Suspended South Korean pastor Rev. Lee Dong-hwan challenges church's position on LGBTQ issuee
Rev. Lee Dong-hwan still wears his priestly collar, but is unable to deliver Sunday sermons at Glory Jeil Church in Suwon, where he has been a pastor since 2013.
Lee was suspended by the Korean Methodist Church for two years in October for the blessing he gave at the queer event in 2019.
The 40-year-old pastor appealed the decision and has since become a landmark organization in the South Korean church's hopes of reforming the church, where traditional Christian denominations have been at odds with homosexuals, men and women, men and women, men and women. queer community.
"The problem of racism in Korean society, especially in the Korean church, is very serious," Lee said. "For the promotion of human rights in Korean society, a change in the church is needed."
REGARDING the South Korean Moon who ordered a team after sexual assault, to commit suicide
Lee was invited to bless the Incheon Queer Festival, held in August 2019 in the western city of Seoul. He welcomed, prayed and distributed flower petals at the event while wearing a rainbow.
Lee knew he was challenging the official doctrine of the Korean Methodist Church.(Ads2)
In 2015, the church took a hard line on homosexuality, reviewing its rules so that no one could be punished accordingly or with support.
A RELIGIOUS South Korean broadcaster looks at gay kisses in 'Bohemian Rhapsody'
“I was worried that going to a queer event could raise some issues, but then I thought there should be no discrimination if the pastor blesses someone,” Lee said. "I thought God's love was equal to everyone, so I decided to go with it."
Lee said his circumstances changed gradually after a member of his church told him he was gay in 2015.
"At first I had a very negative view of the LGBTQ people," he said. "Ever since I was a child, I had been in an old church. But when a member of our congregation left, I began to think that [he] was a real person, just like me."
South Korean same-sex couples claim health insurance with equal rights
Lee said he views the reference to homosexuality in the Bible as an ancient product, which should not be taken at present in today's world. He also said that he began to meditate on the messages of Jesus, who supported the most vulnerable people in the community.
"If Jesus were still alive today, with whom would he eat and drink?" Lee asked aloud. "I think it could be people like the disabled, the sexual minorities, the hard workers. I thought that if we translate the Bible today, Jesus would have a LGBTQ community."
Officials at the Korean Methodist Church, however, disagreed and found him guilty of sponsoring homosexuality in a case to be heard in October, granting a two-year suspension of South Korea's first-ever conviction.
Lee had a February appeal hearing, but he and his team of protesters opposed the trial in secret, presumably because of the vigilance of COVID-19.
The appeal was postponed to March, but lawmakers also raised objections as the presiding judge was a Methodist clergyman who filed a lawsuit against Lee.
Lee and his supporters are awaiting a new date for his appeal, and in the meantime, a weekly meeting and prayer meeting has already surrounded the case.
On Monday evening, fans gathered outside the office tower located at KMC headquarters in downtown Seoul to pray, deliver speeches and sing songs.
At the meeting, Kim Yoo-mi, 25, a Methodist divinity student studying to be a pastor, said he hoped the organization around Lee would help bring about change in the church.
"I'm not only for the Christian church. I'm for the religion of Jesus," she said. "That's why I'm trying to make my church go a better way. I hope there will be some movement inside the Christian church to make a change."
Oh Se-yo, 32, a pastor at a progressive Presbyterian church, said many pastors are afraid that accepting the LGBTQ community will undermine their authority.
"As a Christian and a pastor, it's painful seeing this," he said. "I also feel a sense of responsibility. Maybe we can't get anything done, but the most important thing is that we are moving. We are taking action, we are not going backward."
Lee's case has also drawn international attention, such as a letter of support from Korean ministers and members of the United Church of Canada, a mainline Protestant denomination, which called the verdict against Lee "exceedingly unfair."
While Lee and his supporters hope to foster debate within the church, a conservative public attitude toward the LGBTQ community in South Korea is showing signs of shifting, particularly among younger generations.
A poll by Gallup Korea last month found that 52% of respondents were against same-sex marriage and 38% were in favor, marking an increase of three percentage points since 2019. But among those in their 20s, an overwhelming 73% expressed support.
At the same time, participation in organized religion is dropping
precipitously, driven by factors that include changing social attitudes
and a series of high-profile embezzlement and succession scandals at
South Korea's largest Protestant churches.
Some 50% of South Koreans belonged to a religion in 2014, but that number plunged to 40% in 2021, according to an April survey by Gallup. Again, younger Koreans are leading the change, with only 22% of those in their 20s reporting a religious affiliation.
Activists and progressive politicians long have been seeking greater rights for the LGBTQ community in South Korea. Several attempts at an anti-discrimination bill have been raised in the parliament since 2007, with the most recent effort by the progressive Justice Party in June of last year.
Lee Jong-geol, a veteran activist and head of the South Korean Coalition for Anti-discrimination Legislation, said that the bills consistently have been met with heavy resistance by influential leaders of conservative Christian denominations
"A very vocal sector of the Christian church has acted as a barrier to anti-discrimination and has made LGBTQ issues unable to be discussed," Lee said.
However, he added that he feels that a division is growing over the issue in the church, especially among differing generations.
"You can see that the younger generation is more open-minded to sexual minority issues," Lee said. "There is a movement growing to change the Christian church itself, and I think it will keep going."
Joseph Yi, an associate professor of political science at Hanyang University in Seoul, has studied attitudes toward the LGBTQ community by evangelical Christians in South Korea, and says the idea of an all-out culture war has been overstated.
"There's a small minority of people who are activists [within the church], who see the LGBT community as a threat," Yi said. "But the vast majority are more into an outreach scenario. Either they don't care about politics or they think that they should reach out to [the LGBTQ community]."
Lee said that he draws hope from connecting directly with church members, citing an interview he did with a conservative Korean Christian newspaper based in Dallas.
"We had very different positions, but we listened to each other's stories," Lee said. "I thought if we can at least communicate with each other, it might be an opportunity to make a difference."
The pastor that he is determined to continue his struggle within the church rather than walk away, even if he is facing long odds.
"I love the Methodist Church," Lee said. "Even if I get dismissed or expelled, I want to stand with the members [seeking change] and help change this place with them.
"I want to show that there is at least one person who supports them. That's why I don't want to give up."
Posts
