Religion & Belief

Discovering that one of your loved ones is gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender can be particularly traumatic for those of us who come from a faith background. It can often cause conflict with deeply held views and can lead to great soul searching and questioning of one’s fundamental beliefs.

Strong religious communities provide definite answers to important life questions and also stable relationship structures. Living without these can be a scary experience but many have found that they have been made stronger as a result of their questioning journey.

FFLAG does not presume to offer interpretation on such texts as the Bible, the Koran or Torah but does have members who have faced these issues and who are able to share their experiences with others.

Local groups can provide empathetic support and will be able to point to external sources for more specific help.
The following section is intended to provide helpful information on resources available on the Internet. Links here go outside the FFLAG pages.

Christian

One Body One Faith

The Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement seeks to encourage fellowship, friendship, and support among individual lesbian and gay Christians through prayer, study and action, wherever possible in local groups, and especially to support those lesbian and gay Christians subjected to discrimination.

One Body One Faith

Whosoever

Whosoever is an online magazine dedicated to the spiritual growth of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Christians.

Whosoever

Two 23 Network

This is a web site dedicated to helping gay Christians with useful information, testimonies etc.

Two:23 Network

Diverse Church

Diverse Church is a registered charity working for the acceptance of LGBT+ people within the Christian church.

Diverse Church

Changing Attitude England

Changing Attitude England, founded in 1995, is a network of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and heterosexual members of the Church of England. They welcome as members everyone whose concern is to work for change in the church’s understanding of human sexuality. Their goal is to reach the day when the Anglican Church fully accepts, welcomes and offers equality of opportunity to lesbian, gay and bisexual people.

Changing Attitude England

Open Table Network

A charity comprising a growing partnership of Christian communities across England & Wales which welcome and affirm people who are Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer or Questioning, Intersex, & Asexual (LGBTQIA) together with families, friends and anyone who wants to belong in an accepting, loving community.

Open Table Network

Other Christian Groups

Other Christian support groups
Metropolitan Community Churches ­ www.mccchurch.org

Humanism

Humanism is a way of life based on the belief that we face our problems with our own moral and intellectual resources. Humanism places no reliance on any god or gods, ‘holy’ books or the supernatural. Its values such as honesty, accepting responsibility, co­operation and caring for others are based on a concern for human dignity and welfare that is free from dogma.

Humanists totally accept the validity of lesbian and gay individuals and their families and give unequivocal support to lesbian and gay rights. They have consistently backed legal reform usually in the face of highly organised and financed opposition from religious bodies. The Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association (GALHA) has consultative status at the United Nations and the European Parliament. It is also affiliated to Amnesty International. It is committed to opposing discrimination and prejudice of all sorts.

The journey to accept the sexuality of our sons and daughters is rarely smooth but humanists are free from what can be the damaging reservations of adherents to religions that consider homosexuality a ‘sin’ and oppose basic human rights for our gay children.

Gloria Jenkins – FFLAG Wales
(Gloria is a former Chair of FFLAG Wales and is the proud mother of a gay son and a lesbian daughter).

Useful organisations
GALHA (Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association)
British Humanism Association

Jewish

Parents of Jewish Gays and Lesbians

Support for parents within the Jewish faith is offered by Parents of Jewish Gays and Lesbians.

KeshetUK

KeshetUK is a registered charity that aims to ensure that Jewish LGBT+ people and their families are included throughout Jewish life in the UK.

Muslim

Imaan supports LGBT Muslim people, their families and friends, to address issues of sexual orientation within Islam. It provides a safe space and support network to address issues of common concern through sharing individual experiences and institutional resources.
Imaan promotes the Islamic values of peace, social justice and tolerance through its work, and aspires to bring about a world that is free from prejudice and discrimination against all Muslims and LGBT people.

Inclusive Mosque Initiative

The Inclusive Mosque Initiative is a registered charity that creates safe and inclusive places of worship and spiritual practice and promotes inclusive Islamic principles.

The Inclusive Mosque

Parents’ Groupsparents grouptransTrans Support