Adventist Guidelines anticipate potential tension of church mission, social legislation

Seventh-day Adventist Church leaders took action on October 15 at their Annual Council Meeting in offering guidelines for instances when the church's beliefs are at odds with social legislation, particularly with hiring practices at church institutions.

Meeting at the Adventist world church's headquarters near Washington, D.C., the church's executive committee approved a document identifying the church's mission within changing social environments. Its rationale is spelled out in the preamble that "legislation concerning employment practices represents one area in which Seventh-day Adventist values and beliefs may be subject to challenge. For example: societies may establish laws providing new definitions for marriage or protecting a range of expressions and behaviour associated with gender identity."

The document identifies the church's principle of not accepting the idea of same-sex marriages or condoning homosexual practices or advocacy.

The document recommends legal consultation rather than unilateral action when such tensions exist. Actions taken by one church institution could have an effect in other parts of the world, said Adventist Church General Counsel Robert E. Kyte.

"In many Christian legal communities, this is a growing issue and will have expanding impact on the Seventh-day Adventist Church," Kyte said. "We need to anticipate these trends and be prepared to respond to them based on our church's understanding and doctrine."

While the document does not give specific requirements, several church leaders said it would help the world church act in a unified manner.

"This is an excellent document," said Dan Jackson, president of the Adventist Church in Canada. "It [gives] our churches around the world the ability to respond with the authority of the world church body." Jackson said a Canadian court recently ruled gender rights above religious rights and that Canada has also approved same-sex marriages.

While the trend now affects mainly Western nations, the potential for conflict is growing in many parts of the world, church leaders said.

Full text of the document, "Safeguarding mission in changing social environments,":