Sean Major-Campbell and Horace Levy | Time for tolerance, acceptance, respect

In Jamaica, we find ourselves at an extraordinary moment that has the power to define who we are as a country. But for people of faith, no matter their persuasion, this moment could also demonstrate our true capacity for tolerance, acceptance, respect and love for all members of our human family, who are also children of God.

Of course, our LGBT friends, family, colleagues and community members must all be counted in this important reckoning. Their very public struggles within our society have turned the eyes of the world towards our country.

Jamaica is home to particularly harsh anti-gay laws - laws currently being challenged in court as unconstitutional. These laws are unfortunate throwbacks to colonisation by the British, and reflected Victorian 'morality' and narrow-minded theology of that time.

Interestingly, the Church of England was a major player in the decriminalisation of consensual same-sex intimacy in the United Kingdom, some 50 years ago. Sadly, many Commonwealth countries have not experienced decriminalisation and our LGBT brothers and sisters in Jamaica continue to be persecuted in decidedly anti-Christian ways.

CHANGE OF COURSE

But many faith leaders in Jamaica - and indeed around the world - are now calling for a change of course, a chance to show our LGBT communities that we are capable of the acceptance and love that is a cornerstone of our shared faith.

In October 2017, the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network and Anglicans for Decriminalisation collaborated with local and international partners to host a two-day conference called 'Intimate Conviction'. We were proud to be a part of this historic event, the first-ever discussion of the role of the Church in the decriminalisation of sodomy.

The conference was held because, although there have been rapid advances for LGBT rights in some countries, more than 70 still criminalise private consensual same-sex activity - and more than half of those are in the Commonwealth of nations and nine in the Caribbean.

During the conference, more than 30 Christian leaders from former British colonies, including many senior clergy and academics, met in Jamaica. The event was organised as a dialogue on such topics as the distinction between global north and global south churches regarding decriminalisation, the role of criminalisation on the Church's response to HIV, and the impact of criminalisation on women.

Since the conference, courts in two Commonwealth countries, Trinidad and Tobago and India, have struck down anti-sodomy laws similar to that of Jamaica. In both cases, the voices and views of religious leaders about decriminalisation were acknowledged by the courts, even though the constitution was rightly given pre-eminence. And in both cases, there were many religious leaders who supported an end to these laws.

This week, the edited volume of presentations from the Intimate Conviction conference will be launched here in Jamaica. This is an opportunity for continued discussion and reflection by Jamaicans of all faiths, to truly consider our role as protectors of the dignity of all God's people. Or we can continue being 'righteous' gatekeepers who consider some souls more important than others and thereby condemn LGBT people to lives of intimidation and fear, assault and violence.

It is our hope and prayer that all Jamaica's religious leaders may bravely continue to contribute to this urgent conversation about human rights and justice for LGBT citizens. In the words of the Rev Dr Martin Luther King Jr, who was himself a strong proponent of the human rights of LGBT people: "The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice." It is time that Jamaica's faith leaders support justice for all.

- Father Sean Major-Campbell is an Anglican priest. Horace Levy is a human-rights lobbyist.

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