Biblical Passages:
Leviticus 18:22
22 You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination.
Psalm 139:13–14
13 For it was you who formed my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; that I know very well.
Reflection
Introduction: This reflection is offered from within a context where faith and dignity are often held in tension. In many African communities, religion continues to shape identity, belonging, and moral understanding in deeply influential ways. Yet, it is also within these same spaces that many, particularly LGBTIQA+ persons, experience exclusion, silence, and spiritual harm.
This contribution is an intentional engagement with Scripture as both a contested and sacred space. It seeks to accompany those who are navigating the complexities of faith and identity while also challenging theological interpretations that have contributed to marginalisation. Drawing on pastoral experience, community-based advocacy, and African Indigenous understandings of personhood, where identity is relational, sacred, and affirmed through community, this reflection reclaims Scripture as a living text that can restore dignity, nurture belonging, and sustain hope.
Reflection: Across the African continent, identity is deeply relational. The well-known expression “umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu”, a person is a person through other persons, captures a truth that is both cultural and spiritual: we are formed in community, sustained by belonging, and recognised through relationship.
Yet, for many queer people of faith, especially within Southern Africa, this sacred sense of belonging is fractured. Faith communities that should offer refuge often become places of exclusion. Scripture, particularly texts such as those in Leviticus, has been used in ways that reinforce stigma, silence identity, and, at times, justify harm. In contexts already burdened by gender-based violence, inequality, and social vulnerability, such interpretations do not remain theoretical; they shape lived realities.
From a theological perspective, it is important to recognise that the holiness codes in Leviticus emerge from a specific historical and covenantal framework. They reflect concerns of identity, ritual order, and survival for an ancient community. Responsible biblical interpretation, within both global scholarship and African contextual theology, calls us to read these texts with attention to context, purpose, and trajectory, rather than applying them uncritically across time and culture.
Scripture, when interpreted responsibly, does not diminish human dignity; it reveals it.
In contrast, the voice of the Psalms offers a deeply relational and affirming theology of creation: “You knit me together in my mother’s womb.” This poetic witness speaks of divine intentionality, care, and intimate knowledge. It resonates strongly with African Indigenous spiritual understandings, where life is recognised as sacred, purposeful, and interconnected.
Within many African worldviews, including Khoisan perspectives, identity is not narrowly defined or reduced to rigid categories. Instead, it is understood as something lived, embodied, and unfolding within the rhythm of community and spirit. Human beings are recognised not as problems to be fixed but as lives to be honoured.
To reclaim this theological ground is to say:
Your existence is not a disruption of God’s order.
It is part of God’s creative expression.
To be designed for greatness is to affirm that your life carries inherent dignity and purpose.
To walk in destiny is to live into that truth, even in the face of misunderstanding or rejection.
To be a trendsetter in faith spaces is to participate in transformation, challenging harmful interpretations, expanding belonging, and embodying a faith that reflects justice and compassion.
This calling is both gentle and radical. It is gentle in its insistence that healing is possible, that faith need not be abandoned to be authentic. It is radical in its refusal to accept that exclusion speaks for God.
In Southern Africa today, where the intersections of faith, identity, and violence are deeply felt, your presence matters. To exist openly, faithfully, and courageously is not merely personal; it is communal and prophetic. It creates space for others. It interrupts the silence. It invites the Church to become more fully what it is called to be: a place of life.
You are not outside the story of faith.
You are helping to write its next chapter.
“You are not an interruption to faith, you are part of its unfolding story.”
Prayer:
God of our ancestors and our becoming, Creator who forms us with intention and calls us into community, we bring before You the pain carried by those who have been excluded in Your name. Where Scripture has been used to wound, bring understanding. Where faith has been used to divide, restore compassion. Strengthen those who walk the path of truth and authenticity. Give courage to those who remain in spaces that do not yet fully see them.
And soften the hearts of communities, that they may grow in justice, humility, and love. Teach us to recognise Your image in every person. Guide us in building faith spaces where dignity is not negotiated, but honoured. May we live fully into who we are, held in Your grace, grounded in truth, and sustained by hope. Amen.
Author: Rev. Shaine Griqua
About the Author: Rev. Shaine Griqua is a South African faith leader, community advocate, and founder of the Shaine Griqua Advice and Development Centre, an organisation committed to advancing human dignity, addressing gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF), and supporting LGBTIQA+ communities. His work sits at the intersection of pastoral care, community development, and advocacy, with a strong focus on creating safe, affirming spaces for those navigating faith and identity. Rooted in African indigenous understandings of personhood and belonging, Reverend Griqua engages theology as a living, contextual practice, one that must respond to the realities of those whose dignity is often contested. His approach seeks to reclaim Scripture as a source of healing and liberation, particularly for communities historically marginalised within religious spaces.
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