The homophile church

In November 1969, the Chris­tian Century published a short article by James S. Tinney called “Homosexuals Convene in Kansas City: Community, Churches Cooperate.” It reported that the fifth annual North American Con­ference of Homophile Organizations had just convened in Missouri. (Homophile was the term preferred by many mid­century gay activists, in part because it stressed not sex acts but same-sex love, or philia.) Heather White ­doesn’t mention Tinney’s article in her important study of Protestantism and gay rights in America, but when Tinney’s article is read through the lens of White’s arguments, two facts leap out.

First, Tinney notes that “the church participated” in the conference. Most of the ecclesial representatives were United Meth­odists. “None of the religious representatives suggested that homosexual activity is immoral,” wrote Tinney, and “all expressed the hope that society in general might be educated to accept homosexuality.”

Second, this ecclesial engagement with the homophile movement occurred just months after the Stonewall riots—and by the time Tinney wrote, church support for events like the Kansas City conference was nothing new.