Homosexuality and Lutheranism

Lutheran viewpoints concerning homosexuality are diverse because Lutherans are not centrally organized worldwide.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the largest Lutheran church body in the U.S., with a little less than two thirds of American Lutherans currently objects to the acceptance of homosexual behavior. See Page 13 "Vision and Expectations" ELCA. Furthermore after extensive study and discussion in April of 2008 the "Draft Social Statement on Human Sexuality" failed to reverse this position [http://www.elca.org/faithfuljourney/draft/] . Therefore leaving the official position of the ELCA to be that Homosexuality is not accepted. However, in 2007 the Churchwide Assembly passed a resolution asking bishops not to enforce the expectation that gay and lesbian pastors remain celibate. [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=12716157]

In many European Lutheran churches homosexual people can work as Lutheran pastors. In the year 2000, the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD) passed the resolution "Verantwortung und Verlässlichkeit stärken", in which homosexual partnerships are supported. [ [http://www.ekd.de/homosexualitaet/774.html EKD:"Verantwortung und Verlässlichkeit stärken"] ] The Church of Sweden has permitted the blessing of same-sex unions and the ordination of partnered gays and lesbians since 2006. The Church of Denmark also provides for such blessings, as does the Church of Norway, which also ordains gays and lesbians. [http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-5626.html] Largest Lutheran church in Europe that doesn't - despite ongoing controversy - permit blessing of same-sex unions is the Church of Finland.

All of the above-mentioned churches are members of the Lutheran World Federation. In smaller, more conservative consortia such as the International Lutheran Council and the Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Conference homosexuality is uniformly held to be sinful.

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