestant countries, thus figured in Protestant arguments favoring the
decriminalization
of homosexuality. The reformist culture took into consideration the danger of becoming a scapegoat on this issue, mainly because Protestants had long been the targets of their political and religious opponents. Thus today, arguments favoring same-sex
marriage
resemble arguments in support of Protestants during the Middle Ages, who were considered second-class citizens at the time. As such, we can agree with judicial sciences professor Daniel Borrillo that marriage is an institution that allows the political integration of various constituents of the population. What is most at stake in this parallel, in the recognition of minorities in order to counteract negative influences, is the consciousness and acceptance of social pluralism.
Finally, in Protestantism, celibacy is not mandatory for its clergy, and the issue of sexual “difference” is not considered major. While the concepts of the heterosexual couple and the
family
are closely related in Catholicism (the purpose of the union of two people is reproduction), they are more distant in the Protestant context (the purpose of the couple is the couple itself). Thus, the distinction between the notions of couple and family evolved faster in predominantly Protestant countries, where marriage is perceived as a contract between two people, unlike the Catholic perspective, which considered it a sacrament.
The Renaissance and the Reformation, in a context of political, sociological, economic, and cultural disruption, promoted the contractual approach to marriage which influenced French revolutionaries, who as a result established secular marriage, by which marriage was no longer perceived as a divine sacrament. The Protestant world also offered a much more favorable breeding ground than Catholicism for the emerging concept of human rights, eventually allowing the recognition of same-sex unions.
It is, however, necessary to qualify that at the present time, Protestant congregations that celebrate these marriages remain rare; most of them celebrate only blessings. Moreover, depending on the country, these marriages are not recognized by the state in the same way as heterosexual marriage is; furthermore, in certain countries, such as France, legislation requires a civil marriage before a religious rite, and because French civil law does not recognize same-sex marriage, a religious gay marriage is impossible.
The first models of same-sex unions in contemporary Europe were legalized in Denmark (1989), Norway (1993), Sweden (1994), and the Netherlands (1997), all of which are predominantly Protestant countries. Also, Iceland’s 1996 law legalizing civil unions and the Netherland’s 2002 law granting same-sex couples the right to adopt (the same year same-sex marriage became legal) are positive developments with regard to LGBT
parenting
.
In Europe, and more particularly in Scandinavian countries, Protestant congregations, with their considerable political influence, gradually considered the spiritual demands of gays and lesbians. In 1997, the Northern Protestant Church of Germany decided to legitimize the blessing of gay unions for the first time. Also, Lutheran priests in Stockholm have been blessing same-sex couples for some years now.
In France, recent Protestant tradition has also been to bless same-sex unions. The first such blessed unions were in fact celebrated in 1974; however, such blessing confers neither rights nor duties toward either parties, and as such the act only has moral and spiritual meaning. In the United States, several Protestant congregations celebrate same-sex unions. These religious ceremonies have all the similarities of a church wedding; websites and other sources offer practical advice on the various types of ceremonies available, as well as information on businesses that specialize in organizing gay marriages. The Unitarian Universalist Church, a liberalminded North American movement, has been blessing gay couples since the 1970s. The Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches first gained notice by marrying several same-sex couples during New York’s Gay and Lesbian Pride in 1994 (which commemorated the twenty-fifth anniversary of
Stonewall
). These religious same-sex celebrations contributed to the religious “revitalization” of the faiths, at a time when gays and lesbians felt they were being ignored, if not opposed, by traditional congregations.
Nevertheless, the degree to which the consecration of gay unions is accepted varies depending on the congregations and countries. For example, in Denmark, 33% of those polled were in favor of allowing traditional religious marriage for gays and lesbians, and 21% believe in a religious ceremony specific to same-sex couples; however, the majority of those surveyed were opposed to any religious same-sex ceremonies whatsoever.
Moreover, in the United States, while numerous Protestant movements sided with gays and lesbians, there were others that took part in violent homophobic crusades related to the religious right and/or the Moral Majority. These movements, which have existed in one form or another since the days of
McCarthyism
, have been reenergized in recent years, beginning with Bill Clinton’s presidency, who, in spite of himself, triggered an unprecedented storm of controversy when he tried to abolish the laws forbidding gays and lesbians from serving in the
military
(resulting in the compromised policy of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”). The issue of gay
marriage
also aroused new resentful and violent homophobic campaigns led by evangelicals. Many of those who had previously worked on behalf of campaigns against abortion or civil rights gladly joined this new battle which attracted much media attention; among them was televangelist and onetime presidential candidate Pat Robertson who, in 1998, during a broadcast, announced that God would send a tornado or a meteorite upon the city of Orlando if gays and lesbian shops there continued to display their rainbow flags; and Pat
Buchanan
, another broadcaster and politician who widely contributed to the spread of homophobic ideas within the Republican Party before becoming the Reform Party’s candidate in the 2000 presidential election.
With a more or less ecumenical base, the Christian Coalition of America circulated a vehemently homophobic video mixed with medical and moral rhetoric entitled
The Gay Agenda
. The video, which sold 60,000 copies in less than three months, was excerpted widely on Christian television programs and was distributed free to all members of the country’s House of Representatives. This same Christian Coalition also published a pamphlet entitled
The Gay Manifesto
— reminiscent of the anti-Semitic
Protocols of the Elders of Zion
—a gross forgery on the malefic “plot” of homosexuals to take over the world. In 1995,
Newsweek
magazine published the unfortunate results of a survey in which 21% of Americans, and 43% of Evangelical Christians, stated that they believed that the gay and lesbian movement was “Satan incarnate.” Finally, there are some religious currents, such as the Christian Reconstructionists, that demand capital punishment for those who engage in practices against nature.
Such discourses are not without impact in a country where, until recently, many states still upheld religious-based anti-sodomy laws which, until a fateful Supreme Court decision on June 26, 2003, they certainly had no intention of abolishing. And on the “question of the year,” as the debate of gays in the military was called, Bill Clinton was forced to compromise, confirming the exclusion of gays and lesbians. Further, certain states which had initially favored same-sex marriage decided to renege on their commitment, while others approved laws forbidding any legislation to this effect; boycott campaigns were launched against companies or
media
deemed to be “favorable” to homosexuals; hiring
discrimination
policies were put in place, notably in
schools
, in the name of the “interest of the child”; “reparative therapies” proposed by
ex-gays
, a mix of
psychoanalysis
and wayward religion, multiplied; and most disturbingly, homophobic murders remain common if not more numerous. These recent examples of homophobia can be linked to strong religious sentiment, including among some Protestants, which constantly refers to biblical sources and puritanical traditions, and which does not hesitate to contend that “God hates fags.”
Under these conditions, the attitude of Protestants on the issue of homosexuality is naturally difficult to generalize, given that Protestantism has promulgated some of the most liberal statements on the subject, as well as some of the most repressive. This contradiction can be explained in that the homophobia which flows through Protestant culture in fact stems from underlying and diverse causes which widely surpass strict religious faith. In the end, religious homophobia is not simply a question of religion.
—Flora Leroy-Forgeot and Louis-Georges Tin
Abelove, Henry.
The Evangelist of Desire: John Wesley and the Methodists
. Stanford: Stanford Univ. Press, 1990.
Aubigné, Agrippa d’.
Les Tragiques
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Ben Barka, Mokhtar.
Les Nouveaux rédempteurs: Le Fondamentalisme américain aux Etats-Unis
. Paris: Les Editions de l’Atelier, 1998.
Bèze, Théodore de. “Son affection pour Candide et Audebert” [1548].
Anthologie de la poésie du XVIe siècle
. Edited by Jean Céard and Louis-Georges Tin. Paris: Gallimard, 2003.
Bull, Chris, and John Gallagher.
Perfect Enemies, The Religions Right, the Gay Movement, and the Polilics of the 1990’s
. New York: Crown Publishers, 1996.
Cecco, John de, ed.
Bashers, Baiters and Bigots: Homophobia in American Society
. Binghamton, NY: Harrington Park Press, 1985.
Estienne, Henri.
Apologie pour Hérodote
(1566). Paris: Liseux, 1879.