Baptist Church of Mizoram to Excommunicate Gays
Rev C Rothuama is the President of the Baptist Church of Mizoram (Mizoram is a remote state in the northeastern part of India). In a meeting chaired by Rev Rothuama in Lawngtlai the Baptist Church of Mizoram (BCM) decided to take strong actions against members of the Church who are homosexuals including ex-communication from the Church.
In July of last year the Delhi High Court struck down parts of the British era Article 377 of the Indian Penal Code. This made homosexuality legal in India. The Indian central government is yet to decide whether or not to appeal this High Court decision.
Delivering the verdict Chief Justice Ajit Prakash Shah and Justice S Muralidhar said “If there is one constitutional tenet that can be said to be underlying theme of the Indian Constitution, it is that of ‘inclusiveness’. This Court believes that Indian Constitution reflects this value deeply ingrained in Indian society, nurtured over several generations. The inclusiveness that Indian society traditionally displayed, literally in every aspect of life, is manifest in recognizing a role in society for everyone. Those perceived by the majority as “deviants’ or ‘different’ are not on that score excluded or ostracized”. This verdict did not sit well with many religious groups including the BCM.
Excommunication is a powerful tool that has been used by the Church for hundreds of years to make sure that the members are in tune with the Church’s teachings. Excommunication could mean banishment from the Church and normally also involves the individual or the family being shunned by other members of the Church.
The consequences for those who are excommunicated could be very high depending on where they live. In the West excommunication has no teeth anymore. The Church with regards to homosexuality and abortion is as divided as the rest of the communities are. If an individual is expelled from a Church for any reason the competing Churches will be more than happy to welcome that individual with open arms.
But this is not the case in a state like Mizoram. This state for all practical purposes is run by two Christian groups (the above mentioned Baptist Church of Mizoram and the Presbyterian Church of Mizoram). There is a lot of poverty and very few job opportunities particularly if you are at odds with the powerful Church. Many citizens are not aware of their fundamental and legal rights.
It should be interesting to note that the Baptist Church in America which is the biggest and most powerful Baptist group in the world has split into many different groups in the past few years over the issue of homosexuality (Baptists are the largest group within Protestant Christianity). The conservative American Southern Baptist Convention (the world’s largest Baptist denomination) actually terminated its relationship with the Baptist World Alliance in 2005. The BCM’s stance on homosexuality puts it in conflict with where mainstream Baptists are headed all over the world.
Religion is normally not a leading indicator of where society is but rather a lagging indicator. In America the churches were for the most part strong supporters of slavery until it was abolished. Churches and their leaders also supported racial segregation until that was abolished in the 1960’s. The role of the church in India was no different. For hundreds of years they had a close relationship with the British and other European rulers and enabled them to implement their policies, exploit and rule over India and its people.
Meanwhile it is important for all of us (including those of us like me who are not gay) to support the gay community. We should not let the religious groups make it an “us vs them” issue. It is about basic human rights. They might not see it as such now but let us give it a few more decades and the church will be apologizing for their role and contribution to homophobia just like they apologized for their role during slavery, racial segregation and the sexual abuse scandals.
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- High Literacy Rate in Kerala Not Because of Catholic Church
- Indians Morally Superior to Westerners?
- Dreams of my Father
- Muslim Board to Dissuade Divorces Among Indian Muslims
Category: Culture & Religion