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A Different Christian Witness to Society: Christian Support for Gay Rights and Liberation in Minnesota, 1977–1993

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 October 2019

Joshua I. Wenzel
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Abstract

The traditional narrative of religion and the gay rights movement in the post-1960s United States emphasizes conservative Christians and their opposition to gay rights. Few studies focus on the supportive role Christian leaders and churches played in advancing gay rights and nurturing a positive gay identity for homosexual Americans. Concentrating on the period from 1977 to 1993 and drawing largely from manuscript collections at the Minnesota Historical Society, including the Minnesota GLBT Movement papers of Leo Treadway, this study of Christianity and gay rights in the state of Minnesota demonstrates that while Christianity has often been an oppressive force on homosexuals and homosexuality, Christianity was also a liberalizing influence. Putting forth arguments derived from religious understandings, using biblical passages as “proof” texts, and showing a mutuality between the liberal theological tradition and the secular political position, the Christian community was integral to advancing gay rights and liberation in Minnesota by the early 1990s despite religious right resistance. These efforts revealed a Christianity driven to actualize the love of God here on earth and ensure human wholeness, freedom, and an authentic selfhood. Christian clergy, churches, and ordinary persons of faith thus undertook activity in three areas to ensure wholeness and freedom: political activity for civil protections; emotional, pastoral care for persons with AIDS; and as a source of self-affirmation and social comfort in the midst of an inhospitable society.

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Articles
Information
Church History , Volume 88 , Issue 3 , September 2019 , pp. 720 - 750
Copyright
Copyright © American Society of Church History 2019 

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References

1 For the Anita Bryant quote, see “Battle Over Gay Rights,” Newsweek, 6 June 1977, 16. Most of the religious right consisted of evangelical Christians, but it increasingly included conservative Catholics and Mormons. For the rise of the religious right, see Dowland, Seth, “‘Family Values’ and the Formation of a Christian Right Agenda,” Church History 78, no. 3 (September 2009)CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Flippen, J. Brooks, Jimmy Carter, The Politics of Family, and the Rise of the Religious Right (Athens: University of Georgia Press, 2011)Google Scholar; and Williams, Daniel K., God's Own Party: The Making of the Christian Right (New York: Oxford University Press, 2010)CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

2 Dowland,“‘Family Values’ and the Formation of a Christian Right Agenda,” 606–631; Worthem, Molly, Apostles of Reason: The Crisis of Authenticity in American Evangelicalism (New York: Oxford University Press, 2014), 183–184Google Scholar; and Self, Robert O., All in the Family: The Realignment of American Democracy Since the 1960s (New York: Hill and Wang, 2012), 3–7Google Scholar.

3 For example, Anita Bryant stated that Leviticus 20:13 was her “favorite source.” See “Battle over Gay Rights,” 18. Regarding church-state separation, after the gay rights ordinance in Miami was overturned, Minneapolis resident Greg Cole, in a letter to the Minneapolis Tribune, urged Anita Bryant not to bring her campaign to Minnesota and called for the adherence to the separation of church and state. See Greg Cole, letter to the editor, Minneapolis Tribune, 18 June 1977.

4 The Undersigned Students, Faculty, and Administrators of Luther-Northwestern Theological Seminaries presented to St. Paul Citizens For Human Rights, statement, 1978, Box 45, Minnesota GLBT Movement Papers, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul, Minn. (hereafter cited as MGLBT Papers).

5 In describing the “liberal” Christians that supported gay rights, liberal is a theological label and not a political label or identity. The liberal theology of the later nineteenth century and twentieth century tends toward openness to science and diverse views, focuses on the goodness of humans rather than the sin, pairs faith and reason, and applies the Christian faith to life on earth as opposed to a focus on personal salvation in the hereafter. For liberal and conservative theological explanations in a twentieth-century historical context, see Boyer, Paul, “The Evangelical Resurgence in 1970s American Protestantism” in Rightward Bound: Making America Conservative in the 1970s, ed. Schulman, Bruce J. and Zelizer, Julian E. (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2008), 29–35Google Scholar; Corrigan, John and Hudson, Winthrop S., Religion in America (New York: Routledge, 2010), 234–237Google Scholar; Evans, Christopher H., Liberalism Without Illusions: Renewing an American Christian Tradition (Waco: Baylor University Press, 2010), 9–12Google Scholar; White, Reforming Sodom, 1–8; and Williams, God's Own Party, 2–4.

6 These churches in the liberal mainline included the United Methodist Church, Presbyterian Church U.S.A., the Episcopalian Church, the United Church of Christ, the Church of the Brethren, the Christian Church, the Reformed Church in America, the American Baptist Churches U.S.A., the Unitarian Universalist Church, the Society of Friends, the Lutheran Church in America (L.C.A.), the American Lutheran Church (A.L.C.), and upon the merger of the L.C.A. Some Catholic leaders, churches, and organizations were also supportive of gay rights and are a part of the overall “liberal Christian community” of support described herein, as are gay-affirming churches that are not a part of the traditional mainline in the United States.

7 Leo Treadway, a leader in the movement, pointed to Genesis 2:18–24 and Psalm 128 in describing God's intent for relationships as equal, dignified, and mutual. See Leo Treadway, “Sermon: Brookstone and Canyon,” sermon notes, 17 October 1982, Box 17, MGLBT Papers.

8 John H. Kemp, sermon, 26 April 1978, Box 45, MGLBT Papers.

9 Leo Treadway, “Introduction,” lecture notes, c. May 1977, Box 17, MGLBT Papers.

10 “Wingspan,” statement, 1982, Box 29, MGLBT Papers.

11 For more of Leo Treadway's biography, see “Profile: Leo Treadway,” Religious Archives Network, accessed 29 September 2018, https://www.lgbtran.org/Profile.aspx?ID=40.

12 The discrimination and oppression of gays and lesbians in Minnesota was documented by task forces commissioned by Minnesota governors in the 1980s and 1990s. See, for example, “Report of the Governor's Task Force on Lesbian and Gay Minnesotans,” 22 March 1991, Box 5, MGLBT Papers; and Laura Woody, “Gays tell of cruelty and harassment,” Rochester Post-Bulletin, 1 September 1990. For the pastoral needs assessment survey, see Board of Directors, “Highlights from the CPCSM's Pastoral Needs Assessment Survey Report,” Catholic Pastoral Committee on Sexual Minorities, 26 April 1984, Box 20, MGLBT Papers. For a further explanation of gay and lesbian oppression during this period, see Goodman, Gerre, Lakey, George, Lashof, Judy, and Thorne, Erika, No Turning Back: Lesbian and Gay Liberation for the ‘80s (Philadelphia: New Society, 1983), 1–13Google Scholar.

13 “Remembering Minnesota's GLBT Human Rights Act Amendment Fifteen Years Later,” Lavender, 5 June 2008, accessed 24 October 2017, https://www.lavendermagazine.com/uncategorized/remembering-minnesota's-glbt-human-rights-act-amendment-15-years-later/; and Doug Grow, “Enlightened voters in St. Paul prove that times have changed,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, 7 November 1991. For more on gay rights activism in Minnesota, see Van Cleve, Stewart, Land of 10,000 Loves: A History of Queer Minnesota (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2012)CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

14 Pierce, Jennifer L., “Introduction,” in Queer Twin Cities: Twin Cities GLBT Oral History Project, ed. Franklin, Michael David, Knopp, Larry, Murphy, Kevin P., Murphy, Ryan Patrick, Pierce, Jennifer L., Ruiz, Jason, and Urquhart, Alex T. (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2010), xi–xvGoogle Scholar; and Self, All in the Family, 224–225.

15 Doug Rossinow, “Tradition, Schism, and Continuity in Minnesota's Communities of Faith,” MNOPEDIA, Minnesota Historical Society, http://www.mnopedia.org/tradition-schism-and-continuity-minnesota-s-communities-faith.

16 Also of note, in 1977, Minneapolis had a population of about 420,000, and had 781 churches. St. Paul, with a population of 300,000, had 381 churches. See 1977 St. Paul City Directory (St. Paul: R.L. Polk and Co., 1977); 1978 Minneapolis City Directory (St. Paul: R.L. Polk and Co., 1978). In the 1978 election, all three major state-wide races—for governor and both United States Senate seats—were won by Republicans.

17 As an example of the traditional popular interpretation, a 2017 article in the New York Times argued that religious leaders whose politics are liberal have “sat out” politics for forty years—since the end of the Vietnam War—and it has only been religious conservatives who have been active politically. For the article, see Laurie Goodstein, “Religious Liberals Sat Out of Politics for 40 Years. Now They Want in the Game,” New York Times, 10 June 2017, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/10/us/politics/politics-religion-liberal-william-barber.html?_r=0.

18 For scholarship specific to the religious right and gay rights, see Bull, Chris and Gallagher, John, Perfect Enemies: The Religious Right, the Gay Movement, and the Politics of the 1990s (New York: Crown Publishers, 1996)Google Scholar; and Fetner, Tina, How the Religious Right Shaped Lesbian and Gay Activism (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2008)Google Scholar. For the conservative nature of the era, see Schulman, Bruce J. and Zelizer, Julian E., ed., Rightward Bound: Making America Conservative in the 1970s (New York: Oxford University Press, 2008)Google Scholar. For studies of the gay rights movement, see Adam, Barry D., The Rise of a Gay and Lesbian Movement (New York: Twayne, 1995)Google Scholar; Rimmerman, Craig A., From Identity to Politics: The Lesbian and Gay Movements in the United States (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2002)Google Scholar; and Stein, Marc, Rethinking the Gay and Lesbian Movement (New York: Routledge, 2012)CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

19 See for example Allitt, Patrick, Religion in America since 1945: A History (New York: Columbia University Press, 2003), 234–236CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Fejes, Fred, Gay Rights and Moral Panic: The Origins of America's Debate on Homosexuality (New York: Palgrave MacMillan, 2008)CrossRefGoogle Scholar; and Preston, Joshua, “Senator Allan Spear and the Minnesota Human Rights Act,” Minnesota History 65, no. 3 (Fall 2016): 81Google Scholar. For a study with more detail on the religious aspects of the St. Paul ordinance battle in 1978, see Clendinen, Dudley and Nagourney, Adam, Out for Good: The Struggle to Build a Gay Rights Movement in America (New York: Touchstone, 1999), 316–328Google Scholar.

20 See D'Emilio, John, Sexual Politics, Sexual Communities: The Making of a Homosexual Minority in the United States, 1940–1970 (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1998), 2–3CrossRefGoogle Scholar; White, Heather Rachelle, “Proclaiming Liberation: The Historical Roots of LGBT Religious Organizing, 1946–1976,” Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions 11, no. 4 (May 2008): 103CrossRefGoogle Scholar; White, Heather R., Reforming Sodom: Protestants and the Rise of Gay Rights (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2015), 1–4CrossRefGoogle Scholar, 172–175; and Oppenheimer, Mark, “‘The Inherent Worth and Dignity’: Gay Unitarians and the Birth of Sexual Tolerance in Liberal Religion,” Journal of the History of Sexuality 7, no. 1 (July 1996): 73Google Scholar, 77.

21 White, Reforming Sodom, 140.

22 Brett Krutzsch, “Martyrdom and American Gay History: Secular Advocacy, Christian Ideas, and Gay Assimilation,” (PhD diss., Temple University, 2015), iii. Fetner, How the Religious Right Shaped Lesbian and Gay Activism, xii; Frank, Gillian, Moreton, Bethany, and White, Heather R., ed., Devotions and Desires: Histories of Sexuality and Religion in the Twentieth-Century United States (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2018)CrossRefGoogle Scholar; and Gerber, Lynne, “We Who Must Die Demand a Miracle: Christmas 1989 at the Metropolitan Community Church of San Francisco,” in Devotions and Desires: Histories of Sexuality and Religion in the Twentieth-Century United States, ed. Frank, Gillian, Moreton, Bethany, and White, Heather R. (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2018), 253–276Google Scholar.

23 The phrase “more than just a secular undertaking” is borrowed from Brett Krutzsch in his review of White, Reforming Sodom, though White's book and thus Krutzsch's assessment focuses on the period from the early 1900s to the late 1970s. See Krutzsch, Brett, “Religion and Gay Sexual Politics in Late Twentieth Century America,” Religious Studies Review 42, no. 3 (September 2016): 176CrossRefGoogle Scholar; and White, Reforming Sodom.

24 Noll, Mark A., A History of Christianity in the United States and Canada (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1992), 349, 515–516Google Scholar.

25 For religious liberal and conservative political engagement, see Boyer, “The Evangelical Resurgence in 1970s American Protestantism,” 30–36; Swartz, David R., Moral Minority: The Evangelical Left in an Age of Conservatism (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2012), 14CrossRefGoogle Scholar; and Williams, God's Own Party, 74, 147–149. As one indication of this pullback, the United Methodist Church in 1972 shut down motive, the magazine of the Methodist Student Movement and symbol of “religiously motivated activism.” See Evans, Christopher H., The Social Gospel in American Religion: A History (New York: New York University Press, 2017), 216–217CrossRefGoogle Scholar; and “motive Magazine,” Boston University School of Theology, accessed 26 October 2017, https://www.bu.edu/cgcm/scm-usa-project/motive-magazine/.

26 Clendinen and Nagourney, Out for Good, 316–317; Fejes, Gay Rights and Moral Panic, 164; and “Catholic bishops fight state homosexual bill, Minneapolis Star, 30 April 1977.

27 Clendinen and Nagourney, Out for Good, 323.

28 Wayne K. Clymer to Congregations of the United Methodist Churches in Minnesota, letter, 16 August 1977, Box 45, MGLBT Papers.

29 “Significant Supporters in the Religious Community,” memorandum, St. Paul Citizens for Human Rights, 1978, Box 45, MGLBT Papers.

30 “Religious Support of Human Rights in St. Paul,” brochure, St. Paul Citizens for Human Rights, 1978, Box 6, MGLBT Papers.

31 “Area Religious Leaders Against Repeal of Human Rights Ordinance in St. Paul,” newsletter, The Initiative, 3 March 1978, Box 45, MGLBT Papers.

32 “Roach backs basic rights for area gays,” Minneapolis Star, 3 February 1978.

33 “Christian and Jewish leaders support human rights,” St. Paul Pioneer Press, 23 April 1978.

34 John H. Kemp, sermon, 26 April 1978, Box 45, MGLBT Papers.

35 “Why do the National Council of Churches and the National Federation of Priests' Councils Support Civil Rights for Gay People?,” pamphlet, Minnesota Committee for Gay Rights, 1978, Box 45, MGLBT Papers.

36 Robert W. Thatcher to Concerned Citizens and Church Persons, letter, 1978, Box 45, MGLBT Papers.

37 Rex Knowles and Brad Momsen to Ministers and Clerks of Session of St. Paul Presbyterian Churches, letter, 23 March 1978, Box 45, MGLBT Papers.

38 The Undersigned Students, Faculty, and Administrators of Luther-Northwestern Theological Seminaries presented to St. Paul Citizens For Human Rights, statement, 1978, Box 45, MGLBT Papers.

39 A.L. Hock to Leo Treadway, letter, 28 March 1978, Box 45, MGLBT Papers.

40 Rev. Benjamin D. Bortin, et al., statement, Wingspan Collected Informational Materials, c. 1978, Box 34, MGLBT Papers.

41 Francis X. Pirazzini to United Church of Christ Pastors in the City of St. Paul, letter, 27 February 1978, Box 45, MGLBT Papers.

42 “Discrimination,” flyer, Dignity Twin Cities, c. 1978, Box 45, MGLBT Papers.

43 Nathaniel Sheppard, Jr., “Law on homosexuals repealed in St. Paul,” New York Times, 26 April 1978, http://www.nytimes.com/1978/04/26/archives/law-on-homosexuals-repealed-in-st-paul-measure-prohibited.html?_r=0.

44 Mavis Lund to Leo Treadway, letter, 28 April 1978, Box 45, MGLBT Papers.

45 Leo Treadway, “Milestones on the Journey…,” manuscript, 1986, Box 1, MGLBT Papers.

46 David E. Early and Debra Stone, “Quiet man dies a martyr for gays,” Minneapolis Star, 15 June 1979.

47 “Data Concerning Violence and Harassment Directed Against Gay Men and Lesbian Women and Their Communities,” memorandum, The Lesbian and Gay Interfaith Council of Minnesota, 25 February 1983, Box 6, MGLBT Papers. The data on this sheet was used by the Legislative and Social Action Ministry of the Lesbian and Gay Interfaith Council of Minnesota for testimony in the state legislature; and Editorial, “Raiding Gays: misplaced police priorities,” Minneapolis Tribune, 4 December 1979.

48 “Priests deplore attacks on gays,” Minneapolis Star, 29 June 1979.

49 Formerly the Minnesota Committee for Gay Rights.

50 Leo Treadway, “Report of the Legislative and Social Action Task Force,” memorandum, The Lesbian and Gay Interfaith Council of Minnesota, 15 January 1983, Box 11, MGLBT Papers.

51 Harold R. Lohr to Partners, letter, 20 April 1983, Box 20, MGLBT Papers. For legislative testimony see Patrick Sheedy, Prepared Testimony to the Minnesota Legislature, 1983, Box 23, MGLBT Papers.

52 “Lobby ’83 Campaign for Human Rights,” brochure, Lobby ’83, 1983, Box 11, MGLBT Papers.

53 Jim Chalgren, “Witness love, not persecution,” Gathering Post, June 1983, Box 10, MGLBT Papers.

54 Arley K. Fadness to Legislators, letter, c.1983, Box 20, MGLBT Papers. Other examples include J. Leland Simcox to State of Minnesota Legislative Bodies, letter, c.1983, Box 20, MGLBT Papers; and Rev. Ms. Murdale C. Leysath to The Members of the Minnesota Legislature, letter, 21 March 1983, Box 20, MGLBT Papers.

55 “Anti-gay draft fails at Synod convention,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, 6 June 1983.

56 Herbert W. Chilstrom to Partners, letter, 21 February 1978, Box 5, MGLBT Papers; Wayne K. Clymer to Pastors of the City of St. Paul, letter, 1 February 1978, Box 45, MGLBT Papers.

57 Ellen Foley, “Minnesota Council of Church statement backs gays, lesbians,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, 30 October 1982; Clark Morphew, “Gay resolutions divide Christian community,” St. Paul Pioneer Press, 27 November 1982.

58 Social Justice Committee, “Statement on Ministry to and with Gay and Lesbian Persons, Minnesota Council of Churches, 14 October 1982, Box 27, MGLBT Papers.

59 Paul Swedberg, et al. to Fellow Pastors, letter, 20 January 1983, Box 23, MGLBT Papers.

60 Harvey R. Senecal to M. Robert Lambert, letter, 19 November 1982, Box 27, MGLBT Papers.

61 Clark Morphew, “Bishop says statement on gays could hurt his church financially,” St. Paul Dispatch, 27 January 1983.

62 William R. Lundquist to Rev. Willis J. Merriman, letter, 7 November 1982, Box 26, MGLBT Papers; Mrs. Wm. R. South to Mr. Merriman, letter, 30 November 1982, Box 26, MGLBT Papers; and John and Ann Cina to Rev. Willis J. Merriman, letter, 3 November 1982, Box 26, MGLBT Papers.

63 Barbara Lee to The Reverend Paul Tiedemann [sic], letter, 17 November 1982, Box 26, MGLBT Papers; Mary V. Borhek to Rev. Peter E. Erickson, letter, 17 November 1982, Box 26, MGLBT Papers; Elsa Johnson and husband to Pastor Bussert, letter, c. November 1982, Box 27, MGLBT Papers.

64 Leo Treadway, “Leo Treadway—Presenter Consultant Program in Human Sexuality,” lecture notes, c. November 1976, Box 17, MGLBT Papers; and “Theological Roots for Extending Civil Rights Protection to Gays and Lesbians,” Prepare, September 1986, Box 46, MGLBT Papers.

65 “Sex Busters: A Meese Commission and the Supreme Court echo a new moral militancy,” Time, 21 July 1986, 17.

66 Janet Swin-Davidson, Mike Chatt, Kenneth Hornibrook, Harold Anderson, Elaine Underdahl, and Rick Yramategui, “Our Statement of Local Mission,” 12 October 1986, Box 2, Lesbian and Gay Interfaith Council of Minnesota Records, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul, Minn. (hereafter cited as LGICM Records).

67 Leo Treadway to Rev. Wayne Thompson, letter, c. 1983, Box 23, MGLBT Papers.

68 “A Service of Reflection, Prayer, and Song,” The Duluth Superior Gay and Lesbian Religious Community, liturgical bulletin, 9 September 1984, Box 46, MGLBT Papers.

69 Rhonda Hillbery, “Showdown nears in St. Paul over Repealing Gay Rights Law,” Los Angeles Times, 2 November 1991, http://articles.latimes.com/1991-11-02/news/mn-717_1_gay-rights.

70 Anthony Lonetree, “Churches now defend gay rights shield that fundamentalists opposed in 1978,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, 15 October 1991; Leo Treadway to Hosts for Ward Meetings, memorandum, Wingspan, 25 September 1989, Box 46, MGLBT Papers; Leo Treadway and Charlie Buckman-Ellis to Members of Bishop Anderson's Working Group on Human Rights for Gay and Lesbian Persons, memorandum, Wingspan, 9 February 1990, Box 1, Campaign 90s Records, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul, Minn. (hereafter cited as Campaign 90s Records); Robert M. Anderson and Sanford Z.K. Hampton to Clergy, Sr. Wardens & Outreach Chairpersons of St. Paul Area Churches, letter, 5 September 1991, Box 1, Campaign 90s Records; and Paul A. Tidemann to Friends, letter, St. Paul-Reformation Church, 23 August 1991, Box 1, Campaign 90s Records; Paul Tidemann to Colleagues in the Religious Community, letter, 25 September 1991, Box 46, MGLBT Papers.

71 “Roach's rights stance outlined,” St. Paul Pioneer Press, 5 November 1988. These fears sometimes included child molestation and “recruiting” children to be gay.

72 Paul Tidemann to Friends in the Twin Cities Religious Community, letter, 1 March 1990, Box 1, Campaign 90s Records.

73 Joe Landsberger to Cary Estis, letter, 18 September 1991, Box 46, MGLBT Papers.

74 “Right amendment gets backing,” St. Paul Pioneer Press, 27 October 1988. “Vote Yes on the St. Paul Charter Amendment,” brochure, YES for Human Rights, ca. 1988, Box 1, Campaign 90s Records.

75 Charles Buckman-Ellis, “Campaign ’90 City Council Election Strategy,” memorandum, Campaign 90s, 30 March 1989, Campaign 90s Records.

76 Jaime Valarde, “Lesbians and gays win legal protection,” Minnesota Daily, 6 April 1993.

77 “Endorsements,” pamphlet, It's Time Minnesota, ca.1993, Box 8, MGLBT Papers.

78 It's Time Minnesota to Friends and Leaders in Minnesota's Faith Communities, letter, December 1992, Box 8, MGLBT Papers.

79 Charles D. Anderson, Lowell Erdahl, Glenn W. Nycklemore, David W. Olson, Arthur V. Rimmereid, and Roger Munson to Members of the Minnesota House of Representatives, letter, 17 March 1993, Box 8, MGLBT Papers.

80 For example, Moral Majority founder Jerry Falwell said, “AIDS is God's judgment of a society that does not live by His rules.” Falwell quoted in Martin, Bradford, The Other Eighties: A Secret History of America in the Age of Reagan (New York: Hill and Wang, 2011), 180Google Scholar.

81 For quote, national media response, and more on religion and AIDS, see Petro, Anthony M., After the Wrath of God: AIDS, Sexuality, and American Religion (New York: Oxford University Press, 2015), 24CrossRefGoogle Scholar, 25.

82 “The Reagan AIDS Strategy in Ruins,” New York Times, 1 October 1987.

83 “Statement on the Church As a Healing Community and the AIDS Crisis,” brochure, General Board of Global Ministries of the United Methodist Church, c.1986, Box 31, GLBT Movement Papers; “AIDS and the Church's Ministry of Caring,” brochure, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, c.1988, Box 35, MGLBT Papers; James B. Nelson, “Living Toward a Compassionate Society,” text of speech, 11 June 1988, Box 31, MGLBT Papers.

84 “The Church as a Healing Community and the AIDS Crisis,” pamphlet, Mission Education and Cultivation Program Department of the United Methodist Church, October 1986, Box 31, MGLBT Papers.

85 “AIDS benefit prayer service attracts broad interfaith support,” GLC Voice, 6 January 1986.

86 “A community prayer for the suffering,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, 7 January 1989.

87 “50 Hour Vigil of Prayer Against AIDS,” liturgical bulletin, All God's Children Metropolitan Community Church, 2, 3, 4 October 1987, Box 1, LGICM Records.

88 “AIDS Ministry Program,” brochure, Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, c. 1987, Box 31, MGLBT Papers; Joanne Lucid to Chuck Geronsky and Patricia Gries, “Annual Report of the Archdiocesan AIDS Ministry Programs,” 28 August 1989, Box 31, MGLBT Papers; Minutes of the AIDS Interfaith Council of Minnesota, 24 March 1987, Box 31, MGLBT Papers; and “AIDS: A Seminar for Pastors and Lay Persons,” brochure, Lutheran Social Services of Minnesota, 1989, Box, 31, MGLBT Papers.

89 Kevin Dorenbach, “Being a community with a shared purpose,” Grace House News, March 1994, Box 31, MGLBT Papers.

90 “The AIDS Interfaith Council of Minnesota,” list, The AIDS Interfaith Council of Minnesota, October 1987, Box 31, MGLBT Papers.

91 Personal stories of gay men with AIDS, Archdiocesan AIDS Ministry Program, ca.1990, Box 31, MGLBT Papers.

92 Clendinen and Nagourney, Out for Good, 13.

93 Leo Treadway, “The Gay Children of God or A View From the Back of the Church, manuscript, c. 1980, Box 20, MGLBT Papers.

94 For more on how gays and lesbians “came to terms” with their religion, see Shallenberger, David, Reclaiming the Spirit: Gay Men and Lesbians come to Terms with Religion (New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press, 1998)Google Scholar.

95 Leo Treadway, interview by Scott Paulsen, 14 December 1993, transcript, Twin Cities Gay and Lesbian Community Oral History Project, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul, Minn.

96 Leo Treadway, personal notes, 5 October 1975, Box 36, MGLBT Papers.

97 Leo Treadway to Gay and Lesbian Lutherans, letter, Summer 1984, Box 29, MGLBT Papers.

98 Leo Treadway, “‘Finding Our Story … In God's Story,’” personal notes, 22 May 1988, B.J. Metzger Papers, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul, Minn.

99 Michael Elliot was a pseudonym.

100 For Elliot's quote, see Michael Elliot [pseud.], “Gay Spirituality: A search for meaning and hope,” Northern Student, 23 September 1987. For Johnson's quote, see Derwin Johnson, letter to the editor, Northern Student, 30 September 1987.

101 Michael Elliot [pseud.], letter to the editor, Northern Student, 14 October 1987.

102 Clark Morphew, “Gay ministers,” St. Paul Pioneer Press, 29 May 1982.

103 “Following the Way of the Cross,” liturgical bulletin, Lesbian and Gay Interfaith Council of Minnesota, 1983, Box 1, LGICM Records.

104 “My God, My God, Why Hast Thou Forsaken Me?,” liturgical bulletin, Wesley United Methodist Church, 20 April 1984, Box 1, LGICM Records.

105 Mark Kasel, “All God's Children MCC Update,” Twin Cities Gaze, 9 April 1987.

106 This is Treadway's interpretation of Thielicke and Baum. See Leo Treadway, “Leo Treadway - Presenter Consultant Program in Human Sexuality,” lecture notes, c. November 1976, Box 17, MGLBT Papers; and McNeill, John J., “Homosexuality: Challenging the Church to Grow,” in Homosexuality in the Church: Both Sides of the Debate, ed. Siker, Jeffrey S. (Louisville, KT: John Knox, 1994), 50–55Google Scholar.

107 Edwards, George R., Gay/Lesbian Liberation: A Biblical Perspective (New York: Pilgrim, 1984), 107Google Scholar.

108 Paul Tidemann, “Homosexuality and the Bible,” manuscript, 1987, Box 18, MGLBT Papers.

109 Kay Miller, “As protest goes on, Falwell attacks critics,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, 23 April 1981;” “Treadway sees new opportunities ahead,” Equal Time, 7–14 October 1993; Leo Treadway, “Reflections from the past … signs for the future,” sermon notes, 29 August 1993, Box 28, MGLBT Papers.

110 For example, historian Christopher H. Evans suggests that in the twenty–first century, many secular activists see any religion as “the enemy of a progressive society,” and that religion is most-often tied to a conservative politics. See Evans, The Social Gospel in American Religion, 217–218. Emma Margolin, “Backlash Grows Over ‘Religious Freedom’ and ‘Anti-Discrimination’ Push,” NBC News, 11 April 2016, http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/backlash-grows-over-religious-freedom-anti-discrimination-push-n554016.

111 Obergefell v. Hodges, 576 U.S. 1–3, 7, 10, 15–17, 28 (2015); and Frank, Moreton, and White, “Introduction,” 2.

112 Minnesotans United for All Families was the campaign organization working to defeat the referendum. See “Campaign Plan,” Minnesotans United for All Families, 20 January 2012, Box 1, Minnesotans United for All Families Records, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul, Minn.