Conservative Christianity,the Global South and the Battle over Sexual Orientation

This article explores conservative Christian contributions to debates over sexual orientation, focusing in particular on the way in which Northern Christians struggling to win their battles at home look to the global South for allies and support. This is made easier by the fact that global Christianity is once more overwhelmingly a Southern religion that generally adheres to traditionalist understandings in the sphere of sexual relations. The article looks at how this has played out at church, state and international levels by examining the conflicts over sexuality within the Anglican Communion, the domestic and international debates about the controversial Ugandan draft law on homosexuality, and discussions about sexual orientation in UN institutions. It concludes by rejecting simplistic suggestions that these are part of a one-way process, in which Northern conservatives use their counterparts in the global South to promote their own agendas.