Many gay LDS young adults want to have some degree of spirituality in their lives, but because of the conflict that can exist with being gay and LDS, this can sometimes be very difficult. In this section, we will provide information about organizations (LDS and non-LDS themed) that exist to help promote a person’s spiritual self but that don’t have an issue with a person’s sexual orientation.
Some may ask, “If GLYA tries to be neutral in providing resources and information, why are you only providing information about spiritual organizations that don’t take issue with a person’s sexual orientation? Is that really fair?”
Our response to this concern is that GLYA isn’t trying to exclude any spiritual organizations, “take sides”, or promote one spiritual path over another. In fact, many gay young adults find great spiritual strength in religious/spiritual organizations even though the organization may have specific policies restricting gay or lesbian members. However, since we can’t possibly list every religion or spiritual path in existence in the world, we have decided to limit our listing here to organizations that don’t have restrictions against gay or lesbian members. We do this because these organizations can be beneficial yet quite hard to find, especially if a person has only had experience with the LDS faith.
We do want to be as fair as possible, and will provide links to several websites that do attempt to list all spiritual paths and religious organizations and their positions on gay and lesbian membership. GLYA isn’t concerned with promoting any specific religion, denomination, belief, spiritual teaching or organization, but we do realize the importance of spirituality as an important aspect of person’s life and want to provide those resources to you.
The organizations listed below are not merely gay and lesbian support groups. These groups are spiritually and/or religiously based. For social and other support groups, please go to the EDUCATIONAL & INFORMATION section.
LDS THEMED RELIGIOUS/SPIRITUAL ORGANIZATIONS & SUPPORT GROUPS
Restoration Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Community of Christ)
NON-LDS CHURCHES
Episcopal Church In The United States
RELIGIOUS SUPPORT ORGANIZATIONS
Evangelical Christians Concerned
Kinship: Seventh-day Adventists
Welcoming & Affirming Baptists
SPIRITUAL ORGANIZATIONS (NON RELIGIOUS)
Ancient Mystical Order Rosae Crucis (AMORC)
The Order of Bards Ovates and Druids
Theosophical Society in America
POLICIES & TEACHINGS ABOUT HOMOSEXUALITY AMONG VARIOUS RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS
Policies Of 45 Christian Denominations On Homosexuality
Policies & Teachings About Homosexuality In Judaism
Policies & Teachings About Homosexuality in Non-Judeo-Christian Religions
OTHER WEBSITES OF INTEREST
Relgious Tolerance – a very comprehensive website that explores the variety of spiritual paths that exist in the world.
Bridges Across The Divide – a “cyberspace initiative providing models and resources for building respectful relationships across the divide among those who disagree about sexual orientation and gender identity.”
Homosexuality, Bisexuality & Religion – A complete listing of information and issues regarding homosexuality or bisexuality within the context of religious life.
Homosexuality & The Bible – A very thorough, unbiased look at how people interpret homosexuality in the Bible. It contains views from conservative, mainline, and liberal Christians and also includes resources for more books and articles on the subject.
What We Wish We Had Known – An online book written by a Presbyterian congregation. This book has common questions and answers about issues associated with homosexuality and religion. Not just for Presbyterians, but people of all faiths.
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