#OutInChurch: Theologians at the University of Freiburg Stand Up for LGBTQ+ People

Ten theology professors from the Faculty of Theology at the University of Freiburg have expressed their solidarity with the #OutInChurch initiative. In a statement, they pledged their support for people who see themselves as LGBTQ+ who work or want to work in the Church, study theology, or who work in their faculty.

The statement comes against the backdrop of 125 members of the clergy and other employees of the Catholic Church who came out as LGBTQ+ as part of the #OutInChurch initiative and in the ARD television documentary “Wie Gott uns schuf – Coming Out in der katholischen Kirche” (As God Created Us: Coming Out in the Catholic Church). In a manifesto, they are demanding that LGBTQ+ people not be discriminated against in the Church’s labor law and that the diverse identities of people who work in the Church be recognized.

The statement of the ten theology professors from the University of Freiburg in response to #OutInChurch can be found here and as an attachment.

#OutInChurch: Setting a Strong Example for a Church without Fear

In response to the ARD documentary “Wie Gott uns schuf” (As God Created Us) from January 24, 2022, and the #outinchurch initiative, we express our deepest regret that people who regard themselves as LGBTQ+ are still fearful because of the Church’s official teaching of sexuality, church regulations, and especially because of its labor law.

We have great respect for the initiators’ courage to stand up for who they are. They set a strong example for a church without fear. To all those who regard themselves as LGBTQ+ and who work, or want to work, in the church, who study theology, or who work with us in our faculty, we pledge our support in the form of offering advice, through conversation, and by approaching this issue from a scholarly point of view.

Freiburg, January 28, 2022

In alphabetical order
Prof. Dr. Klaus Baumann
Prof. Dr. Georg Bier
Prof. DDr. Thomas Böhm
Prof. Dr. Karl-Heinz Braun
Prof. Dr. Ursula Nothelle-Wildfeuer
Prof. Dr. Karlheinz Ruhstorfer
Prof. Dr. Mirjam Schambeck sf
Prof. Dr. Bernhard Spielberg
Prof. Dr. Magnus Striet
Prof. Dr. Stephan Wahle