Discrimination Against LGBT Lay People in the Episcopal Church

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The Canons of the General Convention are the laws that govern how the Episcopal Church operates.

In 1994, General Convention passed a change to canon law prohibiting discrimination against lay people based on sexual orientation: 

No person shall be denied rights, status, or an equal place in the life, worship, and governance of this Church because of race, color, ethnic origin, national origin, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, disabilities or age, except as otherwise specified by Canon.

Title 1, Canon 17, Section 5.

Unfortunately, many of the laity and clergy are not aware of this section of the canons. In some cases, clergy and laity knowingly violate this section to discriminate against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender [LGBT] lay people.  Some conservatives argue that this section only applies to celibate LGBT people--not those "living publicly in sin." However, the canons make no such delineation, nor did General Convention intend such an interpretation.

A number of alleged discrimination cases have been reported to Integrity in the last few years.  These include:

• Being prohibited from serving in congregational ministries or on vestries
• Being terminated from or denied parish employment
• Same-sex couples being treated differently than married heterosexual couples in the congregation.

Unfortunately, in most cases, the victims did not seek justice--either because they were unaware or their rights or were afraid of retaliation.  If you experience discrimination in the church because of your sexual orientation, defend your rights! This is vital--not only for you, but to deter discrimination against other LGBT lay people. Here are some suggested actions:

1. Document the discrimination as soon as possible. Be sure to include all the facts: who, what, when, where, why, and how. Sign and date the document.
2. If possible, and you feel safe doing so, ask the perpetrator to remedy their discriminatory behavior. Document their response.
3. If the perpetrator does not remedy their discriminatory behavior, seek relief in writing from the next higher ecclesiastical authority. Depending on the situation, this may be the senior clergy person of the congregation or the bishop. Document their response.
4. If church officials do not intervene to remedy the discriminatory behavior, consider initiating a presentment against the clergy person(s) who perpetrated the discrimination or failed to remedy it. This is a very serious step to take and should be done only after prayerful consideration. The procedures for filing a presentment are detailed in Title 4, Canon 3, of the Canons of the General Convention. The canons can be downloaded at no charge from http://www.churchpublishing.org/general_convention/. 

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