Introduction
Inclusive and Affirming Ministries was founded in 1995 on the principle that the South African struggle for liberation sought not only racial liberation but a holistic approach to justice in which all people, particularly oppressed minorities, would enjoy the fullness of the dignity and rights afforded to them in a democracy. As a result over the years, we draw on intersectionality as an integral approach informing our activism, advocacy and overall praxis.
Core Beliefs
IAM was founded on the belief that patriarchy and religious fundamentalism fuels ever-increasing homophobia and excludes LGBTIQ+ people from basic human rights. We continue to position ourselves as an alternative, constructive religious voice in Africa, taking action against these detrimental practices.
A key pillar of the SDGs is the promise to “leave no one behind,” recognising that to eradicate poverty and create a sustainably developed world, the 169 targets need to be met for all segments of society, including marginalised groups and vulnerable populations.
The basis for the affirmation and inclusion that IAM advocates for is the unconditional and inalienable human dignity of all persons as children of God. We believe that the diversity of sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, and sex characteristics that we see around us and within us, reflect God’s creation. We believe that God’s salvation is expressed in the well-being and flourishing of all people, informed by the liberative biblical mandate for healing, restoration, and reconciliation of all God’s Beloved. We are, therefore, committed to seeking justice, healing history and reimagining a new world. We believe that this can be lived out in and through embodiment.
In the pursuit of this, we remain committed to discerning with and to fellow LGBTIQ+ siblings’ journeys, relying on our faith and our engagement with the Bible. Our commitment engulfs diverse Christian traditions and this is deeply intertwined with faith expression and our witness of what the Holy Spirit is saying and doing in our lives.
We draw on the liberative Christian tradition that is built on the understanding of God’s love and justice for all humanity and people. As an extension of this, we are guided by queer theology as a growing academic discipline and queer theology as a practice of both spirituality and biblical interpretation. Queer theology can be defined in a threefold way, as described by Patrick Cheng:
- Centering LGBTIQ+ people talking about God. Queer theology is thus theology done by, with, and for LGBTIQ+ people in order to reflect how God is at work in their lives.
- By amplifying through our theological methodology of engaging in God-talk in a way that transgresses and challenges, troubles, and destabilises hetero-patriarchal norms in pursuit of the dignity and recognition of those harmed, excluded, or disempowered by hetero-patriarchal practices of the Christian faith. It takes seriously that this task of dismantling and deconstructing is done in a way that recognises the intersectional contexts and embodied lives of LGBTIQ+ people.
- By building on the challenge of queer theology that also seeks to dismantle and reimagine the societal, cultural, and theological norms and binary boundaries that have been created around gender, sexuality and embodiment to bring justice and recognition to all people.
As LGBTIQ+ discerning people of faith, our work is premised on contextual reading, teaching, and learning of sacred texts in ways that affirm and include, rather than admonish and exclude. This rings true across race, nationality, class, gender, age, sexual identity and gender expression, and physical ability because we know how the sacred texts that underpin religion have been distorted and misconstrued to justify and even endorse hate and violence.
As South Africans, we know all too well what it means to be disenfranchised and dispossessed as a systemic practice.
Owing to the diversity in race, age, gender, sexual orientation, and background of our team, IAM is well-poised to address and tackle the landscape that present-day Africa presents as a result of the continent’s history of colonisation, discrimination and segregation on several grounds. This context also allows staff the expertise to co-create and collaboratively build an African faith community that is just and inclusive of women, the LGBTIQ+ and gender-diverse people.
Rationale
The African continent is riddled with homo-, bi- and trans-phobia; which is proven to be instigated by religious fundamentalism. In our experience working with like-minded conversation partners across the continent, who have also engaged with religious leaders and communities, the Bible and culture and tradition have been used as tools to support this bigotry.
Our values extend to an interfaith approach, which we have managed to co-create by building networks across faith tradition and denomination – a practice evident even in our processes.
IAM believes that by “opening minds, opening hearts and opening doors” we will open spaces for LGBTIQ+ people to be fully accepted by their faith institutions and communities.
- Opening minds – Raising awareness: IAM lobbies and engages people on all levels of faith community to raise their awareness of diversity regarding SOGIE SC and Biblical/faith interpretation, and to re-examine their beliefs and attitudes toward LGBTIQ+ people.
- Opening hearts – Creating safe spaces for dialogue encounters: IAM engages a wide variety of individuals in different types of brave dialogue spaces, in which people are exposed to experiences from people different from themselves.
- Opening doors – Empowering change agents to take concrete action: IAM encourages its allies to commit to creative interventions that include LGBTIQ+ people in order to move towards change and transformation in religious communities, becoming themselves the catalysts for change.
Conclusion
We remain convicted and steadfast in our belief that a constructive religious voice is needed in and for the continent, particularly in light of the spate of anti-gender and anti-rights legislation whose introduction has become prevalent on the continent. It presents a potential avalanche of regressive laws, policies, mindsets and behaviours amongst faith communities and societies at large. We stand in solidarity with faith leaders in the region who stand as allies and are working for peace and justice, in trying circumstances and whose witness and advocacy may be forgotten, or even erased by the vitriol ignited by the anti-gender movement.
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About Inclusive and Affirming Ministries
IAM works towards the full recognition, celebration, and participation of LGBTIQ+ people in Africa; and to be an alternative religious voice that raises awareness about the detrimental effects that religious fundamentalism can have on the lives of LGBTIQ+ people.
Contact us at info@iam.org.za, and visit our website here.
