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A Concern About Sexual
and Gender Identity

"Oh, people, what…does the Lord require of you? To act justly, and to love tenderly, and to walk humbly with your God."

(Mic 6:8)

A Statement by the Board of Directors
November 7, 1999

It is our experience that God calls us to lives of love and justice: to transform by example this world's ethic of domination. We know from our experience that loving action can accomplish our goals, that violence is not needed; we choose as our means the power of the Spirit — the power from within, rather than power over others. We call on our experience of the gift of the loving presence of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people in our midst as we develop this statement. We gratefully acknowledge that our continuing revelation on this subject, as summarized below, is informed, as is all work in AFSC, by men and women, adults and youth, Friends and others from many religious, faith and spiritual traditions and from straight, gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender identities.

The experiences of our lives are testimony to the following leadings:

1. The judgmental, prescriptive sexual ethic many of us were taught to associate with Christianity is contrary to our experience of God's universal love. As Friends, we acknowledge the guidance of the Bible and we also believe in God's continuing revelation, both of which have given us a sexual ethic based on love and justice. Many Friends meetings have embraced this revelation and have found this ethic in keeping with God's plan for us as loving human beings.
   
   
2. We believe that sexuality is governed by the same New Testament ethic that guides every other conduct choice for faithful Christians. Responsibility, mutuality, love, justice, non-violence, non-domination, and non-exploitation characterize what Jesus called the "Kingdom of God." How will sexual expression of love be judged? "By their fruits you shall know them" (Mt 7:20). Does this relationship create an environment of love and justice? Does it further the creation of loving and sustaining community? Loving relationships stand on the Friends testimony of equality. As people of faith, we celebrate all loving relationships and decry those relationships based on the exploitation of the young, poor, and powerless of whatever gender, orientation, or age.
   
   
3. We find that claiming our full sexuality becomes a joyful act of obedience and trust in our Creator's wisdom. When we trust the expression of our sexual identity in a loving and just relationship, our reliance on and commitment to God's revealed leadings is deepened. Doing so compels a sincere and continual search for God's way in this most intimate and undefended arena of our lives. The resulting varieties of relationship and gender identity, in their complex, responsible, rich and surprising range, are a continuing reminder that God's plan is beyond human understanding.
   
   
4. We believe that human sexual diversity is a gift from God to be celebrated. We believe that exploring our spirituality demands an exploration of our sexuality unconstrained by bigotry and hate. We are called to follow the leadings of the spirit: to love each other and act responsibly. These truths lead us to stand in solidarity with all loving, non-exploitive sexual relationships. "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness. There is no law against such things." (Gal 5:22-23)
   
   
5. Therefore, we call on Friends and members of the AFSC organization to speak out against any attack on the civil and human rights of persons because of their sexuality or gender identity. We find that some religious rhetoric has been used to deny civil and human rights and, worse, used as justification by those filled with hate to commit violent and aggressive acts against those who only seek to love. We particularly deplore any attack on the civil rights of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender persons couched in religious terms or attributed to scriptures. These acts are contrary to our own experience of God. Our testimony against all forms of violence, which includes our testimony against war, also encompasses social and psychological violence. We are ashamed of and condemn hate-filled speech and the rhetoric of violence especially when used in the name of Christ or by Christian groups. We believe that violence in deed or in word against anyone violates "that of God" in every person. We work to create a climate in the United States and the world in which such acts and words of hate will be recognized as violence and will not be tolerated.
   
   
6. Religious beliefs sometimes grow out of fear-fear of the unknown, fear of difference. If society reflects those fears, then legal and social institutions are formed which label, separate, subjugate, marginalize and make invisible those among us who are seen as different. When such fears restrict whom we love and how we love, a fundamental part of our being is denied. No one cultural/spiritual understanding of sexuality can accurately speak for all. No single faith tradition has the one "true" morality. Indeed, we believe that faith calls us to love each other, unconstrained by traditions that condemn difference. As people of faith, we believe that all of us are called to learn and practice a new Way. We are called to action, not silence. Our words and actions declare this new learning to each other — that love has come to replace fear.

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