Assembly '97 News Home page Documents		Homosexuals not welcome in leadership By Stephen Webb Results from the 1996 National Church Life Survey (NCLS) indicate that, while four out of ten Uniting Church attenders believe homosexuals should be accepted as church members on the same basis as heterosexuals, there is little support for accepting homosexuals in leadership positions in the church. The NCLS asked a random sample of attenders whether homosexuals should be accepted as members in the church on the same basis as heterosexuals. It also asked whether they should be appointed to leadership positions. Forty-three per cent believed homosexuals should be accepted as members, whereas 45 per cent did not give unconditional acceptance. Of that 45 per cent, 16 per cent said homosexuals should not be accepted and a further 29 per cent stipulated they should only be accepted if they were non-practising. NCLS results show little support for homosexuals being appointed to leadership positions. Sixteen per cent of Uniting Church attenders (compared to 12 per cent of all church attenders surveyed) believed homosexuals should be accepted into leadership positions on the same basis as heterosexuals. Over half of the Uniting Church attenders disagreed, with a further 20 per cent agreeing only if the homosexuals were non-practising. There was little variation in the responses between age groups, and in no denomination was the percentage of attenders supporting homosexuals in leadership positions above 20 per cent. When considering the statement “Gays and lesbians are as healthy and moral as anybody else”, nearly six out of ten Uniting Church attenders disagreed, 27 per cent agreed and 15 per cent were unsure. Seventy-six per cent of Uniting Church attenders believed the church had a responsibility to care for people with AIDS.

"The Uniting Church affirms that it belongs to the people of GOD on the way to the promised end." Basis of Union, Revised edition published 1992