Ex Bishop of Oxford challenges religious leaders on LGBT+ rights

The former Bishop of Oxford has openly said that homophobia can be attributed to religion in many areas of the world.

Lord Harries was in the job from 1987 to 2006 and is now a member of the House of Lords.

Speaking yesterday in a debate on global LGBT+ equality, he said (via Pink News): “There is no avoiding the fact that hostility to same-sex relationships is shaped and fuelled by the teaching of most religions. We cannot sensibly address this challenge without facing the uncomfortable truth head-on.”

He called for religious institutions globally to face up to the fact that their support for the criminalisation of homosexuality is what reinforces so much of the “toxic” culture LGBTs have to face. “Change can take a long time but it can take place: we know it has happened in at least some churches,” he said.

“Church leaders and institutions in those countries where LGBTI people are criminalised have to be urged to make a distinction between teaching which may be applicable for their own members in their private lives and the basic rights and dignity that need to be accorded to everyone in their society, whatever their religion or belief…

“The way that such people are treated in those countries is an affront to any concept of human decency, and the church must be challenged to see that its support for their criminalisation is a direct cause of this.

“It is an offence against the human person: the unique value and dignity of the individual, whatever their sexuality. It is a violation of everything that the Christian faith is meant to stand for. As a minimum, those states must be urged to act against those who commit acts of violence against LGBTI people.”

Harries is well known for his liberal views and his passion for social justice. Last year he also called for the next British coronation in Westminster Abbey to feature readings from the Quran as well as the Bible.