In recent years, churches in many Christian denominations have split over LGBTQ+ issues.

In the past six months, hundreds of congregations voted to leave the United Methodist Church over same-sex marriage and whether LGBTQ+ people should be clergy.

The Church of England, the original and largest member of the Anglican Communion – the third-largest Christian denomination worldwide – held a General Synod in London in February 2024 that debated such issues. Bishops, priests and laypeople from every diocese of the Church of England voted down several amendments that opposed liturgical same-sex blessings, and they essentially agreed to disagree on the issues. Participants ended discussions early, concluding it was “too soon” to definitely resolve these issues.

With over 80 million believers in 160 countries, the Anglican Communion has been grappling with LGBTQ+ issues since the 1970s.

Congregations and church leadership disagree on whether homosexuality is contrary to Christian scripture; whether clergy can perform same-sex marriages; and whether openly and active LGBTQ+ people should be ordained to the priesthood and as bishops.

As a scholar specializing in history of the Christianity and gender studies, I can attest that the Anglican Communion’s lengthy, unresolved dialogue is not so unusual. It is a long-standing process for navigating disputes called the “via media,” or middle way, which has thus far succeeded in holding together people with contradictory beliefs.

For decades, diverging points of view over homosexuality and rumors of schism have both confused and polarized believers in the global Anglican Communion. Conservative bishops, many serving in Africa, Asia and Latin America, have repeatedly emphasized that engaging in same-sex relations is contrary to scripture.

This is part of a larger struggle within the Anglican Communion to renegotiate imbalances of power and authority left over from the colonial era of the British Empire. British Commonwealth and North American churches – such as the Church of England and the U.S.-based Episcopal Church – historically dominated discussions of Biblical interpretation, liturgy and church policy.

In the 21st century, these churches still have most of the money in the Anglican Communion, but congregational numbers are dwindling. At the same time, congregations in Africa, Asia and Latin America are growing. The Church of Nigeria is the second-largest and fastest-growing church in the Anglican Communion. Leaders of these churches expect a greater voice in the communion.

A majority of church leaders in Africa, Asia and Latin America believe that homosexual priests should not be consecrated as bishops and that same-sex marriages should not be celebrated. As Archbishop of Uganda Livingstone Mpalanyi-Nkoyoyo summed up in 1998 (a position reiterated by conservative leaders for over 25 years): “We are all quite clear that practicing homosexuality is wrong. That is the orthodox Anglican position.” Views like these carry great weight in the Anglican Communion, even today.

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