Greetings to you all from Down Under....

[trikster19]

Hi there! My name is Riki and I'm a 25 years old lesbian Christian, which makes life very interesting. I have a partner of 5 years and she is also a Christian. We have gone through a lot of pain from being in our relationship and the church's treatment of us. Our faith remains however.

I found this website through the about.com lesbian life website and would like to voice my support for all those involved in the Soulforce Equality Ride. What they are doing is out of this world and desperately needed. It'd be awesome if something similar was started here in Australia. I congratulate you Soulforce!

Luv Riki :love:

[Allyson]

Hi Riki, and welcome! (I'm new too...)

[u-dog]

Welcome Riki! Soulforce is a wonderful community of great folks! You are not the only person here clinging desperately to the bottom of the planet. Maybe your arrival will spur them to speak up! Andy grew up there but lives in Iowa now. Pray that he DOESN'T speak up cuz once he gets started its hard to shut him up.

Dave

[andrewlittle]

Glad you're on the forums, and I hope we hear your voice. Maybe a local chapter of Soulforce would work in Adelaide.

Pay no attention to u-dog - he's old and grouchy. We may be putting him in a home soon. I only carry on with people who are wrong, BTW. Being from Australia, you can't possibly be wrong - so you have nothing to fear.

Anyway, I look forward to hearing more.

[Diane Vera]

Hi there! My name is Riki and I'm a 25 years old lesbian Christian, which makes life very interesting. I have a partner of 5 years and she is also a Christian. We have gone through a lot of pain from being in our relationship and the church's treatment of us. Our faith remains however.

Hi! Which denomination does your church belong to?

Also, I'd be very interested to hear what attitudes toward GLBT people are like in Australia generally these days. It has been my impression (which may be wrong) that Australia is a fairly liberal and tolerant place for the most part, except for a few conservative enclaves such as the more conservative Christian churches. Is this impression correct, in your experience? I would be very interested to hear from other Australians here on this matter too.

[trikster19]

I belong to a Lutheran church. My partner, Mel, has grown up in the Uniting church but converted to Lutheran after we had several problems with her old pastor. Whilst the Lutheran is a much older denomination, my pastor and friends at the church have dealt with our relationship so much better than those at Mel's old church. It's ironic in a way...

As for the attitudes towards GLBT people here, it varies according to where you are. I think the eastern states have better attitudes than here in Adelaide, and usually people are quite easygoing. Sydney in NSW is obviously our gay capital since it is home to the Mardi Gras. Obviously, the further inland you go the less tolerant people might be.

The main problems we have here is our conservative government who refuse to pass any legislation that will recognise same-sex couples nor grant them the same rights as heterosecual couples. Australia is very behind in that respect.

And as for the churches, once again it depends on which denomination and then which individual church you belong to. We have one or two churches here in the city which accept GLBT people but that's it. I would love to spread the message that there are so many GLBT Christians in society. I have many friends who used to attend church but once they identified as GLBT they left cos they were treated so differently and sometimes badly. It is so sad.

Anyway, I think i've written enought. Hope that helps!

Riki

[trikster19]

P.S. Thank you so much to those who replied to my original posting. I look forward to chatting to all of you out there!!!!

[Diane Vera]

I belong to a Lutheran church. My partner, Mel, has grown up in the Uniting church but converted to Lutheran after we had several problems with her old pastor. Whilst the Lutheran is a much older denomination, my pastor and friends at the church have dealt with our relationship so much better than those at Mel's old church. It's ironic in a way...

It is my impression that older denominations tend, as a general rule, to be more varied in their beliefs than newer denominations, which usually begin as a faction within some older denomination.

As for the attitudes towards GLBT people here, it varies according to where you are. I think the eastern states have better attitudes than here in Adelaide, and usually people are quite easygoing. Sydney in NSW is obviously our gay capital since it is home to the Mardi Gras. Obviously, the further inland you go the less tolerant people might be.

The latter is true here in the U.S.A. too. Coastal cities tend to be tne most tolerant places, and inland rural areas the least tolerant.

The main problems we have here is our conservative government who refuse to pass any legislation that will recognise same-sex couples nor grant them the same rights as heterosecual couples. Australia is very behind in that respect.

Behind Canada and at least some Western European countries, but not behind the U.S.A. Although the late 1900's wave of gay rights activism started here in the U.S.A., we're way behind most other Western countries in terms of actual achievements.

And as for the churches, once again it depends on which denomination and then which individual church you belong to. We have one or two churches here in the city which accept GLBT people but that's it.

Which denominations are the churches that accept GLBT people?

[andrewlittle]

It is my impression that older denominations tend, as a general rule, to be more varied in their beliefs than newer denominations, which usually begin as a faction within some older denomination.
The Uniting Church in Australia is an ecumenical union denomination formed, I believe, of the old Methodist, Presbyterian, and some Congregational denominations. It is somewhat similar in structure to the United Reformed Church in Britain and the United Church of Christ, except these don't include the old Methodist and/or Presbyterian denominations. While the denomination itself is relatively new as an organization, it contains churches that are as old or older than the Lutherans in Australia.

The latter is true here in the U.S.A. too. Coastal cities tend to be tne most tolerant places, and inland rural areas the least tolerant.
Adelaide is coastal, as most Australian cities are. The vast bulk of the Austalian population is coastal, due the climate challenges of living inland. Adelaide is on the south coast, which shouldn't necessarily be compared to the south coast of the U.S., though. It is a beautiful area, but more conservative than Sydney and even Melbourne, as is Brisbane and Perth to some extent.

Which denominations are the churches that accept GLBT people?
One of them is the Uniting Church but, as with the UCC in the states, there is a very wide range of theologies and attitudes that makes the churches well less than uniform. Just as the UCC, you can have everything from Bible-belt ultra-conservative to full embracing and inclusive. The denomination cannot force the local church to be what it doesn't want to be. Attitudes vary regionally but, just like in the states, even vary substantially within regions, cities and neighborhoods.

Generally, my experience has been that the Australian population is a little more conservative than the U.S., especially in regards to gender and sexuality. It is definitely a case where some inclusive laws do not reflect the notions held by the general citizenry.

[Diane Vera]

Generally, my experience has been that the Australian population is a little more conservative than the U.S., especially in regards to gender and sexuality. It is definitely a case where some inclusive laws do not reflect the notions held by the general citizenry.

That's interesting.

Thanks also for your other informative comments.

On another matter, how does the Australian population compare with the U.S. population in terms of religiosity, church attendance, etc.?

[trikster19]

Well, andrewlittle covered your questions pretty well. I am beginning to find out exactly how conservative Adelaide is compared to the other states in Australia. At first I thought I was lucky to be in a city which feels fairly easygoing, but now I am discovering that many of the population and government don't like to deal with change and issues which are not within mainstream culture.

Also, yes, the uniting church comprises of several denominations brought together so each individual congregation can vary. The main denominations which are accepting of GLBT are those in the city and are uniting church based. They are the one which make a point of identifying themselves as GLBT friendly. I am sure that if I were to more open about my sexuality within my own church that it wouldn't be too much of a problem, except for amongst the older members. I suspect that many of those that I socialise with at church would already suspect that I am gay. The other point to make is that I don't think my sexuality would be considered to be a major issue, or an issue at all, within the congregation. I think they would feel that there are many more important issues to deal with. For instance, we have divorcees, single parents, couples which are living together but not married, which are not a big issue for most of us. Our belief is that a church is for sinners and sin is not a taboo subject. It is unfortunately a part of who we are as humans and it's not something we can avoid, but it is through the death of Christ on the cross which has allowed us to live a life in God's love and thus being able to rejoin him in heaven. So, our belief system encourges people to try and avoid temptation but to acknowledge that we will sin, and this is why we have confession and the sacrament each week in our services - to acknowledge that we continue to sin and deserve to be punished but God has spared our lives so we are thankful for his sacrifice. I think I might be rambling here....

As for the comparison of religiosity and church attendance between here and the U.S., I would seriously have no idea about facts. My personal generalisation would be that religion is not as big a part in our lifestyle here but those I do meet that go to church tend to be members of the more modern evangelical churches (ie Hillsong). This could be due to them being more outgoing and vocal about their faith, whereas the older churches tend to be more subdued about their beliefs. It's not that they don't want people to know they are a Christian but it's more about their faith being a private thing. I know that's how it is for me. People I meet are extremely surprised to know that I am both a lesbian and a Christian. It definitely leads to an interesting conversation!