Nashville Statement

The statement was drafted in late August 2017, during the annual conference of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center in Nashville, Tennessee.[7] The statement was published online on August 29, 2017.[8] It was signed by more than 150 evangelical Christian leaders.[9]

The Statement includes a preamble and 14 articles.[8] The opening paragraph reads, "Evangelical Christians at the dawn of the twenty-first century find themselves living in a period of historic transition. As Western culture has become increasingly post-Christian, it has embarked upon a massive revision of what it means to be a human being."[10] The Statement presents a complementarian view of gender and a traditionalist view of sexuality.[1][9]

The Nashville Statement:

• Affirms that God designed marriage as a lifelong union between male and female, and that marriage "is meant to signify the covenant love between Christ and his bride the church";
• Denies that differences between men and women render the sexes "unequal in dignity or worth";
• Denies "that adopting a homosexual or transgender self-conception is consistent with God's holy purposes in creation and redemption."(art. VII b)
• Denies "that the approval of homosexual immorality or transgenderism is a matter of moral indifference about which otherwise faithful Christians should agree to disagree."(art. Xb)
• Affirms that "Christ Jesus has come into the world to save sinners and that through Christ’s death and resurrection forgiveness of sins and eternal life are available to every person who repents of sin and trusts in Christ alone as Savior, Lord, and supreme treasure".[4]

In alphabetical order:

Due to perceived homophobia, transphobia, and misogyny, the Nashville Statement has attracted controversy.[2]

• An opposing statement was published on August 30, 2017 by Christians United, a group of signatories. Brandan Robertson drafted the Christians United statement, and the Rev. Steve Chalke and others edited it. Signatories included John C. Dorhauer, the General Minister and President of the United Church of Christ; Yvette Flunder; and Jayne Ozanne.[16][17][18]
• Nashville mayor Megan Barry stated "[the] so-called 'Nashville statement' is poorly named and does not represent the inclusive values of the city & people of Nashville".[19]
• The Episcopal Bishop of Central Florida, Gregory Brewer, described the statement as "tone deaf to the nuances of Jesus".[3]
• Jesuit priest James Martin replied to the Nashville Statement with his own set of affirmations and denials, beginning with "I affirm: That God loves all LGBT people".[20]
• Professor Jamin Andreas Hübner published the first full-length academic review of the Nashville Statement in Priscilla Papers (Winter 2019).[21]

The Statement received opposition from some same-sex marriage opponents. Catholic intellectual Ryan T. Anderson "[feared] that 'evangelical leaders either don't know what the word chastity means or don't defend its requirements in marriage.'"[22] Some evangelicals were sympathetic to the statement's theology, but critical of what they saw as its pastoral insensitivity.[23][1]

In June 2019, the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America voted, 803 to 541, to endorse the Nashville Statement.[24]

SGP leader Kees van der Staaij is considered the Statement's most prominent supporter.

The Dutch municipality of Wormerland flies the rainbow flag on January 9, 2019, in solidarity with the LGBT community after the publication of the Dutch version of the Nashville Statement.

On January 4, 2019, a Dutch version of the Nashville Statement was published; its publication subsequently drew much controversy. It was signed by 200 leaders from the Netherlands' orthodox-Protestant communities (including Member of Parliament and Reformed Political Party leader Kees van der Staaij). Its structure and content were very similar to the original statement, but a 'pastoral chapter' had been added, stressing that LGBT individuals were entitled to pastoral care, and recognizing that in the past religious communities had failed to show sufficient compassion towards them.[25]

The Dutch statement received some support in orthodox Protestant circles (although even there too, objections were raised), but was widely criticized by most religious leaders, politicians and human rights organizations. It was also widely discussed in the Dutch media.[26] The Public Prosecution Service indicated it would evaluate whether the publication was punishable under criminal law.[27] In the days following the publication, numerous town halls, churches and universities throughout the Netherlands flew the rainbow flag in a show of solidarity with the LGBT community.[28]

• Danvers Statement
• Manhattan Declaration: A Call of Christian Conscience
• Phoenix Declaration

• Nashville Statement at CBMW website