Homophobia in the Black Church Is Patriarchy in Drag

[cbayer]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/cassandra-jackson/homophobia-in-the-black-c_b_1547100.html


Cassandra Jackson
Professor of English, The College of New Jersey

Though the most visible black man in America has endorsed gay marriage, don't think that our long struggle to reconcile the religious ethics that animate so many black communities and gay rights is over.

Many black pastors claim that their disagreement with same sex marriage is rooted in scripture. But since when did black folks, who embraced the spirit of Christianity long before literacy was even legal for many of us, start depending on literal readings of the Bible? We all know that according to a literal interpretation of the Bible we should still be in chains. The opposition to gay marriage in black churches is not about scripture. It stems from the desire to protect patriarchy, a central defining element of black churches today. Homosexual unions would challenge the foundation of a church in which men and women are viewed not only as fundamentally different, but also as entrenched in a divinely inspired hierarchical relationship which privileges men over women.

Sexism in black churches is a long-standing tradition, which is most visible in the fact that black men still overwhelmingly make up the leadership, especially in the role of senior pastor, of black churches. Meanwhile women make up the majority of the members. According to the Pew Forum for Religious Life women make up 60% of black churches. Because of this imbalance, black ministers often characterize black women as the "backbone" of the church, but as theologian, Jacquelyn Grant points out, "...most of the ministers who use this term are referring to location rather than function. What they really mean is that women are in the "background" and should be kept there..." Turn on any televised black mega church and you can see this arrangement in action as a lone man preaches vehemently to pews teeming with women. None of the major mega churches, with their influential television ministries, have a woman at the helm. Meanwhile, black women are filling collection plates all over the country, in some cases funding multimillion-dollar operations, run almost exclusively by men.

At the root of these disparities is an overt theology put forth by many churches that insists that men and women have fundamentally different roles in marriage. Where men are to assume a leadership position, women are to be helpmates to men. Though ministers insist that that neither role is superior or inferior, they wouldn't have to make that argument if it wasn't so obvious that there is no equality in this arrangement. Women are considered by virtue of biology to be less capable in the eyes of God and man. Thus, even though many of these churches include women ministers, they are often relegated to ministering to women about how to be better helpmates to men.

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[CurtEastPoint]

1. Eddie Long (he of gay accusations, harassment, etc.) and Creflo Dollar (he of mega bucks)...shameful

Of course they both have their wives as 'prophetess' and/or 'evangelist' or 'bishop' or 'first lady'.

Long has on-again, off-again divorce from wifey.


Creflo and Taffy

[danadevin85]

2. bull crap

Black people are no more homophobic than any other race
So i wish people would stop with the black people are keeping the gays down bull crap
I don't think black people get up in the morning thinking about how to destroy gay people
Black people aren't the ones spending millions of dollars on anti gay legislation
I think black people have to many other things to worry about
Like being blamed for all of society ills

[cbayer]

3. I am sorry if it came across that way.

I think this is more directed at some of the churches and the pastors of some of those churches than at black people in general.

[laconicsax]

4. What denomination is "The Black Church?"

Is it a different denomination from The White Church?

[Act_of_Reparation]

5. Technically yes...

I would argue "black" churches affiliated with predominantly white denominations deserve their own demographic for two reasons:

1) Despite nominal agreement on doctrinal precepts, white and black parishioners of the same Protestant denominations have been and remain largely segregated from one another.

2) This segregation, exacerbated by the institution of slavery, has created in black churches a significantly different social outlook than that of their white counterparts.

Aside from this, yes, there are African-American specific Protestant denominations, though if I remember correctly they are in the minority.

[laconicsax]

6. The question isn't whether "black" churches are different from "white" churches.

It's about the use of the singular "the Black Church" as though African Americans are a monolithic group.

[Act_of_Reparation]

7. In that regard, yes, "Black Church" is an inaccurate descriptor. n/t