New York: Globalizing the Culture Wars: U.S. Conservatives, African Churches, and Homophobia , a new report by the Rev. Kapya Kaoma, Political Research Associates’ Project Director, exposes the U.S. religious right’s promotion of an agenda in Africa that incites anti-gay campaigns and otherwise infringe upon the human rights of LGBT people, while also mobilizing African clerics in U.S. culture war battles.
The investigation’s release could not be timelier, as the Ugandan parliament considers the proposed Anti-Homosexuality Bill of 2009, which would threaten LGBT people with lifetime imprisonment simply for being gay and death for certain acts.
"We need to stand up against the U.S. Christian Right peddling homophobia in Africa," said Kaoma, who challenged U.S. evangelist Rick Warren to denounce the bill and distance himself from its supporters. "I heard church people in Uganda say they would go door to door to root out LGBT people. The scapegoating must stop."
For his 16-month investigation, Kaoma, an Anglican priest from Zambia, traveled in the United States and Uganda, Kenya, and Nigeria, attended the notorious antigay conference of Uganda’s Family Life Network in March, and documented concerns among the region’s clergy that U.S. conservative Christians are contributing to corruption among bishops with their lax requirements for donated funds.
As Kaoma argues, the U.S. religious right – once isolated in Africa for supporting pro-apartheid regimes – has successfully reinvented itself as the mainstream of U.S. evangelicalism through its extensive communications networks in Africa, includign social welfare projects, Bible schools, and educational materials. U.S. religious conservatives characterize homosexuality as a dangerous and deviant imposition on Africa by liberal Westerners, and present themselves as the true representatives of U.S. evangelicalism, so helping to marginalize Africans’ relationships with mainline Protestant churches.
Kaoma traces the impact of these cross-continental relationships back to the United States, where conservative “renewal” groups within The Episcopal Church, United Methodist Church USA, and Presbyterian Church USA, mobilize African allies to challenge LGBT equality within their churches, with the assistance of the Institute on Religion and Democracy, a neoconservative think tank that seeks to undermine Protestant denominations' tradition of progressive social justice work. In Africa, Kaoma investigates ties U.S. conservative Christians have established with religious leaders in Nigeria, Uganda, and Kenya, and the cultural and legislative impacts of homophobia exported to these countries.
Rev. Kapya Kaoma will discuss his findings on this report in a Panel discussion on “Opposing grave Human Rights Violations on the basis of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity” on Thursday, December 10th from 1:15pm – 2:45pm at the ECOSOC Chamber of the UN Headquarters in New York, hosted by Human Rights Watch.
Please contact Yana Walton at yana@representinc.com or 347.296.8921 to set up an interview with Rev. Kaoma.
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REV. KAPYA KAOMA
Project Director Kapya Kaoma is an Anglican priest from Zambia now leading churches in the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts. A doctoral candidate at Boston University School of Theology, he has studied in evangelical schools in Zambia and the United Kingdom. From 1998 to 2001, he served as dean of St. John’s Cathedral in Mutare, Zimbabwe and lecturer at Africa University, where he coauthored a text in ethics, Unity in Diversity. From 2001 to 2002, he was academic dean of St. John’s Anglican Seminary in Kitwe, Zambia, where he launched its women’s studies and church school training programs. An active campaigner for women’s reproductive rights, Kaoma is a passionate activist for social witness in the world.
POLITICAL RESEARCH ASSOCIATES
Political Research Associates (PRA) is a progressive think tank devoted to supporting movements that are building a more just and inclusive democratic society. We expose movements, institutions, and ideologies that undermine human rights, with a focus on the U.S. political Right. Political Research Associates seeks to advance progressive thinking and action by providing accurate, research-based, information, analysis, and referrals.
The investigation’s release could not be timelier, as the Ugandan parliament considers the proposed Anti-Homosexuality Bill of 2009, which would threaten LGBT people with lifetime imprisonment simply for being gay and death for certain acts.
"We need to stand up against the U.S. Christian Right peddling homophobia in Africa," said Kaoma, who challenged U.S. evangelist Rick Warren to denounce the bill and distance himself from its supporters. "I heard church people in Uganda say they would go door to door to root out LGBT people. The scapegoating must stop."
For his 16-month investigation, Kaoma, an Anglican priest from Zambia, traveled in the United States and Uganda, Kenya, and Nigeria, attended the notorious antigay conference of Uganda’s Family Life Network in March, and documented concerns among the region’s clergy that U.S. conservative Christians are contributing to corruption among bishops with their lax requirements for donated funds.
As Kaoma argues, the U.S. religious right – once isolated in Africa for supporting pro-apartheid regimes – has successfully reinvented itself as the mainstream of U.S. evangelicalism through its extensive communications networks in Africa, includign social welfare projects, Bible schools, and educational materials. U.S. religious conservatives characterize homosexuality as a dangerous and deviant imposition on Africa by liberal Westerners, and present themselves as the true representatives of U.S. evangelicalism, so helping to marginalize Africans’ relationships with mainline Protestant churches.
Kaoma traces the impact of these cross-continental relationships back to the United States, where conservative “renewal” groups within The Episcopal Church, United Methodist Church USA, and Presbyterian Church USA, mobilize African allies to challenge LGBT equality within their churches, with the assistance of the Institute on Religion and Democracy, a neoconservative think tank that seeks to undermine Protestant denominations' tradition of progressive social justice work. In Africa, Kaoma investigates ties U.S. conservative Christians have established with religious leaders in Nigeria, Uganda, and Kenya, and the cultural and legislative impacts of homophobia exported to these countries.
Rev. Kapya Kaoma will discuss his findings on this report in a Panel discussion on “Opposing grave Human Rights Violations on the basis of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity” on Thursday, December 10th from 1:15pm – 2:45pm at the ECOSOC Chamber of the UN Headquarters in New York, hosted by Human Rights Watch.
Please contact Yana Walton at yana@representinc.com or 347.296.8921 to set up an interview with Rev. Kaoma.
###
REV. KAPYA KAOMA
Project Director Kapya Kaoma is an Anglican priest from Zambia now leading churches in the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts. A doctoral candidate at Boston University School of Theology, he has studied in evangelical schools in Zambia and the United Kingdom. From 1998 to 2001, he served as dean of St. John’s Cathedral in Mutare, Zimbabwe and lecturer at Africa University, where he coauthored a text in ethics, Unity in Diversity. From 2001 to 2002, he was academic dean of St. John’s Anglican Seminary in Kitwe, Zambia, where he launched its women’s studies and church school training programs. An active campaigner for women’s reproductive rights, Kaoma is a passionate activist for social witness in the world.
POLITICAL RESEARCH ASSOCIATES
Political Research Associates (PRA) is a progressive think tank devoted to supporting movements that are building a more just and inclusive democratic society. We expose movements, institutions, and ideologies that undermine human rights, with a focus on the U.S. political Right. Political Research Associates seeks to advance progressive thinking and action by providing accurate, research-based, information, analysis, and referrals.