Christian views on homosexuality

Homosexuality has been the subject of much debate within Christianity. Christianity developed during the 1st century AD as a Jewish Christian sect and, as such, many of its views were rooted in Jewish teaching. As Christianity established itself as a separate religion, with its own scriptures, some views moved away from the Jewish roots while others remained firmly grounded in Jewish tradition. The traditional view within Christianity is that both the Jewish scriptures that became known as the Old Testament and passages within what became known as the New Testament make clear that same-sex sexual behavior is sinful – an interpretation supported by the wording of certain translations of the Bible, though this view is becoming less supported in some countries.

Today, most denominations teach that homosexual behavior and acts are sinful, and both the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church officially condemn homosexual activity as sin. Some mainly liberal or Progressive Christians denominations, churches and individuals hold views that differ from traditional interpretations and some of the mainline Protestant denominations around the world view same-sex behaviour as equally valid and allow clergy to perform same-sex marriages.

According to a 2020 study by the Williams Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law, there are 4.1 million LGBT American adults who identify as Christian, including 1.5 million Protestants, 1.3 million Roman Catholics, and 1.3 million Christians of other denominations.