SEXUALITY & GLOBAL FAITH NETWORKS

PROJECT OUTLINE

A number of recent debates have taken place both within the worldwide Anglican Communion and the media concerning the future direction of the Church. These debates have been triggered in part by differing views on the stance the Church should adopt in relation to issues including the ordination of female or gay clergy and the recognition of civil partnerships. Questions have been raised about the future of the worldwide Communion given the diversity of perspectives on these issues, with some churches planning to boycott the 2008 Lambeth Conference. In this research we aim to collect new information on how individuals and congregations view these debates and what they think about the future direction of the Church. We will be conducting research in the UK, USA, and South Africa.

Project Aims

  • To collect new data about sexuality and faith that examines the responses of the Anglican/Episcopal churches to issues of homosexuality in three contrasting national contexts; where these issues are subject to significant theological, legal and cultural contestation (United Kingdom, United States, and South Africa).
  • To contribute to theological understanding by examining the mobilisation of universal and contextual theologies and ethics in debates about homosexuality.
  • To contribute to policy debates and public understanding about managing the tensions between sexual equality and religious freedom.

Project Methods

  • Identifying the socio-legal context and the position of the Church on lesbian gay bisexual and transgender (LGBT) issues from secondary data sources (e.g. legislative documents, web-pages, newspapers, Synod position papers, Lambeth conference resolutions).
  • Analysis of websites and pressure group publications relating to both faith-based stakeholders and wider LGBT movements to trace flows of debates about sexuality and how they have unfolded in each country since the 1998 Lambeth conference.
  • Interviews with key stakeholders and participant observation at national conventions (e.g. Lambeth Conference 2008, General Convention of the Episcopal Church 2009). Attending elements that are open and associated fringe meetings held by interest groups.
  • Parish level case studies to explore intersections of global-local processes (where debates within the global communion meet the everyday beliefs/practices of parishioners) in several contrasting parishes. This includes interviews and Bible study groups with the clergy and parishioners.
  • Meetings with other African representatives to cover the wider African experience

Project Funding

Sexuality and Global Faith Networks is an interdisciplinary collaboration between the School of Geography and the School of Theology and Religious Studies, funded by the Religion and Society Programme of the Arts and Humanities Research Council and the Economic and Social Research Council: