Press Release

Humanists Praise Modernization in Episcopal Church

For Immediate Release - Contact: Roy Speckhardt (202) 238-9088

(Washington, DC, August 7, 2003) Yesterday the Episcopal Church became the largest denomination in the United States to permit same-sex unions, and the previous evening it also approved a parishioners’ election of an openly gay bishop. “The Episcopalians’ decision provides a powerful counterpoint to the harmful discrimination advocated by fundamentalist leaders,” remarked American Humanist Association Executive Director Tony Hileman.

The Episcopal Church held its triennial General Convention this week in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where it voted to allow same-sex unions and approved the ordination of the Reverend Gene Robinson, who is openly gay, as the bishop of the New Hampshire Diocese.

The election of Gene Robinson by parishioners has sparked a controversy in the larger Anglican community, particularly overseas. Conservative Anglican bishops abroad have threatened to break off ties with the U.S. church over such actions. The leader of the Anglican church in Nigeria, Peter Akinola, earlier said of Robinson’s election, “This is an attack on the Church of God--a Satanic attack on God’s church.” Akinola, apparently not a student of the life sciences, continued, “I cannot think of how a man in his senses would be having a sexual relationship with another man. Even in the world of animals--dogs, cows, lions—we don’t hear of such things.” There are many examples of such same-sex attraction in nature.

Diane Knippers, a lay Episcopalian serving as president of the Institute on Religion and Democracy, shared Akinola’s indignation, saying, “It really is North Americans thumbing their nose at the rest of the church and saying, you know, we want to follow our own culture. We want to follow the licentiousness of our own culture.”

The Episcopal Church, which is the U.S. branch of the Anglican Church, has broken with Anglican traditions before. At its 1976 convention, Episcopalians approved the ordination of female priests, which was unprecedented in the Anglican community at the time.

“The Episcopalians are again the mainline religious community’s standard bearers of progress. Their vote signals that they, without compromising their beliefs, have come full circle in rejecting traditional religious prejudices about lesbians and gays,” continued Hileman.

“Impressively, the decision came in the face of intense pressure from conservative Anglicans. Obviously, the backwardness of the anti-gay agenda is becoming increasingly apparent as its aims become untenable. This can only be interpreted as another encouraging sign in the ongoing struggle for gay rights.”

The American Humanist Association is the oldest and largest Humanist organization in the nation. The AHA is dedicated to ensuring a voice for those with a positive outlook, based on reason and experience, which embraces all of humanity.

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