Religious Leaders Around the World Commit to Supporting The LGBTQ Community
Six principles meant to protect LGBTQ individuals across the world were adopted by religious leaders around the world.
Over 150 religious leaders, academics, and influential people from all over the world met at a conference in London on March 21 to agree upon “six principles to safeguard LGBTQ lives.”
Held by the Global Interfaith Commission on LGBT+ Lives, and sponsored by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, the two-day event set a new precedent on LGBTQ issues for religious leaders all around the globe.
Hailing from various countries — the United States, Columbia, Uganda, Indian, Hungary, England, and Australia, among them — the delegates in attendance included pastors, imams, and rabbis, as well as leaders of LGBTQ advocacy groups and technical experts on LGBTQ issues.
Director of the Global Interfaith Commission on LGBTQ Lives Jayne Ozanne told the Gay Times that seeing so many religious leaders not only at the London event, but dedicated to showing “their solidarity and support” for the LGBTQ community, was encouraging.
According to a tweet posted by Ozanne, attendees adopted six humanitarian principles guiding how religious leaders should respond to the LGBTQ community and its issues: empowerment, prevention, proportionality, protection, partnership, and accountability.
The six safeguarding principles, known as the Protection Principles, were “based on those set out in the [United Kingdom] Care Act 2014” and rebuff the stereotypical religious attitudes towards the LGBTQ community.
“We recognize that many LGBT+ people face significant discrimination, rejection and hatred, and so we commit to work to protect all LGBT+ people from harm, wherever it occurs in both religious and secular contexts,” the Protection Principles state.
The other 5 principles generally fall in with the Protection Principles’ theme: recognizing the hardships the LGBTQ community has endured in the past and emphasizing the attendees’ commitment to support the community.
The adoption of these principles was the culmination of a two-day event that saw attendees discuss and hear presentations on the importance of banning conversion therapy across the world to protect LGBTQ lives “legally.”
Following that, attendees “analyzed research from Hungary & the Caribbean on significant harm inflicted on LGBT+ people by conversion therapy.”
The result of the GIC event complements the “Dignity of All Declaration” the organization released in December 2020. That declaration, with nearly 1500 signatures, serves as a means for religious leaders around the world to express their commitment to combatting discrimination against the LGBTQ community.
“We affirm that all human beings of all sexual orientations, gender identities and gender expressions are a precious part of creation and are part of the natural order,” the declaration states.
“We call on all nations to put an end to criminalization on the grounds of sexual orientation or gender identity, for violence against LGBT+ people to be condemned and for justice to be done on their behalf.
“We call for an end to the perpetuation of prejudice and stigma and commit to work together to celebrate inclusivity and the extraordinary gift of our diversity,” it concludes.
Support Metro Weekly’s Journalism
These are challenging times for news organizations. And yet it’s crucial we stay active and provide vital resources and information to both our local readers and the world. So won’t you please take a moment and consider supporting Metro Weekly with a membership? For as little as $5 a month, you can help ensure Metro Weekly magazine and MetroWeekly.com remain free, viable resources as we provide the best, most diverse, culturally-resonant LGBTQ coverage in both the D.C. region and around the world. Memberships come with exclusive perks and discounts, your own personal digital delivery of each week’s magazine (and an archive), access to our Member's Lounge when it launches this fall, and exclusive members-only items like Metro Weekly Membership Mugs and Tote Bags! Check out all our membership levels here and please join us today!
You must be logged in to post a comment.