Religious institutions and actors and religious attitudes to homosexual rights: South Africa and Uganda

The interplay between religion and law is a fascinating and intricate one. In Europe, the law has often been understood as springing out of a Christian culture and ethos. Christians have often sought to influence legislators in ways which furthered the creation of a society based on Christian principles. On the other hand, Christianity may be perceived by some Christians to be ‘antinomian’,1 not in the sense that Christianity works against the establishment of a law-abiding society, but rather that religion stands over against the law in offering ‘grace ’ and ‘forgiveness’, and the judgement of God rather than of civil institutions or social norms. Legal judgements may also emphasise this distinction, both in asserting the boundaries which separate religion and law, and the secularity of the law. The law cannot uphold the views of one particular religious institution, even if ‘established’, at the expense of other Christian churches, other faiths, or secular ethical outlooks. Christian churches have historically supported the civil power in its establishment of legislation to prohibit same-sex relations and to punish offenders. Yet Christian churches and individuals have also, in some instances, actively advocated for the decriminalisation of same-sex activity, and have witnessed against the homophobic attitudes of society. 1 As well as literally meaning ‘against the law’, antinomianism has a specifically theological meaning. It describes an unorthodox Christian view which has, from time to time and in different guises, asserted that born-again Christians are no longer bound to obey the law. They are ‘above the law ’ in the sense that, filled with the Holy Spirit, they are incapable of acting immorally. Most Christian traditions are strongly opposed to this point of view