Bi Bi and Good Riddance, ‘Issues in Human Sexuality’

OTN Co-Chair Dr Carol Joyner prepares to shred a copy of Issues in Human Sexuality: A statement from the House of Bishops (1991) which was withdrawn by the Church of England General Synod last month.

LAST MONTH, the governing body of the Church of England, General Synod, finally decided to shelve the 1991 document Issues in Human Sexuality.

While not constituting official doctrine of the Church of England, this 43-page booklet was deemed mandatory reading for ordinands, with acquiescence to the ‘theology’ contained therein essential to acceptance into ordained ministry.

These 43 pages contained 17 pages devoted to the ‘Phenomenon of Homosexual Love’ with the remaining 26 pages focusing on theological arguments pertaining to the broader topic of human sexuality. OTN Co-Chair Carol Joyner reflects on what it meant for her and other bisexual Christians.

Within these 43 pages, the reader would find just one paragraph (5.8) - or 119 words - on bisexuality, in which the bisexual person of faith is adjudged to be adulterous by nature and in need of a therapeutical intervention to cure their potential personality disorder! They are further advised to ignore their same sex feelings and stick to their ‘heterophile leanings.’ Simples!

This is clearly offensive on a number of fronts. Firstly, the suggestion that all people who are attracted to more than one gender – which is the generally accepted definition of bisexuality - are de facto adulterous or non-monogamous, is simply not true. Without wishing to cast judgement on consensually polyamorous people, the majority of bisexual Christians I know, including myself, are monogamous and to the best of my knowledge, not ‘moonlighting’ on the side! (That is not to say that adulterous behaviour or consensual non-monogamy does not exist within this cohort, just as it exists within heterosexual or homosexual relationships).

Secondly, the suggestion that bisexuality is something from which an individual requires healing suggests bisexuality is a disease or an aberration of some kind, not a natural variety of God’s creation. I would humbly suggest that if bisexuality were a defect, then God in His infinite wisdom would not have created more than 1500 species of animal seen to engage in sexual activity with both male and female partners.

Thirdly, given between 50% and 57% of LGB people identify as bisexual (e.g. Gallup 2022; NY Post 2024) - by far the largest sector of the queer community - it is frankly outrageous to confine this cohort to one tiny paragraph within a chapter on homosexuality, both conflating bisexuality with homosexuality and suggesting it is a minor sexual orientation worthy of no more than an afterthought.

Fourthly, it expresses the facile notion that a bisexual person can simply turn off their same-sex feelings and a key aspect of their identity, and focus solely on their heterosexual feelings. I don’t know about you, but the moment I am told to forget about anything, that very thing preoccupies my every thought!

Finally, demanding adherence to a 34-year-old document in the fast-evolving field of human sexuality studies constitutes a blatant refusal to engage with evidence-based research in the field of psychosexual science. Just imagine the outcry if we ignored developments in digital technology or climate action and stuck rigidly to early 1990s understandings of said topics! To add insult to injury, Issues - as it is commonly known - was not social-scientifically rigorous, with an over-preponderance of, and over-reliance on, theologians with known right-wing biases and debatable academic credibility.

The decision to shelve Issues is long overdue and welcome. As the Church of England’s statement last month notes:

When it was first published in 1991, Issues aimed to be sensitive, but the tone, language, and some of the assumptions are now considered inappropriate and offensive to many people.

Church of England bishops have also agreed to remove the document from the Church of England website. New guidance on matters relating to human sexuality is apparently forthcoming, with the Ministry Development Team, in collaboration with the Ministry Development Board, due to report back to the House of Bishops on this process in October this year. This will involve a more ‘comprehensive package of guidelines’ consisting of pastoral guidelines, a code of practice and a Bishop’s Statement, which shall align with the broader Living in Love and Faith process on identity, sexuality, relationships and marriage (2017-2020). The guidelines aim to be ‘both theologically sound and pastorally sensitive.’ To fill the vacuum until such guidance becomes available, those involved in the discernment process are directed to Guidelines for the Professional Conduct of the Clergy (GPCC).

From a quick browse through the Living in Love and Faith document, there are at least some grounds for hope in terms of bi visibility and understanding. While Josh’s story is the only bi lived experienced contained within the document (disproportionately, given the bisexual majority among the LGB sector), he is at least allowed to provide an un-doctored account of his life as a bi man of faith.

Whether the Church of England, the broader Anglican Communion and the public at large will be able to get its head around sexual diversity is another question. The sadly predictable response from the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON) to the recent appointment of Bishop Cherry Vann as Archbishop of the Church in Wales suggests that broad swathes of the global Anglican Church still see both sexual orientation and gender along (hierarchical) binary lines.

The scandalised tone of the past week’s tabloid headlines in responses to former First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon’s statement about her sexuality suggest monosexual attitudes and bisexual stigma still very much exist. Speaking personally as a bisexual Scot, it is music to my ears to hear an influential (albeit Marmite) figure such as Sturgeon state in her autobiography: ‘I have never considered sexuality, my own included, to be binary.’

The sooner the Church gets to grips with what Science and Actual People tell them about their lived experiences as diverse creations of God, the better.

Dr Carol Joyner is Co-Chair of Open Table Network, as well as a researcher and published academic on the topic of bisexual Christian identities. You can find details of her books here or view her Amazon store here.