Lutherans' mighty focus

I write a lot about religion in the political sphere, but I seldom say much about religion generally. It’s safe to say that it’s not one of my areas of interest (I studied political science and history in university, not theology).

Even so, every once in awhile something happens that I have to comment on, and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA)* gave me such a reason when they voted to allow gay and lesbian pastors who are in a relationship to be included in the roster of pastors eligible for appointment to a church. They will also now allow, but not require, pastors to bless same-sex unions.

A little background: I was born, baptised and confirmed as a Lutheran. My father and his father were Lutheran ministers, so I quite literally grew up in the church. I never had a conflict between the Lutheran creed and my sexuality until I was already a gay political activist.

In the mid-1980s, I belonged to a gay Lutheran Group called Lutherans Concerned (most such religious groups had really dorky names). I remember at one of their get-togethers I met the Bishop (formerly called president) of the Illinois Synod (of the ELCA). At the same time, I was attending a church that was part of the Reconciled in Christ program (in which, basically, a church declares it’s embracing GLBT people as full and equal members).

About this time, conservatives in the denomination began moving against gay people, just as we were pushing for equality. The result, in typical Lutheran fashion, was that leaders agreed to “study” the situation. The rhetoric wasn’t encouraging, especially as the ELCA affirmed that only celibate gay people could serve as pastors.

As the years went on, I realised that religion no longer mattered to me and, later still, I started calling myself an agnostic, which by that time had become pretty obvious, anyway. Still, I also never renounced my heritage. Here in New Zealand, the Lutheran church is a branch of the Australian Church, and it’s quite conservative. To me, it reads like it’s “Missouri Synod Lite” (a Lutheran joke; we call it “Misery Synod”).

And so now, at last—some 25 years later—the church has finally moved in an appropriate way, more or less. Its document on sexuality basically recognises that there are varying beliefs among Lutherans and tries to accommodate them. Permitting gay pastors to be in committed relationships is the only rational position they could take. Lutheran conservatives, like those in other mainstream protestant denominations, feel that nothing less than complete rejection is acceptable. They’re likely to cause problems in the future.

But all of that is a battle for Lutherans to fight. I stopped fighting, or even noticing, really, some 20 years ago. Still, no one wants to be locked out of their family home, even when they stopped living there a long time before. But what the hell took Lutherans so long? To them it may have been of serious import, demanding long deliberations. To some of us, however, it was our lives. They must do better.

* The word “evangelical” in the church’s name doesn’t mean the same thing as it does to conservatives. Apparently, Luther wanted his church called the “Evangelical” church, and that’s why it’s called that now. Lutherans are NOT necessarily conservative!