The role of the Anglican and Catholic Churches in Uganda in public discourse on homosexuality and ethics

Abstract

The passage of an Anti-Homosexuality Act in the Uganda Parliament (December 2013), its endorsement by President Yoweri Museveni (February 2014), and subsequent invalidation in Uganda's Supreme Court (July 2014), have focused international attention on Uganda's punitive attitudes to the gay and lesbian community, the survival of colonial sodomy laws and the recent legislative campaigns to intensify anti-gay laws. Much international coverage has focused on the impact of religious campaigns from American Pentecostal and evangelical constituencies to alert Ugandans to the dangers of 'homosexuality'. International press coverage has also often characterised Uganda as a deeply conservative, deeply religious country, where attitudes have traditionally been unsympathetic to gays and lesbians, and to sexual expressions which deviate from the heterosexual norm. This paper challenges many of these stereotypes. It attempts to show that American conservative religion is neither as widespread...